AFSNews Careers Column December 1995

Careers

Folklorists are accustomed to working with storytellers. We interview them, record their narratives, and seek to understand the role of tradition in their lives and in their communities. We are used to listening, assuming the role of student while putting a narrator in the role of expert.

That approach, as critical as it is in field work, can be a disadvantage in the job search. In a job interview, we must reverse roles; we must become experts. We can do that by becoming storytellers ourselves.

Employers believe that past performance predicts future performance. Thus in a job interview, candidates who use behavior-based answers, giving examples of how they have successfully used their skills in the past, will have an advantage over their competition.

You can draw examples from a variety of situations; paid work is not the only source of experience. You have developed communication skills through field work; time management through balancing classes, jobs, and other responsibilities; and many other skills through involvement with the American Folklore Society and other organizations, through volunteer work, and in countless other settings.

Prepare stories of how you have applied particular skills in particular situations. Remember to use a traditional tripartite structure: your story needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. A job interview is not the place for stream-of-consciousness narratives. You should explain the problem or task that you faced, tell what you did, and describe the results of your efforts. Be sure to quantify the results whenever possible. For example, "Attendance at our monthly graduate student meetings had fallen to 3 or 4 people. I organized a lecture series featuring both members of the faculty and presentations by students of their work in progress. Attendance jumped to 25, and students are now competing for the opportunity to present their research."

As you assess your skills and prepare your stories, be sure to keep in mind the skills that will be needed in the job you are being interviewed for. Choose examples appropriate for your situation. You should also be prepared to talk about situations in which the results were not what you had planned.

To help you prepare for interviews now and in the future, consider keeping an achievement diary and a professional employment portfolio [see April 1995 AFSN, p. 2]. Keep a daily-- or at least weekly--record of projects, accomplishments, successes, and failures. Your field notes will also come in handy as a reminder of what you have done.

Using behavior-based examples to answer interview questions can help you sell your skills to an employer. Start practicing your storytelling!

If you have suggestions for future columns, please contact me at Career Services, Lucina Hall, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306 (tel: 765/285-2430; fax: 765/285-3757; e-mail: 00jpgoodwin@bsuvc.bsu.edu).

(This column is based on work by Larry S. Beck, associate director of Career Services at Ball State University.)