MODERN ENTREPRENEUR the one you are interviewing for . Like stories are useful if you are just starting your career , changing careers or industries or returning to work from a long absence such as paternity / maternity leave or a career break .
Lateral story
4 A personal story that you can use to demonstrate a specific value you have . This story will show how you align with the organisation ’ s values and how you will fit in with their culture . Lateral stories are perhaps the most underused stories in job interviews but can be your most powerful .
Here is an example of a lateral story a senior manager used to demonstrate how she could handle risk .
Ten years ago , I was scuba diving o the coast of Mexico . It was perfect weather and brilliant conditions . However , five minutes after descending , I got caught in a rip . It dragged me for kilometres and split me up from my dive group . I was getting banged against rocks and thrown around . My heart was pumping , and I was running out of air .
I emerged from the rip after what seemed like hours and eventually found one of my dive group underwater . With limited air , we surfaced relatively quickly but safely . I remember feeling my head break the surface of the water and looking around to find the boat , but the boat wasn ’ t there and there was no sign of land . We were alone .
I had to take control of the situation before we started panicking , so I dropped my weight belt and took off my tank to make myself lighter and conserve energy . I filled my buoyancy vest to the max to get my head high above the water and the waves that were crashing down on us , and then I tied myself to my dive buddy .
Two hours later , the boat eventually found us and we were rescued .
I am sharing this with you because I think it captures the essence of how I approach being a leader . I am able to make tough and quick decisions in a crisis , and I have resilience . Even though my experience in Mexico was unbelievably scary at the time , a part of it was exhilarating . I know in this role we will encounter rips and rough seas , and I know I am up for it .
You do not need an identical number of stories for each type . You may find you ’ ll be heavy in one type of story and light in another . For example , if you ’ re applying for a similar job , you may have a lot of literal stories and perhaps only one or two like stories . Perhaps you ’ re returning to work after an extended
time , or this is your first job , which means you will have a lot of like stories and minimal literal stories , if any at all .
Going into a job interview with the necessary skills , experience and qualifications is crucial , however using a variety of personal and work related stories will help you blitz that next job interview .
Gabrielle Dolan is the best selling author of Ignite : Real leadership , real talk , real results . Her latest book Storytelling for Job Interviews is available now via online stores . Gabrielle is considered a global expert in Business Storytelling , with popular online training programs for storytelling in business and storytelling for job interviews . To find out more visit www . gabrielledolan . com
October 2016 ModernBusiness 27