Job Interview Tips: Developing Interview Stories

By Michaela Partridge

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Michaela Partridge


I would like to introduce you to a technique that will improve your interview skills and get you ahead of the competition.

 
There are some interview questions that are predictable and you must know how you are going to answer these questions without spending precious interview time thinking for too long or waffling because you are not prepared.  If you are not prepared you will not get ahead of the competition – simple!   


Job Interview Tips - Preparation Is Key!


The key to success is to prepare a succinct and well versed response to questions such as:-

“What type of activities were you involved with in your last job that successfully used your x skills?”  Or

“Give me examples of the types of experiences you have had managing x”. 


Now, you might be wondering how you will fully prepare and remember all the important messages you want to convey. It isn’t so difficult if you follow a formula of developing stories that are easy to recall and can be articulated succinctly and quickly. The SOAR method has been tried and tested with positive results and I’m sure it will help you too.   


But before I describe how the SOAR method works you need to do some work to identify your skills/assets and your achievements.  Once you have identified them you will use them to develop achievement stories for interviews using the SOAR method.   If you would like help to identify your skills/assets and your achievements please contact me. 

 

Job Interview Tips: The SOAR Method


The SOAR method is excellent for developing achievement stories that showcase your skills.  In an interview, your SOAR answers provide specific information on the Situation, Obstacles, Actions and Results.  The SOAR acronym is easy to remember and will help you organise material in interview situations.  Taking the question for instance, “tell me about your achievements in your current post”, here is how it works:


Situation:
What was the situation?

Obstacles:
Describe the obstacles you faced.

Actions:
List the actions you took.

Results:
Describe the results you helped obtain and the benefits to your employer.


Using the SOAR method you can prepare 10 to 20 achievement stories based on commonly asked interview questions. Check out this link for sample interview questions and other useful information.  
 


If you have enjoyed reading this article, it is one of a series that we explore further in our FREE fortnightly webinars. If you would like to find out more you can register for any of our FREE 90 minute webinars here.

Please click my profile link above to contact me here on Social-Hire or to connect with me on my other social media accounts

Michaela Partridge
Careers Specialist
Work’s A Dream


 

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