How to tell your career stories

[Monirul Islam]

"Let me tell you a story" is a powerful presentation opener. It holds your audience's attention and encourages them to listen. Your CV, as a written presentation, also needs to capture attention long enough to make a persuasive case.

Storytelling in a job application has a similar psychological appeal to the stories we tell children to help them conquer demons and make sense of the world. Beyond their simple entertainment value, we relate to stories about characters facing and overcoming difficulties similar to the ones we experience.

Stories can transform the dry facts of your career into vivid accounts of your challenges and triumphs. Use them in your CV and at interview to make a strong, emotional connection.

Your 'story' is your career to date

Present your career history as a chain of successes, skills and experiences to establish the value you bring. To do this, pull together elements from your background that define your brand – whether this is cost-saver, profit-maker, or market-builder, for example. Then each milestone, promotion and accomplishment you highlight should reinforce your brand message.

Use mini-stories to add the details

Dense paragraphs of duties and responsibilities don't tell a hiring manager the most important story: how you made a difference in your previous roles, and crucially, what you'll be able to do in this role. Terms like "problem-solver" or "team-player" don't tell a convincing story, either.

Instead, prove your strengths with success stories. For each company or role, briefly detail your remit or scope. For example: "Hired to turn around an underperforming product range where sales lagged 10% against the company average," sets the scene for detailed examples.

Then, in concise paragraphs (ideally, two to three lines) highlight your achievements, quantifying where possible. Context is important. How did your achievement buck a particular trend for example? Frame your stories in a challenge-action-result format. For example: "Reversed a sales decline of 10% by reducing product delivery times and upselling related products."
At interview

A stock of four or five stories illustrating your key strengths will make you memorable. Choose your stories for their relevance to the role you're applying for.

Involve your interviewer: Ask questions, such as "You're facing these sorts of problems, right?" and be aware of your interviewer's reactions; speeding up, slowing down, or answering questions as necessary.

Be interesting: A good presenter will modify voice and gestures, or use pauses for dramatic effect. Do the same with your stories. Practise them so you feel confident, but be careful to avoid sounding over-rehearsed or static.

Vary the introduction: Use cues from your interviewer to launch into a story, such as "Actually, that happened to me once", or "I faced exactly the same dilemma in my last job." Maintain interest by including the real-life complexity of twists and turns.

Don't ramble: Use a structure with a clearly defined beginning (the problem), a middle (the solution) and end (the outcome).

Be honest: Give credit to others (if it's due) to enhance your own credibility and likeability.
Source: https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/how-to-tell-your-career-stories/?s=2