The SMART Framework begins with the result
Your preparation for this type of interview should include identifying examples of situations from past experiences that address the needs of the employer. This will include examples from your resume, as well as experiences that you were unable to include.
Storytelling is an art, and it requires that you share details in a clear and focused manner. Avoid sharing your experience in generalizations as that gives the employer a shallow perspective on who you are, how you possess a needed skill, and why you are the right person for their team.
The SMART Framework, which begins with the RESULT, will enable you to define examples and then ensure you are targeting the most relevant and key details from that specific experience.
Remember: examples from your professional experience should be priority, but you should also consider stories from classes, extracurricular or leadership activities, team involvements, community service, study abroad experiences, and/or past consulting projects or internships.
Result summarized
Briefly state the result attained to capture and focus the attention of the interviewer.
Situation & Metric
This step should be brief. Identify the situation, task, or challenge that you faced. Use metrics where possible.
Action(s)
Describe the steps involved with this situation or challenge. This is the “meat” of your story. Take the interviewer(s) through the actions YOU took in this situation or challenge. Again, avoid generalizations and be clear on the role you played. Interview stories should take no more than two minutes to complete, and this time should be spent on describing your actions.
Results
Share the results of your actions and quantify them. Numbers support your achievements and demonstrate your level of responsibility. Without knowing outcomes associated with your actions the interviewer will question the type of results you delivered. While it is more enjoyable to share success stories, employers will also ask to hear about situations that challenged you. When were you NOT successful in achieving a goal? It is critical that your results include what you learned from these situations, and an example (or two) of personal growth that was achieved through this experience.
Tie it back
State how this example demonstrates the way you can add value to the role you are interviewing for. Anticipate that follow-up questions by the interviewer are possible. When your story relates to a skill or experience that the employer wants to explore further, they may dig deeper with open-ended questions such as:
- What were you thinking at that point?
- Tell me more about your interactions with that person.
- Take me through your decision process.
Example:
Tell me about a time when you used a new way of addressing a problem.
Result summarized: One way of thinking creatively is to engage other constituents in gleaning the best solution to a situation. "An example of this was…"
Situation and metric: During my internship last summer, I was managing three large simultaneous projects. One of these projects tasked me with managing an event, and I observed that attendance had been steadily dropping over the past two years by close to 30%. I decided to do something to improve these numbers.
Action(s): I designed a new promotional packet to go out to local community businesses ahead of our first event. In it I included a rating sheet to collect feedback on our previous events. I further organized internal round table discussions to raise awareness of the issue with our team.
Results: Upon analysis of the data, we utilized quality ideas we received from the community, made our internal systems more efficient and visible, and raised attendance at the event by 18%.
Tie it back: This example demonstrates my ability to be creative in generating options to solving problems, which would prove beneficial in this role as I would be working with implementing new projects for various constituents.