When you invest three minutes into storytelling like that, all of a sudden, they're not interviewing you as a potential candidate, they're interviewing you now as a friend. I find that the people who often get shortlisted for jobs and job opportunities are the ones who've just prepared. And you just think they're lucky?
No, it's not luck. Well, it kind of is luck if you define luck as being preparation, meeting, opportunity. They've just prepared.
The opportunity came along, they did the job interview. And because of the preparation, They got the opportunity, they seem lucky. Nope, they were just prepared.
I've got a couple of friends in the recruiting space here in Australia. And I remember messaging one of them named Jared. And I said, Jared, what are the most common questions that are asked during a job interview? So I'm going to give you the top 10 list that he gave me.
All right, you ready? This is the top 10 list of questions. The first one, inevitably, and you must be prepared for this question. Whereas most people, they just go into the interview and go, I'm just going to wing it.
I'll think in the moment and you know just just right and then they fail at the first question that they know is already going to be asked and the first question is So then, tell us a little bit about yourself before we begin. That's the first question they always ask. Tell us about yourself.
Make sure you've got something prepared for that, right? So I'll give you the 10. I'll fire them off at you. First one is, tell us about yourself.
Second one, classic. So tell us a bit about your strengths and weaknesses. Next, why do you want to work here?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Why should we hire you? Tell us about a challenge or conflict you faced at work and how you dealt with it. 7. What is your greatest professional achievement? 8. Tell us why are you leaving your current job?
We know, all of us, we know that these are the most common questions, yet we don't prepare. Do you know what most people do here? Most people give descriptive phrases about themselves. They'll say things like, oh yeah sure, my values are integrity, honesty, punctuality. My only weakness is that I'm a perfectionist and I do things really well.
Right? No, don't connect with people. This is where you build rapport. So if you want to build rapport, let's say for example, I was applying and we'll do some improv here, okay? Let's say example, I was applying for, I don't know, head of innovation at Apple or something, okay?
Clearly I'm an Apple fan, massive Apple fan, Apple nerd. One day, hopefully they'll bring me in. So say I'm interviewing, they go, So Vin, tell us a little bit about yourself. I can use a childhood story and I call these origin stories.
I think using an origin story when they say, tell us a little bit about yourself is a good way to do that. is extremely powerful because it shows them who you are, it builds rapport, and if you can link that story into the position that you're applying for, Match made in heaven. Hello Vin, welcome to Apple. We can tell you're very excited.
You haven't been able to stop shaking your leg for the last 15 minutes while you were in the waiting room. But Vin, tell us, before we begin, tell us a little bit about yourself. Thank you for noticing the leg shaking thing. Look, if I had to tell you a little bit about me, there's one memory that comes to mind. When I was young, I gotta ask you this.
What do you think a 13 year old boy wants more than anything? A PlayStation sex? Well, close.
Love. It's love. And thank you, Brad, for being so transparent.
But I wanted to find love. And Brad, I remember asking my dad for advice. And I asked my dad, I said, Dad, I want to find love. What do I do? And you know what my dad said to me?
My dad says, looks me dead in the eyes, 13. And he goes, okay, no money, no honey, man. I thought, damn it, Dad, that's really wise of you. It rhymes like Eminem. So I thought to myself, OK, how am I going to make money as a 13-year-old? And that's when I discovered eBay.
And one of the things about me, Brad, is I'm an early adopter. So my friends didn't know what eBay was at the time. It was 1995. So I got onto eBay, I borrowed my mum and dad's credit card, borrowed, and I purchased 30 mp3 players and I sold them to my friends for double the price.
I love entrepreneurship and as a result of doing that, I made double the amount of money, Parents were truly pissed off, but that set me off on a journey. It set me on the journey of entrepreneurship. And as an entrepreneur my entire life, I'm an early adopter.
So whether it comes to MP3 plays, whether it comes to the latest AI that's coming out, one of the platforms I've been playing with is Udio. And Udio is a wonderful platform that can use AI to create music. Whether it's the Apple Vision Pro, I'm on it. I'm an early adopter. And I share this story about my past with you because that's why I'm applying for this role.
is I know that for someone in the head of innovation, you need someone that's not just saying the right things and talking about technology. You want someone who's actually an early adopter, who's living and breathing things that are just coming out. I don't wait until it's cheaper. I don't wait until it's been in the market for three, four years. I'm the first one waiting in line in an Apple store.
And when you release the Apple iPhone 16, you can bet your butt I'm going to be there at 6am. I'm an early adopter. That's why I'm perfect for this role.
Again, right? That's me spending about three and a half minutes, three and a half minutes sharing a story. Now there's laughing moments.
Oh, no money, no honey. That's a good one. I built rapport.
There's endorphins flowing through their body. I've been conversational. We're friends.
I ask them questions. The entire interview situation now is relaxed. Again, you know that when you storytell dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, all these wonderful chemicals. Now, the rest of the interview, they're going to treat you like a friend.
They're not going to sit there and be like, question to question to question to question. No. When you invest three minutes into storytelling like that, all of a sudden.
They're not interviewing you as a potential candidate, they're interviewing you now as a friend. So create a wonderful origin story, and this has got to revolutionise the way you do job interviews.