Powerful SPAR-B's

S is for Situation. Start with a   situation where you may have encountered a similar challenged. “For example, as a (position) at (company) in (year), I was faced with the situation of…” You now have 3 sentences to describe the situation that you were face with.

P is for Problem. Tell why the Situation had three Problems. Why three? Because if you only use one Problem, it may not be a problem to your listener. Three will cover off your story. At least one of the three will be a recognizable problem to the listener. You can have one short sentence for each problem.

A is for Action. Tell us three things you did to solve the Problem. Why three. Using only one Action may not sufficiently solve the Problem in the mind of the listener. Tell the listener how you had to sweat to solve the Problem – that’s what they are hiring you for. At this point, candidates are sometimes afraid to say that they had to work hard. They are afraid that they will be seen as dumb. No. Tell them the work that you did. You  have one tight sentence to tell each Action, no more.

B is for Benefit. The only time that something that you say is of interest to your listener to pay you is if s/he can relate your situation to his/her personal interests.  So the Benefits are very important to the end of yoiur answer. Benefits should be very simple and should not require you to revert back to your answer.  There are 10 benefits to use:

1. Increased Profit

2. Increased Sales

3. Reduced Costs

4. Increased Efficiency

5. Productivity

6. Market Penetration

7. Customer responsiveness

8. Market Responsiveness

9. Competitiveness

10. Improved Public Image

And that’s it.

The 4Minutes ‘Answering Questions at an Interview’ kit goes through this in detail with forms and samples. Our experience over the years with Presidents, CEO's, COO's, executives, military to specialists is that clients are able to use the SPAR-B’s through their careers, adding one or two as they move on to other interviews. The more simple the Situation the better it is explained – so good ones don’t need any changes.  Now, get a partner, family, friend to simulate an interview. Wear your interview suit. Have your Practice Partner ask you the questions, exactly as you

write them. Run through them twice. Then ask your practice partner to change the questions slightly. If you have a tape recorder or a video camera, record yourself and look at it later. If you have time, practice it again tomorrow, until you are smooth and confident. Remember this is a $300,000 contract. Here are some of the questions:

1. If you are faced with a client who is unhappy, what will you do?

2. If you have made an error, which no one saw, what will you do?

3. Why did you leave that job?

4. What did you earn?

5. Why did you stay so long at the job?

6. If you were faced with _____, what would you do?

7. What are your greatest assests?

8. Tell me about yourself.

9. Why did you choose our company?

 sample interview questions

Each of these questions can be side-stepped from a hypothetical answer and turned into using a real-time example with a SPAR-B where you can showcase your personal skills, talents and successes to secure your offer.

Use these, and you will be a financial and career success.

 A client's SPAR-B story