What is the Number One Way to Nail a Job Interview

As a job seeker, it's important to market your skills and qualifications during a job interview. However, hiring managers often hear the same phrases and responses to interview questions. Dare to stand out at your next interview by using an innovative strategy to impress employers. By utilizing SOAR, a method of detailing your challenges by describing the situation, obstacles, actions and results, you can nail the interview and boost your chances of getting hired.

1. Tell a Story

Employers have likely reviewed your resume and cover letter prior to the job interview. Therefore, it isn't necessary to offer an overview of what they already know. Instead, use the SOAR method to provide examples that paint a clear picture of your experience and ability to solve problems. Stories are naturally entertaining. In addition, by telling a story in a captivating way, you are building rapport with the hiring manager and showcasing your personality and professionalism.

2. Focus on the Situation

During the job interview, begin each one of your stories with specific details about the situation. Only describe situations that are relevant to the position or industry so the employer can make a connection between your experience and the firm. When describing the situation, keep your tone positive, and keep the details brief so you can focus on the most important element, which is how you successfully managed the situation.

3. Detail the Obstacles

Lead the employer through the plot line of the story you are about to tell during the job interview. After detailing the situation, spend time focusing on how you overcame the obstacle and kept supervisors informed throughout the process. Detail not only your actions but also your thought process to show how you logically approach challenges.

4. Active the Action

While you don't need to spend much time pouring over how you approached the situation from every angle, provide the employer with information about how you reacted when faced with the challenge. Focus the story on how you worked as a team with others or the steps you took to solve a customer problem when building up to the end of your story.

5. Reiterate Results

Show that you are results-oriented by making sure your story has a happy ending. Make it clear that your actions brought about positive results that ultimately impacted the customer, the firm and your co-workers. Just as you market your abilities when answering interview questions, take this opportunity to market yourself further by explaining exactly how you resolved a problem that could have potentially caused more problems for the firm's brand, image and productivity.

Job candidates naturally launch into stories when answering questions during a job interview. However, when you craft your skills and experience into stories and describe results, you can easily nail the interview and show that you are the best candidate for the position.

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