How A Few Good Stories Can Help You Ace Your Next Interview
Earlier this month, I was sitting across from a friend at a café. She was preparing to interview for a promotion; a big step up, with competition from both internal and external candidates. She had a stack of notes and a careful plan.
But as she started walking me through it, I noticed a problem. She was rattling off info about her years of experience, her range of responsibilities, the committees she’d served on. All solid qualifications, but it sounded more like she was reading a résumé aloud than telling a compelling story that would make her the obvious choice for the broader role.
The issue wasn’t that she lacked accomplishments. It was that she was sharing what she had done rather than what her interviewers needed to hear. She needed to adjust her story to make it more memorable, with engaging proof that she could succeed in this bigger role. Her story needed to enable the interviewer to ‘check the boxes’ in their head for what they are listening for.
So I stopped her. “Tell me,” I asked, “what are the top three or four things this new role requires?” That’s when her whole approach began to shift. Instead of piling on details, she started connecting her experiences to the specific criteria, and we shaped those into short, memorable stories.
Suddenly, her preparation wasn’t just about what she’d done, it was about showing her interviewers exactly why she was the right person for what they needed next.
Why your stories matter more than your resume
Most candidates assume their resume speaks for itself. But interviews aren’t about rattling off your achievements, they’re about helping interviewers see how you reduce their risk in making you their hire.
Every interviewer is subconsciously running through a mental checklist: Can you lead at this level? Can you deliver outcomes that matter? Will you fit into the culture? Each time you tell a story that helps them “check the boxes,” you build confidence that you’re the right person.
Research backs this up: structured interviews — where answers are compared against consistent criteria — are far more predictive of job success than casual conversations.
And the good news is: You don’t need dozens of stories. You need a few really good ones, told in a way that makes it easy for interviewers to remember you and envision you in the role.
How to build your story bank
When I worked with my friend, I asked her to create a “story bank” built around the role’s must-have criteria. It’s simple, but powerful:
Identify the role’s top 3–4 criteria. If they’re not obvious, read between the lines of the job description or company strategy.
Find two examples for each criterion. Think of times you delivered results that show you can do what the new role requires.
Shape each into a 60–90 second STAR story. Use the Situation–Task–Action–Result format to keep you focused and scorable.
Practice until it feels natural. Not memorized, but crisp and confident.
My friend quickly realized that just two stories per criterion gave her more than enough material. Instead of trying to remember everything she’d ever done, she had a focused set of examples she could adapt on the spot.
How to reframe your reputation
Internal candidates, especially, face a unique hurdle: people already think they know you. That can be a blessing and a curse.
My friend had been branded by her internal colleagues as a “dependable operator” — someone you could always count on. Valuable, yes, but not the image of a bold, enterprise-level leader. To change that perception, she needed to deliberately share stories that demonstrated her ability to be hard driving in order to get results, and to engage her teams in new strategies.
Instead of defaulting to the examples of what her colleagues already knew about her, she leaned into stories about influencing across silos and driving change through uncertainty. That helped people imagine her in a bigger, more complex role.
This isn’t just an interview strategy, it’s a display of authenticity. When you reveal more of who you really are, you allow others to see you more clearly.
How to make your delivery memorable
Even great stories can fall flat if they’re hard to follow. The fix? Keep it simple and memorable:
Lead with the headline. Start with the result: “We cut churn by three points in six months.”
Quantify results. Numbers stick in people’s minds.
Name the competency. Signal what you’re demonstrating: “This is an example of leading through ambiguity.”
End with a takeaway. Tie it back to how you’d apply the lesson in the new role.
I encouraged my friend to record herself answering practice questions. After the first take, she asked herself, “If someone only remembered one thing from this answer, what would I want that to be?” Then she did another take, leading with that headline. The second version was tighter, sharper, and far more persuasive. She was ready to roll.
Studies show that structured and measurable answers are easier for interviewers to recall. You can’t control the interview process, but you can make it easier for the interviewer to remember you in the best light.
The ripple effect of great storytelling
When my friend walked into her interview, she wasn’t just checking off a list of accomplishments, she was telling her story to paint a picture of how she would show up in the broader role - and that changed the way her interviewers saw her.
That’s the real magic of preparing stories. You’re not just proving that you have succeeded in the job you’re already in; you’re helping people picture you in the next role that you want.
A few well-chosen stories, delivered with clarity and authenticity, can shift perceptions, engender confidence, and seal the deal.