A freshly pressed suit, shaky hands and resumes still warm from the printer: it’s interview time. Resume accomplishments abound, interviewers dole out polite nods and candidates recite well-rehearsed narratives. As the interview winds down, the interviewer says—“what questions do you have for me?” The interviewee smiles and asks:

“Can you tell me a story about something
that happened here but wouldn’t elsewhere?”

Adam Grant, author of Give and Take and Originals, says this is the question that all candidates should ask. Why? For most people, interviews are rosey dialogues highlighting grand accomplishments. These unique stories allow candidates a rare glimpse into the real organization (and it’s a more sophisticated way to say “what’s the culture like at company X?”).

Stories ensure a realistic preview of an organization. Take UVA Health System as an example: they have a video of their nurses telling stories of the most inspiring and important moments of their careers—and they’re certainly anecdotes that wouldn’t happen just anywhere. If I were a job-seeking nurse and I’d just seen that example of employer branding content, I would be sending in my resume right now.

For us, the questions candidates ask matter. An authentic interest in Stories’ work, people and values impress us. A passion for storytelling and a curiosity about our culture indicate a good fit. And we practice what we preach: stories from our team permeate our blog and we’re working on an archive of our own to capture and share our favorite stories.

In fact, I won’t just talk about stories. Return to our blog next week to read about Scott’s value-based reasons why we moved offices last year. It’ll give you a glimpse into our culture and may give you some ideas on how to link company decisions to core values.