Build Your Story Bank

Do not wing it. Build a story bank — a document with your best career stories tagged by theme: leadership, failure, conflict, innovation, teamwork.

For each story, write three versions: a one-line summary for quick mental access, a full STAR+I version for detailed answers, and a 30-second version for rapid-fire rounds.

Before each interview, select 5-7 stories most relevant to the role. Rehearse aloud with a timer — each answer should land between 60-90 seconds. Stories that run long lose the interviewer's attention fast, and stories that come out memorized lose the conversational warmth that makes them stick.