DRIVING THE CAR: USING CAR STORIES IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

By Louise Kursmark, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP, CCM
Best Impression Career Services, Inc.


What, you may wonder, is a CAR story… and what does it have to do with your job search?

CAR stands for Challenge, Action, Result; the same concept may also go by other acronyms such as STAR ( Situation, Task, Action, Result) or SCAR (Situation, Challenge, Action, Result).

CAR stories are useful throughout your job search. First, when preparing your resume, they help you identify measurable achievements, often beyond what you normally think of as the major accomplishments of your career.

In interviews, using a CAR story format allows you to share much more than "what" you did - you can tell the "why" and the "how," communicate your problem-solving approach, and give context and meaning to your achievements. This helps the interviewer to understand, very clearly, how you might approach a similar challenge in the new position. Once you master the CAR story format, you'll be able to respond quickly, naturally, and relevantly to a whole host of questions - whether or not you anticipated them or prepared a specific response before the interview.


To tell a CAR story, just follow the formula:

CHALLENGE - Describe the situation or task you faced. This provides context to your activities and accomplishments.

== EXAMPLE: "When I was promoted, there was low morale and lack of teamwork following a recent reorganization and downsizing. We had lost some key people and added new people who were unfamiliar to our core group. On top of that, we were challenged to come up with ways to rapidly reduce our operating expenses."


ACTION - Tell what you did to address or resolve the problem, overcome the challenge, clear the obstacles, and so forth.

== EXAMPLE: "So what I did was create several special project teams and made sure to incorporate both newcomers and veterans on each team. Each project addressed a significant issue clearly linked to our division goals, and I challenged the teams to come up with innovative solutions. I gave them deadlines to stimulate each team's competitive drive… then I got out of the way and let them lead and manage their own projects."

RESULT: This is the critical third piece of the story. How did your actions benefit the organization? Did you attain your goals? In this section of the CAR story, be as specific and measurable as you can.

== EXAMPLE: "As a result, within three months we had a cohesive, goal-driven organization that was clearly focused on divisional priorities and had made significant progress toward some important objectives. We cut operating expense by 33%, becoming the leanest division in the corporation, and created a process-streamlining blueprint that was adopted by several other divisions."

INTERVIEWING SUCCESS TIP: Review your resume and practice telling a CAR story about every single accomplishment listed. The more you practice, the more naturally you'll use this technique; and you'll be fully prepared to expand upon the important information you chose to include in your resume.


About the author: Louise Kursmark