“Walk me through your resume.” “Tell me about a time when you took a small project and made something significant of it.” “Why is this position and company the right fit for you?”
When you think about it, you start to realize that interviewing is really about weaving an engaging and relevant narrative, one whose conclusion will be, hopefully, gainful employment. As such, many of the guidelines that underpin successfully telling a tale are identical to those involved in nailing an interview.
A quick google of “interviewing as storytelling” will reveal that this isn’t a revelation; people have caught on to the pattern and mused about it at length. One thing that is missing from the conversation, though, is specific advice for the VFA demographic—the (very) young professional interested in a career in entrepreneurship.
So how can you take some tried and true storytelling principles and adapt them to land your dream startup job? Simple. Set the premise, hook your audience, cast yourself as the protagonist, and then articulate the plot.
SET THE PREMISE
Having a concrete, specific premise that explains why you’re at that interview will help keep the entire exchange focused and effective, whether you express it directly or simply align your responses with it.
Now’s not the time to go with the Fantasy genre—keep it real. For individuals more advanced in their careers, the premise might be that they’re accomplished professionals who have the experience and proven record to show they’d come in and crush the role from the get-go. For you though, the premise is one of potential and fit.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve had six internships, are Phi Beta Kappa, and babysat the Dean’s kids on the weekends…you’re still an entry-level hire who’s executing the founder’s vision. So, if you’re on it, proceed to dismount your high horse. Then, try to distill your reason for applying to this role/company into two or three sentences that feel really real to you.
Let’s say you’re interviewing with Venture for America Fellow-founded company Castle. Your North Star—the lens through which you filter every question to keep your story cohesive and compelling—could be something like: “As someone whose entire family has a connection to the real estate industry, I’m pumped about the potential of Castle to make investing in real estate simple and easy for everyone while helping to revitalize Detroit. With my natural proclivity for relationship-building and some exposure to customer service and operations, I would be an effective, hardworking, and passionate Account Manager who would make it my mission to retain clients and give them an incredible experience.” Remember that while a larger company might be interested in pedigree and credentials, generally speaking, startups care much more about your attitude, aptitude, passion, and team fit.
HOOK YOUR AUDIENCE
Once you’ve set the premise for your interview, it’s time to knock your interviewer’s socks off.* Many studies, including a particularly notable one from 2010 out of Texas A&M, prove that impressions made within the first few minutes of an interview predict hiring outcomes, and that rapport building is absolutely crucial. So get chummy with your interviewer, and do it immediately. This means you can’t be the only character in this story; include your interviewer as part of the thread to build a collaborative narrative.
One way to connect right off the bat is to make it personal. I’m always impressed with and instantly warm to someone who mentions where I went to school, that I was a TFA corps member, or any other detail that shows he or she took the time to learn something about me. So, before you even step out the door on your way to interview, make sure you know with whom you’ll be speaking. If the hiring manager doesn’t tell you directly, ask! If he or she gives a vague answer or doesn’t respond, scour the Internet to learn as much as you can about the team. If it’s a startup, the team is likely to be small, and you can have at least a few factoids about each potential interviewer in your back pocket.
If the company is so early in its growth that there is no website or no team page on it, you may not be able to get the names of your interviewers in advance. In that case, you can always flip the script and go with something like “I tried everything I could think of to research with whom I’d be chatting today, but I came up empty. Would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?” Most people love talking about themselves, so being an active listener can be just as useful in engaging your interview as complimenting or leading the conversation.
CAST YOURSELF AS THE PROTAGONIST
Great. Now you’ve got your audience’s interviewer’s attention and paved the way for a positive and productive conversation. The next step is to convey who you are as a person and a potential colleague in a way that resonates. Think of favorite characters from beloved books and movies: Woody from Toy Story, Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, Aibileen from The Help. What do they have in common?
You root for them.
If you’ve done a good job of hooking your interviewer by establishing rapport at the outset, you’re well on your way. Focus on presenting yourself as confident (but not arrogant), humble (but not ingratiating), optimistic (but not naïve), professional (but not uptight—especially important in a startup environment where things are fast-paced and ambiguous and adaptability is key), excited (but not over-eager), and intelligent (but not esoteric). Above all though, it’s your honest-to-goodness personality, not a fabricated persona, that’s going to turn your interviewer into a fan who will be pulling for you to succeed the whole way through.
They’re imperfect.
You don’t have to be perfect to be likable. In fact, try to pretend you’re #flawless and you’ll get more haters than fans. Sure, you should absolutely highlight your strengths and talk about all the reasons (skills, experiences, attitudes, and mindsets) that you think will be an asset to the team. But be careful not to gloss over your weaknesses. Everyone has areas for improvement, and to downplay yours would be disingenuous. Have a few stories ready that speak to times when you didn’t meet expectations or fell flat on your face.** As long as you frame them as catalysts for growth and reflection, I’d encourage you to be forthright about a few small-to-medium mess-ups and flaws.
They develop over time.
A great way to inject a little humor into an interview is with some self-deprecation. Talk about what your two-years-ago self might have said or done in response to a particular question or situation versus what you’d say or do now, and you’ll simultaneously show that you’re self-aware, humble, and always looking to improve. Similarly, talk about how you want to grow personally and professionally alongside the company. Hiring is incredibly expensive, especially for startups and small outfits, so expressing a long-term interest in the company will be significant here.
ARTICULATE A PLOT
A premise to ground you: check. A hook to engage and excite: check. A relatable character (you!) to inspire the mind and soul: check. All the elements are in place, so it’s time to tell that story.
Inevitably, you’ll be asked some version of the question, “So why is this the right opportunity for you?” To prepare, you should practice a 1-minute version of your autobiography that outlines how you have progressively become a better fit for this role and company. This mini-autobiography should consist of “dots,” the anchors of your story that are the most relevant professional events that have molded you into the ideal candidate for this company and role; to connect the dots, you’ll incorporate some personal musings.
For example, to continue the Account Manager at Castle example, your dots may be:
- Helping out at your parents’ real estate company as a child
- Selling candy out of your locker in high school
- A finance internship after sophomore year of college
- A startup internship after junior year of college
And they may lead to a story like:
“When I was young, I loved helping out at my parents’ small real estate company; that they connected people with their new homes always struck me as such a meaningful job. I also admired their entrepreneurial spirit, and I tried to mimic that myself, selling candy out of my locker at an astronomical markup during my awkward high school years. I tried to shake the entrepreneurship thing in college because I wanted a cushy post-grad life, so I interned in finance after my sophomore year of college. I hated every minute of it, except when I was interfacing with a client. After returning to my passion with an internship at a software startup the next summer in a customer service and operations hybrid role, things kind of crystallized for me—I knew I wanted to join a small, early-stage company that’s solving a problem I care about in a customer facing role. Enter: Castle. This really seems like an ideal fit, and I’m certain that I would both contribute and gain a lot as an Account Manager on your team.”
This kind of storytelling is a little more sophisticated than the kind you employ to entertain your five-year-old cousin before bedtime, but the principles are the same. Really, it’s about getting clear in your own mind both what you have to gain from a job and what you would bring to the role (say it with me: “the premise!”). From there, relating to your interviewer (the hook), presenting your best, authentic self (you’re the hero of this story), articulating that narrative (the plot, duh)—that all should lead you, hopefully, to the resolution of this story: you skipping into the sunset with a great startup team and a paycheck on the way.
Happily ever after.
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*Figuratively, please, people. Please do not touch your interviewer, except for the staple handshake, which is vital.
**Again, figuratively. Save the slapstick humor for once you’re actually hired.
>> Check out Lauren’s first post on asking the right questions here
Interested in working with Lauren or the rest of the VFA Team? Check out our open positions here!