I was perusing LinkedIn this afternoon, and happened on this article which reminded me of something I tell my candidates all the time... This author used this tale to urge his readers to change how they talk about business, while I'm posting it here, obviously to change how you talk about yourself in the job search.
The author talks about how once he learned Ryan Gosling's back story, about some unique and interesting facets of his childhood, all of a sudden he cared about this Hollywood Movie Star and the cause of 20-somethings' fluttering hearts, and date I say, liked him.
This is true when interviewing for jobs, too. If you give a hiring manager a reason that this job fits in with your story, or endear yourself to them in another way, they're more likely to remember you fondly when they go back to their desk staring at the resumes of the 5 people they met that day. They might even write a little reminder in the margin about that story you told. And boom, you're getting a second interview over the same caliber of candidate interviewing against you.
Now, be careful... this does not mean you should start dumping your life story on anyone you meet on your journey... this story still needs to be appropriate and relevant to the job or organization, but open up a bit.
If you're asked a question that starts, "Tell me about a time...", you could just state that example and be done, or you could tell a story about how you got to that place, what you considered before make a decision, and the result of the situation. This article illustrates that a well told "story" might prove a bit more powerful than a perfectly recited response with no color. Be honest and be memorable and you'll likely happen upon some loyalty without having to try too hard.
