Your Story Bank

A great way to prepare for your interview is by maintaining a story bank, a collection of short, impactful examples from your personal and professional life. These stories can be used to answer a wide range of questions, both directly and indirectly.

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Interviewers often test you on qualities like leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, ownership, resilience, or communication. Having a story bank ensures that you can connect almost any question to a real experience that highlights one of these skills.

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Your stories don’t need to be entirely different for each question. In fact, you can reuse the same stories from your strengths and weaknesses section, as long as you add a different perspective or twist to showcase another skill or takeaway.

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For example, a story that you used to demonstrate ownership can also be framed to highlight teamwork, initiative, or conflict resolution, depending on what the interviewer asks.

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Use the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure every story clearly and logically. Make sure each one brings out a skill or trait that strengthens your candidature.

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As a rule of thumb, have five to six stories ready. These should collectively represent your professional impact, learning mindset, leadership potential, and personality.

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The goal is to have a strong, adaptable set of stories that you can confidently refer to throughout your interview, regardless of the question’s wording or context.

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Your Story Bank in STAR Format

Skill	*SITUATION(*Describe the context of the challenge or situation)	*TASK(*Explain the task or responsibility you were handling)	*ACTION(*Detail the specific actions you took to address the task)	*RESULTS(*Share the outcome of your actions and what you learned)
Leadership
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Adaptability
Conflict resolution
Time management
Communication
Decision-making
Stress management
Initiative
Leading By Example
Ownership