Politicians know the value of anecdotes.  Listen to their campaign speeches and you'll hear them tell mini-stories of people who were helped from hard times - thanks to the politicians' policies, of course.

The same principle can be - and should be - followed when interviewing.  Anecdotes and very short stories provide a brief yet powerful way to illustrate points.  More to the point, they allow job seekers a way to highlight strengths while minimizing weaknesses.

When you develop anecdotes for interviews, keep in mind these winning formulas:

Beginning, middle, end.  This is the basic structure for all stories.  Otherwise, the event you're verbalizing will lack a point and prove unsatisfying to your listener.  That could be disastrous in interviews.  Using this basic structure, however, allows you to illustrate and highlight you skills and experiences during interviews.  This structure helps you make your point in narrative form.  In short, this basic structure improves your chance of interview success.

Intro, conflict, resolution.  Hiring managers will often ask you to detail times when you had difficulties with others (co-workers, peers, supervisors, clients, etc.).  This is a good thing for job seekers because conflict is what creates interesting stories. Utilizing the basic structure above, you would introduce the situation that needs resolution, then describe the interpersonal conflict, and finally, how you resolved the issue. 

Preface, hardship, lesson.  This version of the basic structure provides you opportunity to show personal and professional growth.  Here, you begin with a short back story of the situation, then tell how this initially caused you difficulty, then show what you learned by how you solved the situation.  You might also mention how you may handle the situation differently if you face it again.

IN THE CARAVAN: Illustrate your points in interviews by using the basic structure or a derivative thereof.

NEXT THURSDAY: Developing Anecdotes II: Sample Templates

Check out last Thursday's post on guiding your interviews.

Want more Interviewing advice?  Check out these posts and The Lion's Pride section of WildJobSafari.com!

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