When you’re in a technical job interview, storytelling is the key to your success – and that success rides on numbers. Talking about data, statistics and science is crucial to explaining the scope of your career impact. You know that ChatGPT can help you with storytelling prompts for the job interview. But in the middle of the career conversation, you have to internalize storytelling strategies if you want to stand out in a difficult job market. So how do you use narrative in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) job interview – and bring crucial statistics to life?
As a coach to thousands of engineers, scientists, technology experts and entrepreneurs, I’ve seen how a shift in narrative can create powerful career results – even when the numbers and data stay the same. I’ve made a career out of finding the story for my clients, as a ghostwriter on eight books, and here’s what I’ve discovered: the stories you tell will teach people how to treat you, how to pay you, how to follow your ideas and how to hire you. The math looks like this: storytelling + science + statistics = success.
In my experience, the numbers never speak for themselves. That’s why you have to. It’s no surprise that STEM interviews always remind me of a story. The story centers on a number. The number is 20%.
Let’s light this candle.
Secrets of the Technical Job Interview
Imagine that there’s a 20% chance of rain in Houston today. Would you say that is high, or low? (It’s low – Houston can be kinda rainy).
Now, consider the same number: 20%. You have a 20% chance of a fatal heart attack today. Low or high?
Yikes, that’s high! [Writer puts down donut, reconsiders life choices]. What changed? The number is still the same.
Consider how numbers are always points in a narrative. That’s true, but only 100% of the time. Talking about technology, like AI, ChatGPT, or hardware platforms, and those stories always exists inside a context. Sharing a story about science? Consider what led you to test your hypothesis, explore your research, or rethink your preconceptions. Set the stage for the data you wish to share.
When you hear about a 20% chance of a fatal heart attack, does your experience point you towards a more useful course of action? The number isn’t compelling – the context is! Remember context conquers content, when storytelling in the job interview. The story around the numbers is what makes the data relevant. Meaningful. Powerful. Context establishes credibility inside your communication. How are you setting up the story around the data?
Improving Your Storytelling in the Job Interview
Imagine a box filled with one dozen delicious donuts, right there on your desktop. Can you smell that sugary goodness? Are you tempted to try one? First, let’s talk about some statistics: according to Healthline, the average donut has 15 grams of sugar and 31 grams of carbs. They fall into the category of “ultra-high processed foods”. The glycemic index for donuts is over 70 – meaning there’s a big chance that eating those donuts will give you a ferocious sugar crash.
If 73% of respondents report a severe sugar crash within one hour of devouring two donuts, what happens when you read that stat? Do you say, “Well, that’s nice, but I wasn’t in that survey” …and take a bite? What would you say to someone who was looking to make different life choices around processed foods? Would you scold them with statistics – or encourage them to remember what matters? Your answer might inform the way that you show up in the job interview.
They say that discipline is remembering what you want. Chew on that for a second.
How can you use storytelling to remind the interviewer know that you are the best choice for the job?
If you wish to inspire healthy behavior, it might be useful to add this powerful and personal phrase, when sharing data, numbers and statistics: how does that match up with your experience? Personal decisions are, well, personal. Have you ever experienced a sugar rush, or indigestion, after eating a carmel-coated bearclaw donut? Whether we’re talking about donuts or hiring you for the job: that hiring manager is evaluating your data from their own point of view. Do you know what it is?
Turning the Job Interview Into a Conversation
Storytelling in the job interview can create a dialogue. Sharing data, numbers and statistics about your experience in finance, science, engineering or math can help to provide scope. But the interview becomes a dialogue when you introduce curiosity into your storytelling. How does that match up with your experience is a version of how does my experience match up with your ideas for the role? These two questions can be the job interview equivalent of a GPS. Because these questions let you know where you stand in relation to the recruiter or hiring manager. Are you getting closer to the job you want?
How Storytelling Can Help When Talking Tech & Science
In STEM careers, the job interview is a word problem. And just like any word problem, the way you set it up is what establishes your chances of success. You have to provide a context for your content, via storytelling. How are you injecting the human element into your engineering career, or your knowledge of science, medicine, or electrical engineering, so that soft skills elevate hard data? What decisions have you made, as a result of the data you discovered? What outcomes have you created in the past – and how can statistics and numbers be used to point to your future? Beyond your experience, the interviewer really wants to know one thing in the STEM interview: how can you help them to solve problems? For STEM careers, don’t let the facts speak for themselves. Storytelling is how you can set up your next opportunity, and your career success, inside the job interview.