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Storytelling In Job Interviews

Storytelling in job interviews is one of the best ways to stand out from the crown in job interviews because you make some else the hero! Learn how we break down this in 3 easy steps.

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Uvaro

Aug 23, 2022

Hi there, today, we're going to talk about storytelling in job interviews, and this is one of my favorite topics! We're going to cover three big things today.

Number one, the hero's journey and amazing storytelling framework that you can use today. Number two, we'll talk about how this applies to tech sales. So while you're out there talking to prospective customers, how you can leverage this technique. And then number three, stay all the way to the end for this one. We're going to talk about how this applies to your interview process because there's a big surprise there that people often don't think about.

If you're a Uvaro student or a grad, you can practice these techniques in class with your career advisor or even just with your classmates because this is such a powerful technique.

The Hero's Journey (THJ)

So, Hero's Journey, we talk about this in class, but for those who aren't in the program, here's a crash course on it. You can look this up online. There's a ton of resources about it that will help with storytelling in job interviews.

But the basic idea is every major hero's journey, whether you're talking about Star Wars, you're talking about Lord of the Rings, follows this journey. And there's a couple of key elements.

First, there's the call to adventure. Number two, there's that adviser, whether it's a wizard or a Jedi master, someone who's providing you with some of that advice, there's that journey, the trials and tribulations, the big conflict, the eventual return. And that cycle goes around and around, so you can repeat it and go on your journey.

Now, the reason that this framework is so powerful is that so many stories follow it. So as you're hearing and as you're telling these stories, they're super familiar. So we think about that journey. Whenever you're telling a story, it's going to help you articulate it in a concise, tight manner.

Applying THJ to tech sales

Now, how does this apply to tech sales? The way this matter is when you're telling your own customer stories, very often you'll be speaking to a prospect, and they'll ask you questions like, hey, tell me about someone who has overcome these challenges just like me.

Or tell me about another company that you helped out. The big mistake sales reps make is they often make themselves or their product the hero. The reality is, the customer is the hero. Our job as sales professionals is to be that advisor.

So, no, it's not that we overcame some big challenge for the customers. It's that the customer had a call to adventure, a call to change. Maybe they wanted to change the way they run their HR systems or the way they run their marketing. They give a bit of advice.

In this case, you're Yoda, you're the wizard. You're providing them with some insights, maybe a tool, a way to help them out. They've got to go through the implementation, the change. They've got to overcome it. And eventually, they get to a new normal where life, the business processes are better.

So super important, when you think about the hero's journey, the customer is the hero. You're just the sage, the wizard, the one offering a bit of advice.

Applying THJ to job interviews

But what does this mean when you're interviewing? How does storytelling in job interviews work?

Now, this is the killer tip. Very often, you're going to get asked questions like tell me about a time you overcame a challenge. Tell me about something that you solved. Any of these questions make it so easy to put yourself in the position of the hero. But if you think about putting the company, their customer or the hiring manager in the role of the hero, it's going to make a worldly difference.

Let's pick a simple example. Tell us about a time when you had to overcome a difficult sales quota. You're behind, and you need to make up that difference. It's really easy to position yourself as the hero accomplishing that. But if you take a moment to pause and think about what does this mean to the hiring manager, what does this mean to the company, that's we'll have a much more compelling story.

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You could speak about how the company was raising targets because they wanted to grow more. That was a challenge for you. But you were able to provide some new leads, some new deals. You helped get them over the line. But what it meant is the company can grow further and have a bigger impact on their next quarter or framing in the minds of the customers.

Tell me a time when you overcame a challenge you could talk about a really difficult customer you were working with. But if you frame it up as yourself as the hero, you're missing the bigger impact. If you told that story instead about a customer who was struggling with a challenge or providing with some advice, they couldn't quite figure out how to make it work, and you had to keep coaching them. But eventually, they had a breakthrough. They realized those benefits. They had great success.

The company generated revenues focusing on that higher-order benefit to the customer, the company, the hiring manager helps frame up your hiring, not just in terms of what it is for you as the employee, but in terms of what's in it for them as a company, because ultimately they want to be that hero. They want to have that success. And when they hear those words coming from you about how your past customers, your past companies have had success, that frames you up for more success with them.


Learn more with Uvaro

If you have any other suggestions or thoughts or ideas on how you can leverage the hero's journey, how you can use customer stories and storytelling in your interview or your sales process, we'd love to hear, toss some in the comments below.

Want to learn more? Apply for any of our available courses and find yourself excelling in your career.

And as always, please be sure to hit like, hit subscribe that always helps out. In the meantime, good luck storytelling in job interviews, and we'll chat soon. Happy selling!

TAGS
Tech Sales
Tech Jobs
Sales Interviews
Career Coaching

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