Interviewing in today’s job market takes confidence and skill. You are no longer able to get by with one word answers to pertinent interview questions. Hiring managers want to know more than just about your skills. They are asking behavioral based questions to find out about your experiences in certain situations.

Tell me about Yourself – Storytelling to Get Jobs and Propel Your Career by Katharine Hansen discusses the answer to the most commonly asked interview questions. If an interviewer asks you to “tell me about yourself”, how would you answer the question? Would you begin with blow by blow details on everything that happened since you first started working? Would you tell a story about your experiences in relation to the job you’re interviewing for?

Chapter 7 is entitled “Interviews that Tell a Story”. Behavioral based questions ask you to give an example of how you have responded in the past to certain situations. The book talks about using acronyms in order to put a story together. For example, if the interviewer asks you to describe the most challenging situation you faced at work, think CAR. CAR stands for challenge, action, result in storytelling. You want to be able to describe the situation’s challenge, the action that you took and what the results were.

When telling the story, you also want to use a basic story format. You want to describe the setting, build up to the climax and then describe the results and your role. You also want to talk about anything that you may have learned from the situation. This shows that you have an awareness of your work performance.

Tell me about Yourself also addresses how to answer the traditional “yes or no” questions. Yes or no questions present you with additional opportunities for you to tell a story. Even if the question is posed to give a yes or no response, the interviewer will be more impressed if you elaborate on the answer. For example, the answer to the question, “do you handle conflict well?” is traditionally requires a yes or no response. By describing a situation that illustrates how you handle conflict will demonstrate that you are able to do the job.

Tell me About Yourself also offers additional resources for job seekers to research additional information about networking, cover letters, resumes and portfolios. Often times, it’s difficult to come up with a story during the interview. The book also provides useful examples of story lines that you may have experienced.

Interviewing in today’s market is difficult. Hiring managers are looking for more than just your previous dates of employments and salary. Preparation is the key to having a successful interview. Tell me about yourself provides excellent insight and examples on how to respond to behavioral based questions, storytelling.