UNIT 2: TELLING STORIES UNLaM- DPU- INGLÉS 3

UNIT TWO: TELLING STORIES

SECTION I: ANECDOTES IN THE JOB INTERVIEW

Work with your partner and discuss:

1. Why are applicants sometimes asked about problems in their previous jobs, such as arguments
with mates or bosses, last-minute problems, etc?
2. What personality traits/skills do those anecdotes show?
3. Read the following two anecdotes from a job interview and think what characteristic they reflect
about the applicants:
a. “I didn’t get on well with my boss. Therefore, I never contradicted him so that I didn’t have
to listen to him complaining, but sometimes I knew that his idea wouldn’t work”.
b. “The deadline was near and the prototype was not working. We didn’t have any money left
for more materials. Eventually, I found a way to make it work. Although it was not a
conventional solution, it worked”.
4. Can you think of an anecdote to show that you are… (choose from the following traits:
persevering, dependable, good at meeting deadlines, open minded.

Three stories you must prepare before the job

interview
BY WORKOPOLIS
https://careers.workopolis.com/advice/three-stories-you-must-prepare-before-the-job-
interview/
In any job interview, you will have to answer behavioural questions.
What are behavioural questions? They’re questions that ask you to describe what you have
done – your behaviour – in a variety of situations. These help employers to determine not only
whether you will be capable of doing the job but what sort of person you are, whether they will
enjoy working with you, and how well you will work with the rest of their team.

There are dozens of examples of behavioural questions. You can’t prepare answers for all of
them. But if you prepare just three stories to take with you to any interview, you can cover a
lot of ground. It’s imperative that you do this, because these questions will be asked.
Here are the three stories you should prepare and some samples of the questions to which
you might use them as answers:

A time when you solved a problem: Think of a time when you had to demonstrate your
problem-solving skills by getting creative, or using logic. Maybe you persevered, solved a
mystery, and/or completed a project without the proper resources. Find a story that

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illustrates your drive, initiative, creativity, motivation, and, of course, problem solving skills.
Sample questions:
“Describe a situation in which you had to get creative to solve a problem.”
“Describe a time when you overcame a large obstacle to complete a project.”

A time when you had to deal with conflict: Think of an instance when a customer or prospect
was belligerent or extremely difficult or when you had to deal with warring factions among
team members. Describe how you resolved the problem
Sample questions:
“Tell me about a time when you were able to diffuse a situation.”
“Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult situation."

A time when you totally knocked that ball out of the park: What are your biggest career
accomplishments? What are you most proud of? Talk about a time when you did a super
amazing job. Describe how you went above and beyond to do it, or how the success came
naturally. You can also talk about the challenges you faced or the curveballs that were
thrown your way. Find the story that really illustrates how awesome you are.
Sample questions:
“Tell me about a time you set a goal and either met or exceeded that goal.”
“Describe a project you created and saw through to fruition.”

Glossary
To diffuse: to make a bad feeling or situation less strong or serious
Fruition: into action, completed

1. WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE FOLLOWING WORDS/PHRASES? Choose the correct option.

Cover a lot of ground: travel a long distance/review a lot of information briefly

Belligerent : hostile/engaged in a war

Warring factions: antagonist groups / combating parties

Knock the ball out of the park: score a goal / do something really remarkable

Go above and beyond to do it: climb to the top/ exceed your usual duty

Curveballs: unexpected occurrence that causes uncertainty/ actions that disappoint you.

2. CLASSIFY THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY ARE ASKING ABOUT: solving a
problem, dealing with a conflict or knocking “a ball out of the park”.

a. “Tell me about a time when you were able to persuade someone to change their mind”.
b. “Tell me about your greatest accomplishment”.
c. “Have you ever had a remarkable success at work?”
d. “Are you resourceful? If so, what can you tell us about it?”
e. “Sometimes, it is kind of difficult to deal with certain people, isn’t it? Has this ever happened to you?”
f. “Describe a time when you worked closely with someone who had very different ideas from you.”

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3. Read these stories from three applicants and decide what questions from the text they are answering:
What is your greatest career accomplishment?
Describe a time when you worked closely with someone who had very different ideas from you.
Describe a situation in which you had to get creative to solve a problem.
A: Bethany Williamson

“During my first year working as a project manager at Slate Construction, I was working with two of my colleagues to
meet a deadline on a proposal we were drafting. They could not agree with each other on how to approach the
proposal and the deadline was near. It was obvious we needed to work better as a team, so I invited them both to
lunch. Having lunch together and hearing each other’s plans gave them the opportunity to see that they both had
similar visions of the big picture but disagreed about smaller details. After hearing both of their plans, we made a single
list using the best and most efficient ideas that we all agreed on. In the end, we drafted one solid proposal and we were
congratulated on by our boss and our happy client.”

B: Brandy Mackenna

“My stepfather was a role model and a strong influence in my life. He taught me about character; he
taught me the tough lessons in life that some people learn too late or not at all. In one instance, he
taught me the value of standing up for yourself. When the kids in his family (the "stepfamily") failed
to accept me, he advised me that I would have to take the initiative to learn how to handle situations
C: Scott Nguyen
in which I am passively excluded — that I would have to do something that could get their attention. I
soon learned to gather a couple of people and start up a card game or another fun activity to direct
the focus on the activity instead of clashing personalities. I later realized that through this process, I
had learned creative techniques to influence group dynamics.”
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In my previous job in a retail company, sales had been going down for a while. I convinced my boss
to adopt a perks program to increase sales-teams productivity. I proposed the idea to him, and he
liked it and adopted it. The end result was an 11% increase in sales. As a result of my contribution, I
was promoted and I got everyone’s respect. I had never felt so proud of myself before.”

Scott Nguyen

Writing: tips to write an anecdote

1. Read the previous stories again. Can you make a list with some common elements in them?

Example
• The three stories include the time when they happened.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Now read the following tips to write an anecdote and compare them with your answers

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UNIT 2: TELLING STORIES UNLaM- DPU- INGLÉS 3

GRAMMAR STOP

Telling anecdotes

Look at these examples from the first story:

During my first year as project manager, I was working with two colleagues to meet a deadline on a proposal
we were drafting.

PAST CONTINUOUS

SUBJECT + WAS(N’T) / WERE(N’T) + VERB (ING)

It is used to indicate that two actions in the past happened at the same time:

Now, pay attention to what the second girl says:

I later realized that through this process, I had learned creative techniques to influence group dynamics.

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