By this point in the course,
you have compiled an inventory of your accomplishments,
things that you've done or achieved successfully, and that you're proud of.
You've analyzed these to identify competencies that you can demonstrate.
In this lesson, you're going to learn how to market those competencies to an employer.
There's an old adage that facts tell, but stories sell.
This is true in the sales world,
and it certainly holds true in the interviewing world.
Yes, your resume may be impressive,
but a resume is only words.
And only you can bring it to life by capturing your audience, the Interviewer.
Now, you learned earlier that when interviewing in English,
modesty is not a virtue.
Be that as it may, it's still true that nobody likes a bragger.
English has quite a few words for people who like to brag.
Blowhard, braggart, boasters, swellhead,
line-shooter, egoist, vaunter, and those are just the nice words.
Nobody likes a boaster,
and nobody wants to be remembered as a boaster.
But modesty is not a virtue in an interview.
So how do you solve this apparent contradiction?
You take stock of your value and contributions,
the assets you bring to an organization through your performance.
You promote yourself without bragging about yourself.
And that's where stories come in.
If you've ever listened to a great story teller,
you know how connected you felt to the storyteller and to the story.
Think of the story that Apple tells.
Think different. And yes,
that is grammatically incorrect,
but that's part of Apple's strategy.
Apple is able to charge a premium for
its product and generate such demand that in many cases,
people line up to buy Apple's new product
because customers want to be part of the Apple story.
In a job search, storytelling works similarly.
Building stories around your accomplishments, your competencies,
and your qualities, helps sell the unique value that you offer.
Now, I don't want you take my word for it.
Instead, let's look at an evaluation form
used by the recruiting specialist at Johnson and Johnson.
Johnson and Johnson is an American multinational company producing medical devices,
pharmaceutical, and consumer packaged goods.
It's a manufacturer founded in 1886.
Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
and the company is listed among the Fortune 500.
The company has worked with competency based interviewing since the mid 1990s.
And the form we're going to look at is used when
interviewing candidates for managerial positions.
This form is used to assess a specific competency the company seeks in its managers.
Namely, that they be driven by results and performance.
You're looking here at the top of the form.
Notice the description of desired behaviors on the left.
Certain words may be new to you.
If someone is relentlessly focused,
they do not let their attention be distracted.
Under key examples of desired behavior,
flawless execution means without mistakes.
Direct reports are people who report directly to the manager.
Seamless execution is well coordinated,
and if it is compliant,
it doesn't break any rules.
Stretch goals are different from regular goals.
These are extremely ambitious goals that will take almost heroic efforts to achieve.
So the men's soccer team of South Korea winning the World Cup would be a stretch goal.
Some of the language here at the top of the form might appear in
a job description for a Johnson and Johnson leadership position.
Your task, if you are interested in this job,
would be to translate those desired behaviors into demonstrated competencies.
The interviewer would never accept a simple,
"Yes I am", to any of these requirements.
In fact, they would never ask a question like,
"Are you able to except stretch goals?".
Instead, here are some of the questions the interviewers are trained to ask.
These are all examples of competency based interview questions,
which are sometimes called behavioral interview questions.
You'll learn a great deal more about these kinds of questions and
the strategies for answering them in course number three.
But here, it should be clear that these are
not questions you can answer off the top of your head.
These are questions that you have to be prepared for.
So imagine a candidate is asked the third question,
"Provide an example of a project or team you
managed in which there were many obstacles to overcome.
What did you do to address those obstacles?"
The candidate begins with a bold claim,
"I have the unique ability to capture the hearts of the people I am leading.
Instill in them the importance and the part
they play in the overall success of our effort,
and to engage them in a way that creates within
them a desire to reach goals they never thought possible."
The candidate then proceeds to tell a story of
a success attained by the team here she led.
The story goes something like this.
"Probably the best example is," now this is the who,
what, when, where. The opening.
"The problem was", now here the candidate describes the first obstacle,
then moves on to,
"As the team leader,
I decided," now this is the first decision.
"To do this effectively,
I had to," now here she explains the first plan of action.
"Unfortunately, this meant that," now here the candidate describes the second obstacle.
"But by doing such and such,
I managed to," the second obstacle is overcome.
"And the result was," the story is complete with a happy ending.
Thus, the candidate presents this story,
the interviewer is taking notes at the bottom of the evaluation form.
The interviewer is looking for a story structure,
and the candidate provides
a compelling example to illustrate performance driven competency.
You might think, "Wow.
That is some high tech advanced interviewing stuff."
But in fact, the structure of this candidate used,
and Johnson and Johnson was looking for,
is not unique to interview nor is it new.
It's the classic three acts story structure
that Aristotle wrote about more than 2,000 years ago.
This is powerful stuff and it will take effort on
your part to prepare so that you have your stories on the tip of your tongue.
For each additional point or characteristic that you want to demonstrate,
you use the same format.
introducing a short story to demonstrate
competency in each area needed for the job you're interested in.
Now, in the next lesson,
you'll learn how to build a story,
follow the help you master the tough interview style used by the Fortune 500 companies.