Use Details to Strengthen Your Answer
Whether your interviewer is asking you questions about general knowledge, your opinions, or previous experience, use descriptive facts or quantitative numbers to supplement your answers. Though this may take a little bit of work on your part, take the time to prepare before each interview.
Adding numerical values or examples to your answer will allow the hiring manager to become aware of your big wins. For example:
Weak: “ I think I would bring the company business because of my previous experience.”
Strong: “I believe with the persistency and drive I have to succeed, I would be able to reach the goals set in this environment. In my previous role, I was able to produce a 30% increase in traffic on the company’s website using SEO optimization resulting with a 15% boost in online sales.”
Use “PAR” to Deliver Situational Stories
Stories and past experiences often leave a memorable impression. This simple anecdote ensures that your interviewer is clear of the results you have provided from your previous place of employment.
- Problem- explain the situation
- Action- what did you do to fix the problem?
- Result- what was the outcome?
Example: What challenges did you face in your previous position?
- Problem: When I worked at “X”, a local hospitality startup, my team and I were finding difficultly in agreeing who would work on which portion of the project. Universally, no one wanted to survey strangers on the street to collect data for the project due to the long hours.
- Action: We collectively teamed up and decided that since there was no one willing to get the data, that we could all team up in pairs to collect data at the same time. Each group needed to gather at least 50 survey inquires before the day was done.
- Result: We found that by teaming up and working together as a team, the day went on much faster and we had finished data gathering at a quicker rate. In the end, in addition to collecting the data needed, we got to know one another and walked away with a stronger relationship as a team.
Use Story Statements To Answer Simple Questions
Instead of simply running your interviewer through your experiences, tell a story to leave a lasting impression. Using story statements to describe your past professional experiences, gives a personal touch to your history all while allowing the hiring manager to get to know you as a person.
Instead of using statements such as “as you can see” or “I care about”, inspire your interviewer with a brief rundown of your history. Example:
Weak: “As you can see on my resume, I worked with a lot of art studios because I like seeing different types of creativity that can come from anywhere.”
Strong: “Growing up, my father and I would recreationally visit the art museum local to our area. During one particular month, we were introduced to Pablo Picasso’s “Blue Period”, where I found that his paintings were heavily influenced by the passing of his friend. After looking at his portraits with my newly obtained knowledge, I felt a deeper connection to his work. This has really inspired me to work with other artists and studios like I have previously done in the past 5 years.”