Interview preparation
Build an interview story bank from real work
Choose six episodes from real work and write each as a card with the situation, your task, your actions, the result and its limits. Pick episodes you can discuss for several minutes without notes. Tag each card with the skill it supports so you can find a relevant example while preparing.
A text to start with
I am preparing for interviews for [target role]. Here are brief notes on [number] things I worked on: [short descriptions with dates, my role and who else was involved]. Help me choose six that show different skills. For each, draft a card with the situation, my task, what I personally did, the result and what I cannot claim. Ask me questions where my notes are thin.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Story card (make six copies)
Card number: [ ] Skill or question type this story answers: [ ] Approximate dates and my role: [ ] Situation: [ ] My task or responsibility: [ ] What I did myself, step by step: [ ] What others did, named by role: [ ] Result: [ ] Evidence I could point to: [ ] Limits, setbacks or what I would change: [ ] Details I must leave out for confidentiality: [ ] Follow-up question I expect: [ ] My answer to it: [ ]
Where story cards go wrong
Where a card says "we," distinguish your actions from those of the team. If you had a limited role, keep that limit clear or choose a different episode. Trace each result to something you can explain, such as a work record or feedback you actually received. Check whether the outcome changed after you left the project. Keep mixed results visible and remove confidential details you are not permitted to discuss.
Ask another agent to check the result
Read each story card and ask me which part I did myself and what evidence supports the result. Mark every sentence where my own contribution is unclear or the result has no support. Do not fill gaps with details I have not given you. List the questions I still need to answer.
Practice from the cards
Say each card aloud in about two minutes without reading it. Mark each stall or forgotten detail and fix the card. Then read the posting, pick the two or three skills it stresses most, and assign each a main story and a backup. Check that no single story carries too much of the load.