If you're in my cohort, you won't be surprised to know that I know this about myself! Any advice for staying on topic, keeping it concise? I had a great answer today and was totally S - here's the situation T - task, this was my job and then A - oh PLEASE let me tell you ALL about my actions and what I learned and how I learned it and I think I maybe went on and on and on and probably on.... a bit too long! I remember being in grad school and literally writing out some S-T-A-R boxes and questions and filling in some answers - do I need to resort to this again (yes) and just keep practicing outloud and timing myself (yes again) or does anyone have any advice or experience?! (Please! Or as long-winded me would say -- please tell me how I can be more concise in my interview questions!)
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Peppercorn Community!
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@steinberg.davida This is such a great topic!
I am a storyteller and definitely "squirrel" through many topics before I could get to the end. In life, I sometimes still enjoy the long-winded conversations that incorporate lots of topics. However, when it comes to interviews, that is a different story.
Before the interview, you must spend time articulating and practicing your stories.
The STAR method as you mentioned above is one of the best ways to get your brain to start thinking in a structured manner.
Write down your stories and practice them (on your own and with others). This is part of Discovery Module 3 - Success Briefs where you learn to market your past experiences for your Ideal Position!
Write 3 - 5 bullet points for your A - Actions and R - Results. Know your top 2 Actions and Results in case you don't have to provide a lot of detail.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
In the interview here are a few to do before you answer questions:
Understand the actual job: Get the interviewer to talk about the job beyond the original job description to make sure you both are on the same page about the expectations of the job.
Manage expectations: A recruiter, a hiring manager, and skip-level manager - all have different expectations of what they are looking for in the interview. Ask them how much detail and what types of information they are looking for. This will allow you to make sure you are providing them with the information they need.
Depending on the level and type of information someone is looking for from you, will determine how much information you provide from your Actions and Results. Less detail only provide 1 - 2 Actions / Results. More detail provide 3 - 5 Actions / Results.
Knowing, articulating and practicing your stories is the most important piece of the puzzle when you go in for your interviews.
Would love to hear other's stories on how they honed in on being able to not be long winded in interviews too!
#interviews #careercoaching #STARmethod #Interviewtips #idealposition
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