In my last blog I told you what a SMART story was and why you should use it in your job search. This blog will give you some suggestions on how to write them in addition to the situation/more, the action you took, the results and the tie in.
Here are 10 of suggestions for writing your smart stories.
A great SMART story will get you the job.
- Don’t lie, invent or use other’s story. It has to be your own and have actually happened.
- Include numbers as dollars or percentages in as many parts of the story you can. People love to hear the numbers in increased sales or decreased costs. Numbers add more punch to the story.
- It should be no longer than 2 or 3 minutes to tell the story. Anything longer and you will lose the interviewer.
- Remember they want to know what’s in it for them. Try to tell the story in a way they can see the benefit of hiring you.
- Create stories for different competencies the job requires, such as problem solving, teamwork, working solo, taking the lead, etc. You can use non-work related experiences, as well.
- Don’t bad mouth anyone in your story. Everyone has someone who won’t pull their own weight, is negative, and/or doesn’t want to do anything anyone else tells them to do. Leave out those parts of the story.
- Tell the story in a way that shows how others related to it. For example, you, your boss, the company, customers, vendors, and/or colleagues.
- When you tell the story, do so in a way that makes the story interesting and not boring. Tell it in the logical sequence without jumping around. Don’t use company words or acronyms, use to many details.
- Keep the story going and deliver it in a professional manner. Eliminate any filler words such as, like, uhm, you know.
- Practice it so that you remember all the details,but don’t sound over-rehearsed.
Stories with numbers are a big hit with interviewers especially if you hit one of their pain points. Don’t under estimate any of your achievements. Show them that you are the most qualified candidate and can do the job better than anyone.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Stuart Miles
