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It’s Show and Tell all over Again
An interview is a lot like Show and Tell in grade school.
As a child you are excited to share how you got your hamster named Freddie back in the cage after the door was left open, or what happened when your little sister got sick at the dinner table the night before, or you proudly present the clay cup you made at summer camp.
You are showing and telling about things important to you. The same thing should happen during an interview.
Your portfolio of accomplishments, discussed in the last post, provides examples of your work. Instead of the clay cup you made at summer camp, you’re showing samples of your writing or designs you created.
And the interview is all about telling, right? Hiring managers want to know that you’ve done the work they need done, and that you did it well. Their questions focus on that. So tell them about your work successes.
Here’s a great model to use to describe your experiences: PAR.
Problem. What was the problem you faced? You don’t need to provide all the details, just share enough to provide a context for the action you took to fix/finish/improve/etc. an issue.
Action. What action did you take? Be specific about what you did and what you said. Use “I” when describing your action.
Result. What happened after you took action? What was better? How were things different?
No one else at the interview will be singing your praises. It’s up to you to tell them you can do the job they’re hiring for.
Show and tell.
