By Bob McIntosh

I remember being in a Chinese restaurant in Vancouver, Canada, where my four brothers, mother, father, and I were waiting for our food to come. My father was telling us a story on our favorite topic—how our parents met—and even though the food was late in coming, we were all enthralled. I think we’d heard this story a bazillion times, but as teenagers and pre-teens, we couldn’t get enough of it. My father’s story began like it always did, after one of us gave him the directive, “tell us about how you and Mom met.”

In a way my father’s storytelling was similar to what job candidates must do at an interview when asked to tell a story. Often at behavioral interviews the employer will ask for specific events meant to extract particular skills from a job candidate.

This method of interviewing is effective for a number of obvious reasons:

1. It is an excellent way for employers to learn about the candidates’ work experience and relevant accomplishments, or lack of accomplishments.
2. Past performance is a true indicator of future performance.
3. Telling stories is not an easy thing to do, especially if you’re not prepared to tell them.

A successful story includes the following principles:

Meaning. What meaning does your story have? Here’s a big hint: it must be applicable to the job for which you’re applying. Asked how your strong communications skills made a difference at a specific moment or period of time, and you talk about a time you demonstrated strong written communication skills may not have meaning. » Read more: Job Search Tips: What’s Your Story?