Creating Your Stories: CAR Technique

Use a CAR to drive your story

You cannot prepare for every possible question an employer might ask you. So, what can you do? You can prepare your "book" of stories.

Follow the simple three-step process below to create your accomplishment stories, and you can be confident that you can pull a story out to answer almost any question you will ever be asked.

Did you read to the bottom of previous page marked "Important Notice"? Good.

Just so you know, we weren't kidding. The single most important thing you can do for interview success is to create your book of stories. The good news is that everything you need to do that, you will find on this page!

Three-step process to develop your "book" of stories

Identify what employer needs

Make a list of top 10-15 key core competencies target employer needs: characteristics, abilities, talents, strengths, personality traits, knowledge, skills, etc.

Use the CAR technique

Create your stories using the the CAR Technique, which stands for Challenge-Action-Result. Think of 1-3 stories for each competency you've listed. (See below.)

Practice your stories out loud

Convert your stories into action by practicing them out loud. Use common interview questions, and then pull out a story as your answer.

What is the CAR technique?

Using this easy-to-follow technique, you can create your accomplishment stories using CAR, which is an acronym that stands for Challenge-Action-Result. These stories are specific, concrete, real-world examples of situations you faced, how you handled them, and what the outcome was. Your stories are unique to you. No one has the same story to tell. Nobody can tell it the way you can. Prepare now to use these stories at your next interview:

C

Challenge

A

Action

R

Result

Challenge:

What is a specific situation you faced? What were the tasks and obstacles you had to overcome?

(This doesn't have to be a big challenge. Could be small like developing a new way to keep track of homework assignment due dates.)

Action:

What did you actually do? How did you do it? What tools did you use? Who did you do it with?

(Think of all the things you had to do to deal with the challenge/situation.)

Result:

What happened? How did your efforts pay off? What is the quantifiable outcome of your actions?

(If you can use numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, or otherwise quantify your results, all the better.)

Examples of CAR stories

Anthony's Story

Anthony worked as a server at a family-owned restaurant and wanted to get a marketing internship.

CHALLENGE: Soon after he started, Anthony had multiple customers each week asking him about gluten-free items on the menu. After talking to his manager, Anthony was told to tell customers that, unfortunately, they didn’t have a gluten-free menu. But he didn’t like disappointing customers, so he wondered what else he could do.

ACTION: So first Anthony thought, what is gluten-free anyway? He took it upon himself to research. Once he understood some basics, he realized he could make suggestions to customers. So he brought a list to the chef to ask if customers could substitute for certain items. He told customers that although they don’t have specific menu items, he could recommend substitutes: For example, rice for pasta. And, for your salad, red wine vinegar & oil instead of the normal dressing. And more recommendations like that.

RESULT: Customers really appreciated the suggestions and told Anthony that they felt like he went out of his way to help them. And it showed in his tips!! Not only were customers more satisfied, but the owner recognized Anthony’s extra effort and success, and decided to create a special selection of 5 gluten-free items to actually put on the menu.

THINK ABOUT IT: What do you think about Anthony's story? What core competencies do you hear? In other words, what skills, abilities, characteristics, personality traits, etc. does Anthony seem to have? How might he use these as a marketing intern?

Maria's Story

Maria worked at a large retail chain and wanted to get a job as a bank teller.

CHALLENGE: Maria had a quarterly team meeting where her floor supervisor would discuss what was happening within her store. At one meeting, Marie found out that sales were doing well throughout the store except in the shoe department. Even though her supervisor didn't ask employees to do anything about it, Maria was curious as to why this was happening.

ACTION: So first, Marie decided to observe what was happening in the department whenever she passed by. She noticed that customers were going in to browse shoes but that there was never an associate there to help them, so they seemed to leave. She then told her teammates that she was going to prioritize her work so that every shift, she could spend a little time in the shoe department. As she helped customers, she learned that many sizes weren't available on the floor, products were stocked on the wrong shelves, and customers had questions that required hands-on assistance. She worked at continually making these improvements, told her team what she was finding, and they made sure they each spent time in the department as well.

RESULT: At the next quarterly team meeting, the floor supervisor recognized Maria's efforts, and her made a huge announcement that sales were up 10% in the shoe department, and they all knew that Maria was the reason.

THINK ABOUT IT: What kind of worker do you think Maria is? Can you see how she might tell this story in an interview? What kinds of questions could interviewers ask where she could use this story as an answer? Why will Maria be a good bank teller? HOW CAN YOU CREATE STORIES FOR YOURSELF?

CAR technique worksheet to create your stories

How to use this worksheet: Putting the three-step process into action:

Think about your target position and employer. List 10 different core competencies that target employer would want in a successful candidate.
For each core competency, create at least one story using the CAR technique, listing the Challenge, Action, Result
Use this worksheet to develop your book of stories, and then practice your telling your stories OUT LOUD.