Think of your career to date as your \u2018story\u2019. Stories can transform the dry facts of your career into vivid accounts of challenges and triumphs. Use them in your CV and at interview to make a strong, emotional connection. Think of your career history as a chain of successes, skills and experiences to establish the value you bring.<\/p>\n
Pull together elements from your background that define your \u2018brand\u2019 \u2013 client-winner, design-guru, or detail-person, for example. Then each milestone, promotion and accomplishment you highlight should reinforce your message.<\/p>\n
Dense paragraphs of duties and responsibilities don\u2019t tell a hiring manager the most important story: how you made a difference in your previous roles and, crucially, what you\u2019ll be able to do in this role.<\/p>\n
Easy-to-state terms like \u2018problem-solver\u2019 or \u2018team-player\u2019 don\u2019t tell a convincing story, either.<\/p>\n
Storytelling in a job application has a similar psychological appeal to the stories we tell children to help them conquer demons and make sense of the world. Beyond their simple entertainment value, we relate to stories about characters facing and overcoming difficulties. Use mini-stories to add the details; prove your strengths with success stories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Briefly detail your remit or scope. For example: \u2018Hired to turn around an overrunning and overspending project in the construction information phase\u2019 sets the scene for detailed examples. Then, in concise paragraphs (ideally, two to three lines), highlight your achievements, quantifying where possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Context is important. How did your achievement buck a trend? Frame your stories in a challenge-action-result format. For example: \u2018Reversed the late delivery of contract information by managing the team\u2019s priorities, resulting in the return of information within the contracted timescales.\u2019<\/p>\n A stock of four or five stories illustrating your key strengths will make you memorable. Choose your stories for their relevance to the role you\u2019re applying for, and give credit to others (if it\u2019s due) to enhance your own credibility and likeability.<\/p>\n AJ Coach Matthew Turner is an architect and careers consultant who runs the Building on Architecture consultancy. Email him in confidence at hello@buildingonarchitecture.com<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Think of your career to date as your \u2018story\u2019. Stories can transform the dry facts of your career into vivid accounts of challenges and triumphs. Use them in your CV and at interview to make a strong, emotional connection. Think of your career history as a chain of successes, skills and experiences to establish the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81033,"featured_media":743934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[1232,1526],"yoast_head":"\n