This document outlines a 5-step method for developing and telling compelling stories about your experiences: (1) Set the scene by describing the situation, (2) Explain the tasks you had to complete, (3) Identify the opportunities and obstacles present, (4) Describe your response and the resulting outcome, and (5) Explain how the experience shaped you. An example is provided of a soldier who used this method to tell the story of advising Iraqi soldiers. By conveying past accomplishments through well-structured stories, job seekers can demonstrate their skills and qualities to prospective employers.

1. S*T*O*R*Y
S*T*O*R*Y
A Five Step Method for Telling Your Compelling Story
By Terrence H. Seamon
Are you confident telling your story? Storytelling is an important job search skill. By telling stories that
convey your experiences, your accomplishments, your skills, and your value, you take your best shot at
conveying who you are and what you can do.
But many have trouble telling their story. Here is a 5-step method for developing your story or to help
someone else develop theirs.
Situation: Set the scene. Where were you? When was this? What was your role?
Several years ago, I was speaking with a soldier at a career day at Ft. Dix. He told me about the time he
was an embedded advisor with Iraqi soldiers in his most recent tour of duty.
Tasks: What did you have to do?
The soldier's task was to train the Iraqi soldiers in the American way of soldiering, including its value
system, processes, and practices.
Opportunity and Obstacles: What was the prize? What was in the way?
The opportunity was to create and sustain a new Iraqi army, different from the old one under the previous
regime. The obstacle was to overcome the ingrained thinking and habits that the Iraqi's had been taught.
Response and Result: What did you do? What was the result?
What the soldier did was to develop and deploy a team of advisors that worked very closely with the
Iraqis, coaching and mentoring them patiently, working day in and day out to overcome their skeptic ism
and build trust.
You: How did this experience shape you? How were you strengthened by it?
The soldier expressed it with a motto that he had thought of to describe himself: "Turning ordinary people
into extraordinary leaders."
What civilian employer would not want to hire such a person?
These stories not only convey your past accomplishments, they also tell the prospective employer about
You and what you're made of. Your ability to tell your stories may be the differentiator that sets you apart
from your competition.
By Terrence H. Seamon.Follow himontwitter@tseamon.ConnectonLinkedIn.