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At KS WELI’s EmpowerHer Hour on February 7th, 2024 Dr. Chela White, the Senior Executive Advisor of Indeed with a Ph.D in Human Resource Development came and spoke about storytelling. The catch is where the storytelling action occurred… in interviews!
The process of job interviews can be a tricky subject, especially when trying to tell your story. The purpose of an interview is for the company and the interviewee to gain a better insight into each party. The company's goal is to see if the interviewee is right for the position. The interviewees’ goal is to see if you fit into that role. If the interviewee believes they are right for that company’s job, that individual must demonstrate situations that exemplify the skills needed for the job. Dr. White said “to understand future behavior [you must] understand past behavior,” while reflecting upon how well the interviewee’s story can display a strong and equipped skill set. The story should have four main elements: setting, characters, conflict, and resolution. These four elements help compose a story with a structure to narrate a situation.
What is an efficient way of storytelling keeping it entertaining yet concise?
The STAR method is going to be your best friend throughout the process of building up your interview storytelling skills. The story chosen for your interview, apart from being relatable to the position you are interviewing, must be a compelling and clearly articulated story. One of the most common yet challenging interview questions is “so, tell me about yourself?” The story you choose should illustrate something that you are interested in and connect to the reason why you are interviewing for the role. The STAR method, great for behavioral based-questions, consists of, situation, task, action, and result. The situation gives the interviewer context, while the task narrows down your role in that story. The action is where the interviewee mentions the skills used to lead in that situation, to result in the outcome of the story.
During the panel, Dr. White opened the discussion up to the listeners to practice the question of “tell me about yourself” with each other. There was constructive feedback from the panelist and audience participation that led to the audience feeling empowered and able to take constructive criticism.
One of the questions from the audience was “how to approach bias” within an interview setting. Dr. White recommended asking more questions to gain a better understanding of the interviewer's perspective. This allows the interviewee to create a place of openness and engagement with the company.
About the Author:
Alejandra Acosta '26
Art History & Nutrition Major
Web Communications Committee
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