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Tell Me About Yourself Tips, with Kerri Twigg

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Every interview typically includes the classic opening line: “Tell me about yourself.” Your answer to this introductory question can be a game changer. In this episode of the Find Your Dream Job podcast, career coach and job search strategist Kerri Twigg shares why your response needs to be prepared in advance to ensure that it’s conversational, compelling, and strategic.

About Our Guest: Kerri Twigg

Kerri Twigg is a Certified Resume Strategist with more than 15 years experience as a consultant and workshop facilitator. She holds an M.Ed in Humane Education and works with clients in industries that don’t harm people, animals or the environment.

Resources in this Episode:

Visit Kerri’s website: https://www.career-stories.com/

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 153:

‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Tips, with Kerri Twigg

Airdate: August 22, 2018

Mac Prichard:

Hi, this is Mac of Mac’s List. Find Your Dream Job is presented by Mac’s List, an online community where you can find free resources for your job search, plus online courses and books that help you advance your career. My latest book is called Land Your Dream Job Anywhere. It’s a reference guide for your career that covers all aspects of the job search, including expert advice in every chapter. You can get the first chapter for free by visiting macslist.org/anywhere.

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life. I’m Mac Prichard, your host and publisher of Mac’s List. I’m joined by my co-hosts, Leila O’Hara and Jessica Black, from the Mac’s List team.

This week we’re talking about tips for answering that popular job interview question, “Tell me about yourself”.

Often the first question you get in a job interview is this: “Tell me about yourself.” How you answer can make a huge difference. Our guest expert this week is Kerri Twigg. She says your response should be conversational, enjoyable, and above all, strategic. You should practice your answer ahead of time. Kerri and I talk later in the show.

For most of us, it’s hard to ask others for help. Especially during a job search. We may think our request will annoy others or people will think less of us. Often, we apologize when we do ask. Leila has found an article that says we grossly underestimate how much others want to help us. The author found that there is a right way and a wrong way to approach others. Leila tells us more in a moment.

You’re a recent college graduate with no industry or company experience. Should you apply for jobs that require two, five or even more years of experience? That’s our question of the week. It comes listener Shiva Acharya in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jessica shares her advice shortly.

As always, let’s check in with the Mac’s List team.

Leila, welcome back. You had some time off over the holiday weekend.

Leila O’Hara:

I did. It was really great to get away from the office and just relax with my family. It was a really good time.

Mac Prichard:

Well, we missed you last week but we’re glad you had a nice break.

Leila O’Hara:

Thanks.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah.

Well, you’re out there, and I know you didn’t do this when you were on vacation. You weren’t looking around the nooks and crannies of the internet?

Leila O’Hara:

No, not while I was out of the office. I’m back at it this week.

Mac Prichard:

Full disclosure. You actually did the research before you went on vacation.

Leila O’Hara:

Yes, I did. I planned ahead.

Mac Prichard:

Good for you. What have you found for our listeners this week?

Leila O’Hara:

We all need help with our job search but many of us hate asking for help or we are reluctant to ask questions when we don’t understand something. Maybe you think you have a really silly question or you just don’t want to bother somebody and take time away from their busy schedule to help you.

The Verge interviewed social psychologist Heidi Grant about why we wildly underestimate how willing and likely people are to help us. Heidi is the author of “Reinforcements: How To Get People to Help You,” and this interview is full of insights into why asking for help is something you should rely on, and not be ashamed of.

Heidi says that asking for help: “[is a] big untapped resource.” Many of us are afraid or ashamed to ask for help because we think people will think less of us. Heidi counters this misconception and says that, “Evidence suggests that people like us more for asking for help. Basically, the idea is: ‘If I help you, I want to like you’. We want to be consistent in what we do, so we believe that if I helped someone, I must like them.”

Heidi also points out that the common question, “Can you do me a favor?” is not the right way to ask for help because it can easily seem manipulative or controlling. This question can lead to someone committing to help you before they know what you’re asking for. By then, you’ve made them feel obligated because they already promised to do you a favor.

Another misstep that people take is over-apologizing when they ask for help. This can make the person lending aid feel negatively and it can rob them of their ability to enjoy helping if you’re so entirely focused on your own guilt and shame about asking for help.

Asking for help can sometimes make you feel vulnerable, especially when you’re trying something new or if you feel like you haven’t got a clue what to do next. But it’s important to not be afraid or ashamed to ask for help, especially when you’ve hit a wall, either in your job search or in any challenge you face. Getting help from a colleague, friend or mentor can unlock new solutions, boost your confidence, and give you more direction in your job search.

Jessica Black:

I think that’s a really important interview to share. I think she shares a lot of really important tips about going through it. It is something that I think people struggle with a lot, asking for help. That vulnerability that you mentioned is something that I think everyone struggles with in general, in life, but especially in the job search because you don’t want to let people know that you’re struggling. I think there’s this common need to feel secure in everything that you’re doing. It’s a human need, completely, but asking for help… We hear it time and again in our bonus episodes where we speak to folks in our community who have landed successful jobs and we have invited them back to let us know about their successful job search experience. Often, after they’ve been in their career for about a year and they tell us time and again that being vulnerable and asking for help and reaching out to people is really what helps them be successful in that job search. It’s really important to do that.

Leila O’Hara:

Definitely.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, it’s an excellent point and I know this is something, as you say Jessica, that people struggle with. I think all of us around the table have at different points in our career because we think that people are going to say no, so we don’t ask. You are, as you say, making yourself vulnerable and we don’t understand that people are wired to want to help others. You just have to make it easy for them to say yes.

I especially liked the point in this story, Leila, about how people should avoid apologizing.

Leila O’Hara:

Yeah.

Mac Prichard:

I think we’ve all done that. We’ve said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be trouble:, but again, that gets back to the author’s point that people do want help us.

Leila O’Hara:

Yeah, it’s all about just being vulnerable and just asking because people will most of the time be really glad to help.

Jessica Black:

One last thing, I really liked her point about not saying, “Can I ask you a favor?” Asking for help, but phrasing it in a way that can be very two-sided and reciprocal.

Leila O’Hara:

Definitely.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, we’ve talked about how you get so much back when you give without expecting anything in return. It’s true.

Jessica Black:

Absolutely.

Mac Prichard:

Well, excellent article and thanks for finding that, Leila. If you’ve got a suggestion for Leila, please write her; we’d love to share your idea on the show. Her email address is info@macslist.org.

Now let’s turn to you, our listeners, and Jessica Black is here to answer one of your questions. I think that you were on vacation as well last week?

Jessica Black:

I was, yeah. I took the holiday week off, yes.

Mac Prichard:

Good for you. I do remember that.

Jessica Black:

Of course.

Mac Prichard:

We do work together.

Jessica Black:

That’s right, it feels so long ago already even though it was just a few days ago.

Mac Prichard:

I know. So, when you were digging around in the mail bag before your stay-vacation, what did you discover for our listeners?

Jessica Black:

Yeah, I found a question from Shiva Acharya, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he wrote with the question about being a recent college graduate. He writes,

“Being a recent college graduate, with no prior industry or company experience, it is quite frustrating when jobs require 2-5 or more years of job experiences. Is it still worth it to apply for such jobs or shall I completely ignore these while searching for jobs online? Will employers completely cut out recent graduates for these kinds of jobs or is there still a chance to be considered by them?”

I really like this question because it can feel really frustrating and disheartening. I remember being in a position as well, of feeling like, “I can’t get experience until I get hired, but they are asking for years of experience from the get-go, so what do I do?” I want to let Shiva know to not let this deter you.

Employers often use job descriptions as a “wish list” and they don’t expect their next hire to have *ALL* the “requirements” that they list. Again, it’s sort of a wish list so they’re going to write down everything that they wish they could have in their next candidate. I do encourage anyone, if you feel like this is the perfect position for you, still apply for it and you just never know.

You do still need to make the case for why you are the best fit. Make sure that you are identifying in your resume and application how your previous experiences have shaped you into this ideal candidate for the role that you’re applying for. List all of the things you’ve done both in your college experience, jobs before college, internships, volunteer experiences. Whatever it is that is relatable to this position that you can list. You’ve gained these skills and also showing that you are willing and able to learn.  Don’t get too tied to the actual *YEARS*  of experience because, sometimes, you might get a break. Some employers may still cut folks out of that and that’s something you can’t get around but you do need to…I would encourage anyone to still try and still apply for things. Making sure to list the ways that you are capable of doing this position, even if you don’t have the years of experience.

The worst that can happen is that you don’t get the job but the best that can happen is that you do 🙂 You might as well go for it. What else would you guys say?

Leila O’Hara:

Yeah, I would say that I’ve definitely been in that same boat, too, where you’re trying to find a job but you don’t necessarily have the experience under your belt yet. I think what I would suggest to Shiva is just think about all the different threads through your past experiences that you could showcase in the interview. Even if you don’t have five years of experience working in the industry, maybe you have two or three internships where you worked really closely with people in the industry and you learned a lot from those experiences. Maybe you’ve done some volunteering or maybe you’ve done some special side projects that would be really valuable to showcase. I think it’s hard because you see that number and you automatically think, “Well, I’m not qualified for this”, but if you look at the full realm of your experience, there might be some great things to highlight.

Mac Prichard:

I think internships are the key here because you can say, honestly, “I’ve worked with this company”, or “That organization”, and particularly today, many college students have two, or three, or even four internships. Depending on the math, that can add up to one or two years of experience. You both made this point, highlight those internships, and Leila, you made this even more emphatically, think about the outside experience you might have through volunteering or other work in that field that is where the job is. That can make a big difference in the success of an application.

Jessica Black:

Great, thank you.

Mac Prichard:

Good luck, Shiva; let us know how it goes, and we appreciate the question. If you’ve got a question for Jessica, send her an email; her address is info@macslist.org. You can also call our listener line; we actually haven’t had a call on our listener line for a while, so we’d love to hear from you. That number is area-code 716-JOB-TALK, or post your question on the Mac’s List Facebook group.

However you do it, if we use your question on the show, we’ll send you a copy of Land Your Dream Job Anywhere.

We’ll be back in just a moment. When we return, I’ll talk with this week’s guest expert, Kerri Twigg, to get her tips about how to answer the, “Tell Me About Yourself”, question.

We all know that first impressions matter and the very first thing a hiring manager sees is your cover letter. That letter gives you a make or break opportunity to wow an employer. Yet, too many job seekers squander this chance. They send a cover letter with typos, a sloppy format, or cut-and-paste text.

Avoiding those rookie mistakes isn’t enough to get you an interview. You also have to tell a compelling story.

Sounds complicated, right?  In fact, if you follow a few simple rules, you can write a cover letter that stands head and shoulders above the rest. I’ve created a guide that shows you how to do this. It’s called Simple Rules for a Winning Cover Letter.

Inside, I explain the ideal content, structure, and style that appeal to hiring managers. You get examples and templates to follow that you can use to write your own winning cover letter.

Get Simple Rules for a Winning Cover Letter today, go to macslist.org/coverletter. Start transforming your cover letter today.

Now, let’s get back to the show.

Now, let’s turn to this week’s guest expert, Kerri Twigg.

Kerri Twigg is an International Job Search Strategist. She helps people land their ideal job using their stories. Kerri has taught in universities, theatres, boardrooms and even a boathouse, and she was selected as a top Career Expert to follow on LinkedIn by Jobscan.

She joins us today from the city of Winnipeg in Canada.

Kerri, thanks for being on the show.

Kerri Twigg:

Hey, thanks for having me.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, I’m excited about this conversation because you’ve written some great blog posts about how to answer the, “Tell me about yourself” question. You’ve got some very practical tips and this is obviously a question that comes up in almost any interview. Let’s step back before we get into those tips, Kerri; when candidates are thinking about this question, what should they hope to accomplish when they give their answer?

Kerri Twigg:

It’s the first question that gets asked so it’s really setting the tone for the entire interview, and I think what you want as a candidate is to think in your mind, “If I’m introducing myself and they’re to know me as anything, what do I want them to remember me and know me as?” I think the other piece is having something, that if someone got called over the interview after that question, that they would have a sticky story that they could remember you by. Something that an interviewer can imagine.

It’s setting the tone, but also putting something memorable and interesting in there.

Mac Prichard:

It’s that important first impression, and I’m glad you brought up story, because stories are sticky, aren’t they? They stay with us long after we forget important data or statistics, don’t they?

Kerri Twigg:

Yeah exactly. I think it’s not just telling the story like, “I fixed a filing system”, but going into details so that people can imagine you doing the work. Even if it’s like, “It was a filing system that was all paper, in these old brown folders, and I created a new system with new colorful tabs and a matching system.” People can imagine it, too, and that’s the sticky part of stories.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, as you spoke there, you were creating pictures in, I think, the minds of all of our listeners. I know we’re going to talk more about how to do that in a moment, but before we do so, I want to ask you what might be an obvious question. Why do you recommend people actually prepare an answer in advance and not walk into the interview room and wing it?

Kerri Twigg:

Because usually, if you think about what your nervousness or stress level is going to be, it’s going to be the very highest at the very beginning. If you have something that you are very confident in, that you know, then at least you can trust yourself to deliver that properly.

Most of the people, when I first started teaching about job search, I worked with people who had experienced job loss and I always felt like the most similar situation they would have had to a job interview would have been the day they got notified about job loss. What if all of those feelings come back and, “Oh no, I had this trauma”, and you just blank and you don’t know what to say. At least this prepares you for knowing what to say. You’re in control of that first impression.

Mac Prichard:

Let’s talk about preparation. Again, you’ve got some specific tips about what people should do when they answer, but as they’re doing their preparation, what should they be doing? Should they write a script, Kerri?

Kerri Twigg:

Yeah, so I usually… I have a blog post that maps it out and when I’m working one-on-one with people I’ll give them my template. But yeah, the first step is to just map it out. Write it all down. What’s your intro? What are some good stories? What words do you want to make sure that you’re going to say? What words does the company have in their job ad, or what asks are something that you might be able to incorporate into, “Tell me about yourself”.

Mac Prichard:

Let’s talk about those parts. Again, you’ve got a series of articles on your blog about this, that lay out five elements in the “Tell me about yourself” answer to the question. Let’s talk about the first one and that’s what you call the introduction. What should people include here?

Kerri Twigg:

Your introduction, you’re just giving context for what you are. If you’re applying for a job and you’re a graphic designer, then you’re going to start off with, “I’m a graphic designer”, and letting people know how long you’ve worked in the industry and maybe a couple of things that you’ve done. It’s pretty short but you’re not starting it like… Some people start it like, “I’m John and I’m a dad”. That is not what they want. It’s about who you are but in relation to the job you’re applying for.

Mac Prichard:

Okay, after that introduction, what’s the next step?

Kerri Twigg:

Then the  next step is starting to talk about your super skills. Your super skills is letting them know… You start with your intro, “I’m a graphic designer and I’ve been doing this for twenty years”, then the super skills, “What I’m really great at are”, and name, I would say up to three things that you’re really great at. If one or two of them are a little bit buzz worthy or a little bit overused and you have a good story to back it up, that’s alright. Try to have one that, for me, is a “Kerry-ism.” It’s something only I would say. Try to have another word that grabs their attention a little bit, that you know no other candidate would be talking about.

Mac Prichard:

Can you give us an example of that, Kerri? Of words that you’ve seen that kind of stand out but catch the attention of the interviewer.

Kerri Twigg:

I think it would be…I mean, if I were to be doing what are my super skills, I would say, “The things that I’m really great at doing are helping people”, and lots of people have that. “My second skill is solving problems”, and again, lots of people have that. Then my third skill is, “I’m really great at finding gaps in programs and creating learning programs to fill those gaps.” I might say my third skill is, “Seeing those gaps then coming up with programs that help them.” Then I would go directly into an example.

Mac Prichard:

Is that example that you give, is that the third part of the answer where it is telling a story?

Kerri Twigg:

Yeah, then you just move into backing it up. Because you can’t introduce yourself and say, “I love to help people, I love to solve problems, and I like to address educational gaps”, and then leave it there. Just because you say it, doesn’t mean that it’s true and you haven’t proven that you have it. Then I would dive right into the next part, which is backing it up with a story. If it was the filling the gap one, I would be like, “The Winnipeg Art Gallery. People didn’t understand Inuit art, I created a program that taught about Inuit art and raised the attendance by fifty percent.” I would give a solid example that would back up that I have that skill.

Mac Prichard:

That’s something good writers do as well, isn’t it? They don’t tell the reader what they’re doing, they actually show them, don’t they?

Kerri Twigg:

Exactly. Yeah, and it’s way more interesting to tell. As a person, when you’re prepping for an interview, it’s way more interesting to share stories that you love to tell, and it’s way more interesting to listen to those stories, too.

Mac Prichard:

There’s a question that’s on the mind of every interviewer when they’re talking to a candidate, which is, “Why are you leaving your current job?” Or, “What happened at your last position if you’re unemployed?” That is the fourth element of your answer; do you want to tell us about that?

Kerri Twigg:

Yeah, so it’s your leaving story. You’re right, that’s their question. If you know they’re wondering why you would be leaving your job, or why you’re not employed, then you tell them. If you feel like your job is not meeting your needs anymore, you want a bigger challenge, or you’ve been there for ten years and you’re scared of going stagnant, then that’s what you can say. “I’ve enjoyed my time at ABC company. I’m now looking for a company that focuses more on….” Whatever that company does. If it’s because of job loss, then you can say, “While I was working at such-and-such company, I’m proud of the work I did there. Unfortunately, there was restructure and my position was affected. At first I found that really upsetting but now I know what my super skills are and I’m excited to use them for you.”

Mac Prichard:

Why is it important for the candidate to tell the story? Because some of us, and I’m numbered among this group, who have been fired or laid off, we feel awkward and it’s difficult to talk about. Why is it important for the candidate to give an explanation?

Kerri Twigg:

Well, because then you get to control the story of it and the dialogue. It’s not something to be worried about. I’ll have those types of clients and they’ll be like, “What if they found out I lost my job?” They’re going to find out so it’s better for you to phrase it in a way that you want, than to be worried the entire interview that that’s going to come up and how you’re going to answer it. You’re setting the tone and, sometimes, what can happen is that the energy can change in an interview. It can be a really great start, and you’ll be answering questions, and all of the sudden, the last question. They might seem casual, and they’ll say, “Yeah, so when can you work?” You say, “Immediately, because I lost my job.” That can be jarring because they might be thinking, “This is an employed person who’s happy in their job.” You don’t want it to affect the decision but if that’s really new surprising information and they were seeing you in one light, that can be jarring.

It’s not that job loss isn’t common or it’s not acceptable. It happens so often, but you want to be in control of telling it.

Mac Prichard:

Before starting Mac’s List, my career was in political communications and what you’re advising is something elected officials and candidates do around the world. When there’s a negative, acknowledge it, give your explanation, and then move on through what’s called a bridging response to the story you want to tell. If you watch public affair shows on television or cable channels, you see political people do this all the time. It works both on talk shows and I think it’s probably very effective in interview rooms as well, isn’t it, Kerri?

Kerri Twigg:

Yeah, for sure. I didn’t know it was a political move. I love it.

Mac Prichard:

It’s called bridging but the reason you want to do it is because you want to control the story. Sometimes, you can’t but if you step forward and do it in the beginning, the odds are you’re going to be much more successful in doing so.

Kerri Twigg:

Exactly.

Mac Prichard:

Well, finally, there’s the closer. This is the fifth of the five parts you recommend. Tell us about that.

Kerri Twigg:

Closer is just so it’s not ending like, “And I lost my job. I’m excited to be here.” But then telling the company specifically again why you’re excited about being there, and being there for that particular role, with that particular company. It puts it in a nutshell and cleans it up.

Mac Prichard:

Good. Let’s step back…so those are the five pieces that make up this answer. How long should this take a candidate to do all five of these things?

Kerri Twigg:

I think it depends. It depends on your career and also if you like to talk about yourself and how long your stories are. I would say the minimum is two minutes, but I know people who have a five minute “Tell me about yourself”. It depends on the job that you’re going for. If it’s a government role, or a crown corporation, like a utility place…A place where you’re getting points for your answers, where they really use that BDI rating system and you get points for what you say, then it can be longer. If it’s really casual, if it’s a startup, there’s no formal HR people, they might be a little weirded out if you go five minutes. You want to adapt it for the role.

Mac Prichard:

We talked a little bit about preparation. You recommended writing this out. Let’s talk about how you do that. Do you actually write a verbatim script? Do you use an outline or bullets? What do you see as most effective for the clients you work with?

Kerri Twigg:

First, just writing it all out. It comes from acting, but write it all out, then take those pieces and even write it out on index cards, and you can play around with the order. Just because I say that you give a little bit of your career history here, then you go into super skills, maybe the way that the flow of your story, the way that it goes, that won’t work for you. Maybe you’re going to start with an intro, then you’re going to tell them, “Yeah, I lost my job”, then you’re going to go into your super skills.

If you use index cards, you can play around with the order of them. From the index cards, see if you can think of the main idea you’re trying to get across and then just writing one word on your index card. I might just have three skills, and I’m not going to list what they are, but I have three skills. Then I’ll be like, tell them the corn story, tell them the maze story, tell them the light story, then the leaving story. When you can start to talk it out, just by those visual cues, then you know you’re starting to get it.

Then I recommend recording yourself doing it. I’ll walk around with my cell phone and just say it, “This is my ‘Tell me about yourself’”, or I’ll go on a run and I’ll say my “Tell me about yourself”. You get it in your body so that when your brain is going into panic mode in your interview, you can trust that your body knows the script.

Mac Prichard:

It becomes almost like a muscle memory, doesn’t it, if you practice it that much?

Kerri Twigg:

Exactly, yeah.

By doing different things with it, because it’s not about memorizing it and then saying it in a really dull way. You want to say it as if you’ve never said it before, you just know exactly what to say.

Mac Prichard:

You not only write this out, but you record yourself, listen to it, then typically, how much practice should people invest in something like this?

Kerri Twigg:

For interview prep, I think if you’re doing it a week before the interview, you’re in good hands. Going through this method and rushing through it, being really nervous a day or two before the interview, can sometimes cause more stress and make you more nervous about trying to get it right than it might be worth.

Mac Prichard:

Well, that’s terrific advice, Kerri. Now tell us, what’s next for you?

Kerri Twigg:

Well, I’m just coaching. My favorite work to do with people is one-on-one coaching. Whether it’s resume, or interview prep, or figuring out how to use LinkedIn, I’m just taking clients for one-on-one work.

Mac Prichard:

Well, terrific, and I know people can learn more about you and the services you offer by visiting your website. That url is career-stories.com. You’ve also got an excellent series about these tips that we’ve described.

Kerri, thanks for joining us today.

Kerri Twigg:

Great, thank you for having me.

Mac Prichard:

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio with Leila and Jessica. What were your reactions to my conversation with Kerri? Leila, what are your thoughts?

Leila O’Hara:

Yeah, I thought she did a great job of breaking down why that question is so important because I think a lot of times you think to yourself, “I got this”, and you just talk about your time in college, but the way you answer that question can really set the stage for the rest of the interview. I liked how she suggested talking about your super skills because if you focus on the two or three things that you want to be remembered for, there’s a better chance of you standing out from the crowd versus telling a story about something random from your past. I think it’s important to be very strategic with that answer.

Jessica Black:

I agree. It really is an important story to tell at any point in the interview but especially in the beginning. Starting it out, and you don’t want to get into it and be rambling, because I agree with you, it’s easy to go into it thinking, “It’s my story, I know it like the back of my hand. I lived through it. I can do it anywhere.”

But like she said, the pressure is on in those interviews and you really don’t want to leave anything to chance because you do want to put your best foot forward. You don’t want to end up talking for five minutes unless you have a very polished story that fills, for a specific purpose, those exact five minutes.

I think that was really important, the time length that you guys talked about. It’s really important because I think that it doesn’t really matter how long it is, as long as it’s tight and there’s succinct and relevant information in that length of time. Again, you’re not rambling and you’re not telling any bits of information that are not relevant to the story and the position.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, I liked her strategy and the structure that she provided and the examples. Her description of how to prepare the practice.

Jessica Black:

I liked that, too.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah, she has a theatre background, as she mentioned, and that came through loud and clear. I’ve worked with speech coaches who come out of theatre, and one of the things they have you do is memorize sections of your remarks, or presentations. They have you practice it like a thousand times. When you’re nervous, in front of a crowd, or in front of an interview panel, it becomes reflexive. It makes a big difference.

Jessica Black:

It’s huge. I liked your point about the muscle memory and having it be a part of you because it does have this way of just coming out of your brain even though you think that you have it and you have memorized it, but the pressure just makes it evaporate.

I liked also that she mentioned memorizing it but also having tied it to related specific words. That way when you do have that pinch you can say… I forget all of her examples.

Mac Prichard:

The corn story.

Jessica Black:

Yeah.

Mac Prichard:

I want to know the corn story.

Jessica Black:

Me, too. The corn story, the light story, the maze story, and the closure. Tying it into those specific points is really important because that can help you. We did that with TedX stories. You do the same thing with stories, you tie it to your slides that you have on stage. That really helps you. You are memorizing, but if you lose one of your lines when you’re memorizing, you don’t have a panic attack that you have lost everything. You can just get back right on track.

Mac Prichard:

Yeah. Good, well thank you both, and thank you, Kerri, for joining us this week, and you our listeners, for downloading today’s episode of Find Your Dream Job. 

Make the most of your next job application. Learn how to write a perfect cover letter. Get Simple Rules for a Winning Cover Letter  today. Go to macslist.org/coverletter.

Join us next Wednesday, when our special guest will be Caroline Adams. She’ll explain why you can’t keep your options open when you look for work.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job!