A well crafted story is a great way to answer behavioral questions.
The words listed here all have one thing in common. Although most of them rhyme, that isn’t what they have in common. These words all mean the same thing to a job searcher. They are all a way to answer behavioral questions in an interview. The list of words:
CAR, PAR, STAR, SOAR, and SMART.
The AR in all the words represents the same thing. A=Action and R=Result. The C stands for context or challenge; P is for problem; ST represents situation and task;
SM can either be situation and more or situation and metrics, and SO stands for situation and obstacle or scenario and ownership.
C, P, ST, SM, and SO–Whatever letters you choose to start the word they all signify the state of affairs in your job. There is something that needed attention, and you are involved in the finding the solution.
A—Action is what you did to solve the problem. If you worked in a team, it isn’t what the team did, it’s what you did.
R—Result is the outcome of your efforts.
T—Tie in is how this story relates to the question the interviewer asked you.
Here is one example of a Smart story:
Situation and More: The sales for the month were down about 10% from projected and no one could figure out why.
Action: I had read in a business journal about the problems our delivery carrier was having. I told my manager about the delivery carrier and that I had researched
other delivery carriers and found one that would be less expensive and deliver faster. He thought the plan would solve the problem told me to implement the change immediately.
Results: The sales increased 18% in the next 3 months. My manager was happy to see the sales figures steadily increasing. The new delivery carrier’s less expensive price increased the profits and the quicker delivery made customers happy.
Tie-in: Reading business journals about other companies gave me the solution to a problem my company was having. If I hadn’t realized it was the delivery carrier that was the problem, my manager would have tried several things without the necessary results.
People remember stories more than they remember facts. Who doesn’t remember that in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue? But who remembers when
Lewis & Clark explored the country? Your interviewer will remember you if you have a story to tell that is interesting and full of good information. This type of answer will set you apart from your competition, and you will get the job.
My next blog will give you some tips to remember when creating your SMART story.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Ambro
