When I began this blog one of the areas on which I wanted to focus was job search. Specifically I wanted to blog my own job search. I had developed a methodology for targeting my resume and my job-related communications to the specific company and job I was seeking and felt it would be good insight to share. Blogging my job search was at the advice of Heather Hamilton, a Microsoft recruiter and blogger. At about the time I felt comfortable having enough material in place to go public with the blog I got my current job at ChannelAdvisor. I still feel I have a lot to share from my job seeking experiences, but an ongoing job search is not a part of my focus here at this time. I still read Heather’s blog and particularly enjoyed her latest post. Heather details some of the thinking from the staffing side on how candidate resumes can tell a story.

The last interviews I had before this job were, ironically, with Microsoft. The interesting thing about the all-day series of interviews I had in Redmond was how much fun I had. In fact it was the most fun I have ever had interviewing. The critical difference was that I approached it entirely as a conversation. Instead of answering open-ended questions with the standard interview responses I told stories. Over the years of thinking about this I have found anecdotes from each job I have had that demonstrate critical thinking, leadership, overcoming objections, working with teams, working independently, recovering from setbacks, and all the other standard “describe a time when you had to…” questions. I have turned those experiences into stories that not only address what the interviewer asked but also reveal who I really am. If you ask any of the six interviewers I met that day if they know anyone who is passionate about retail they will likely remember Scott Magoon leaning forward in his chair telling a story about his retail experiences and what he has learned and accomplished.

We remember conversations. We connect with mental images. All the standard interview advice and resume training focuses on parsing words and phrases to convey the right meaning. I think there is something seriously missing if we are not treating interviews as conversations and using stories to convey lasting impressions beyond the appropriate action verb and quantifiable result.