How to prepare to answer all interview questions with 5 responses

Having conducted thousands of interviews in my career, I find candidates are either under- or over-prepared for the interview. While I prefer someone who is well prepared, the under-prepared candidate still does better than the one with scripted and canned responses. The genuine response is more trustworthy than the candidate who read “100 Questions Interviewers Ask” and memorized the suggested responses. My advice for those preparing for an interview: you need five responses prepared that you can use to answer all questions. The secret? These are not responses to a particular question, but rather stories that you will pull from to develop answers throughout your interview.

The first story you need: The 3-5 minute version of your resume. The most common first question asked in all interviews is “Please take 3-5 minutes to describe your work history.” This might be a common question because we are all rushed and sometimes the interviewer does not have time to read the resume. More often, this question begins the interview to help breathe some life into your past; when answered well, the reply brings the resume to life. Be prepared to describe your background in one minute or less. You need to be flexible and know the points most valuable to the job you are seeking.

The next four stories you need: detailed descriptions of four significant accomplishments in your recent work history. If you prepare to tell the story in detail, you will have facts that can be used for any question. Here are some rules for preparing the stories:

1) Use current stories: keep it to the past 2-3 years. No one should ever think it’s been 10 years since you had a significant accomplishment.

2) Write out the story: write down all the details. Who was involved? What challenges did you overcome? Key dates? Resources needed? What was the outcome?

3) Practice telling the story: Tell the story from beginning to end many times. Then, practice telling just portions of the story. For example, if asked for a time when you assumed a leadership role, you could take one of the stories and talk about the project, who was involved and what you did to lead the group.

4) Keep it to 4 stories: George A. Miller, noted psychologist tells us “The mind cannot hold more than about seven (+/- two) items in its short-term memory at any one time.” If all your responses relate back to four stories, you are more likely to be remembered.

5) Give it a good ending: These have to be stories about your accomplishments. It is best if you have quantifiable, measurable outcomes for the actions you present in your story.

Everyone enjoys stories! It is why Hollywood exists, to engage us in stories. You can practice telling stories and not appear scripted and rehearsed in an interview. If you do it well, you will be genuine, create trust and show your value. And, you may just land the job!

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After completing the Communicate to Win workshop, you will have the most compelling argument and the best ideas. With this complete package, you will gain the tools necessary to guarantee that you have the best ideas and that you can present them confidently so you will WIN. Read what participants say.

photo by Katrina Snaps. Used by permission.