Interview story bank worksheet

Fofo here. This worksheet builds the story bank from my post, The 3 stories every interview needs. Fill it in once, before the interview, and the interview becomes retrieval instead of invention.

Story 1: The win

- Situation (where and when, one sentence):

- Task (what was yours to do, one sentence):

- Action (what you actually did, two sentences - this part gets the most words):

- Result (what changed, one sentence, with a number if there is one):

- Questions it can answer: tell me about yourself / greatest strength / why should we hire you / what are you proud of

Story 2: The conflict

- Situation (where and when, one sentence):

- Task (what was yours to do, one sentence):

- Action (what you did to understand the other side, then say your piece):

- Result (where you landed, and the relationship after):

- Questions it can answer: a disagreement with a teammate / a time you pushed back / how you handle feedback

Story 3: The mistake

- Situation (where and when, one sentence):

- Task (what was yours to do, one sentence):

- Action (what you did when you realized, and what you changed after):

- Result (what it cost, and the specific thing you do differently now):

- Questions it can answer: greatest weakness / a failure / how you handle setbacks

Then, for each story:

- [ ] Said out loud once, in about ninety seconds.

- [ ] Contains one detail only I could tell.

- [ ] No sentence I would never say out loud.

What to do: Three stories, STAR shaped, ninety seconds each. Done is the goal; you can add more stories later, but these three cover most behavioral questions.