About 20 students attended yesterday’s talk at Remington College, most in their early 20s. Remington College prepares their students for specific jobs. In this case, the students were studying to become Medical Assistants. When polled, about half the students were wrapping up their current program and impressively, about 80% showed an interest in furthering their education to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse or Registered Nurse.

The 45-minute presentation covered a few of the Dozen Strategies to Conquer Sticky Interview Questions from an upcoming ebook. This was my first dry run of the material. The emphasis was to help the students understand why and how to create effective interview stories.

One of the ways hiring managers try to predict our future success in their organization is to judge us based on our past behavior. I shared a couple of different ways to construct stories to surface past behavior. Through simple career stories, behaviors can be framed it in a way that will help the hiring manager “see” you being successful in their department.

The strategies are pretty easy concept to understand. I got a lot of nods from the student. I then turned the tables and ask them what sort of stories they were going to tell to the hiring manager. Most heads shifted from looking at me to looking at their desk, but two students took a stab at sharing stories.

One started by mentioning how important compassion was in taking care of her patients. Initially, she talked about compassion and patient care in general terms. I ask her for a specific example – a person, which day, what happened, where did it happen? Enthusiastically, she shared a story about a lady she had taken care of and the trusting relationship she had built through the compassionate care she had provided. She told how her care had transcended the physical needs of her patient. Her story held the interest of the group and will certainly hold the interest of the hiring manager that hears it. It was her personalization and specificity that gave her story punch. Telling someone that you are a great caregiver is flat. Showing how you are a great caregiver has impact.

I don’t know how many others in the class were able to internalize the information like the two students who shared their stories, but I walked away knowing that at least a few will step into the interview prepared and excited to share their value in the marketplace.