The company should hire me because blank.
Do you know your story? Are you ready to pitch your story and get the job? “Well, tell me your story, tell me about you”, the interviewer said.
That is the moment when candidates start looking down to their resume just to make sure they do not screw up. The very busy interviewer thinks, “Did you really just do that? Don’t you know who you are? This is a waste of my time!” The candidate starts saying exactly what is on the resume and immediately highlights the non-impressive skills that are already in the resume. “Hard-worker, disciplined, multi-tasking, excellent interpersonal communication skills, organized, leader”… STOP!
Dear Candidates, we are sure that you have a lot to bring to the table…just do not read it from your resume! An interview is a conversation, not to a read out loud. Let me explain, from my perspective what an interviewer really wants when they ask, “Tell me about you”. You have lived your own life and have worked hard to be the person you are today, so before going to an interview create your success story. WAIT, WHAT? Create a chronological movie of how you came to be the professional you are now. Answer questions like: Why you decided to study what you did? How you got your first job? Why you decided to change your job? What you liked most and less from your past job experiences? And please, please know what is your competitive advantage for the position you are applying and/or the company you want to work for.
For example, your competitive advantage may be that you are a natural leader. Make sure to show in your story how it leads you to achieve your goals. Another thing to keep in mind, is to focus on your successes, I am sure that some negative things do happen within experiences but do not let them opaque your story’s bright side. (Tip: Interviewers will ask you later on about the worst experience in different situations.) After you have your storyline, ask yourself, is this movie ready to be sold? If the answer is yes…Time to Sell!!!
But how do you sell a good story? Of course, it needs an: EXTRAORDINARY MOVIE TRAILER! As movie viewers, interviewers do not have much time during an interview to know your whole story, so you have to create a movie trailer that captures his or her attention and make them want to know more about you. What should be told in this trailer? Emphasize the parts that highlights all the skills that add value to you as a professional and to the position you are being interviewed for. As a candidate you may be thinking, “Why should I do a mental movie and then a trailer?” Well, as you capture your interviewer’s attention with the trailer, more questions will come. The movie will help you answer these questions.
Finally, remember to make your movie trailer an exciting one, make the interviewer want to know the whole movie. SELL YOUR MOVIE!!! Interviews usually take 45 minutes and from those you have 5 minutes to impress and sell your story to the interviewer. Differentiate yourself and make sure that the interviewer never forgets your movie clip.
Now…GO! create your movie and tell me more!
