Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling That Propels Careers

(QUINTESSENTIAL CAREERS: DeLand, FL) – Job-seekers become memorable and trustworthy to prospective employers when they tell stories, according to a forthcoming book and doctoral research conducted in conjunction with Quintessential Careers, one of the Web’s oldest and most comprehensive career-development sites, celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.

The forthcoming book, Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, extends the ideas of current authors who tout the value of storytelling in organizations. It focuses on a narrow yet powerful use of storytelling – telling stories to advance one’s career, whether by moving up in a current organization or landing a job in a new organization. The title comes from the most commonly asked “question” in job interviews, “Tell me about yourself.” Composing stories to reveal personal and professional identities in response is just one way job-seekers can use storytelling to propel their careers.

Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, which was developed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Quintessential Careers, establishes that stories paint vivid pictures and help a job-seeker to stand out, as well as explain key life/career decisions, choices, and changes. Stories told in resumes, cover letters, career portfolios, job interviews, and personal-branding campaigns help portray job-seekers as strong communicators and illustrate skills, accomplishments, values, characteristics, qualifications, expertise, and strengths.

“Through telling stories, job-seekers can establish identity, reveal personality, enhance self-knowledge, and build confidence” explains Katharine Hansen, creative director of Quintessential Careers and lecturer of management at Stetson University. “Job-seekers who tell stories also establish an emotional connection between storyteller and listener that inspires the listener’s investment in the storyteller’s success,” Hansen notes.

“The evidence is clear – both from our current research as well as other sources – that storytelling can provide a competitive edge in the job search,” states Dr. Randall Hansen, founder of Quintessential Careers and professor of marketing at Stetson University, DeLand, FL.

In addition to an excerpt from Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, added to mark the site’s first decade, visitors will find more than 350 articles and tutorials on all aspects of job-hunting, from career exploration to job-offer negotiation included in the now more than 3,100 pages that comprise the site. The site also reviews and links to more than 1,500 external job boards and company career centers, including job sites in all industries in the U.S. and around the world. Visitors will also find career information on writing cover letters and resumes, mastering job interviews, and negotiating salaries.

New Quintessential Careers features in 2006 are sections devoted to storytelling and personal/career branding, with new articles, a new quiz, and a new tutorial. Bringing to 15 the number of free tutorials on the site are new tutorials on finding one’s career passion, career branding, career success, rebounding from a layoff, and internship tutorials. New interactive job-related tests and quizzes are part of a roster of 26 such free tools. Quintessential Careers also marks its 10th anniversary with a tour of Florida colleges in which the QuintCareers team is offering free workshops to students. [The site’s fact sheet can be found at http://www.quintcareers.com/mediakit/fact_sheet.html].

Throughout its 10 years on the Web, Quintessential Careers has strived to be a job-seeker’s one convenient source for virtually all career information – from college to retirement, offering expert advice on all aspects of job-hunting, including tips, resources, and examples to help job-seekers write a stellar resume and cover letter; information to prepare for job interviews; techniques for negotiating higher salaries; strategies for successfully changing careers; as well as advice and resources for returning to college and/or attending graduate school.

In addition to the gradual enhancement of the site in the past decade, from a professor’s Website to one of the dominate career sites on the Web, the site has also seen a record increase in visitors, from a few thousand back in 1996 to more than a million unique visitors beginning in October 2005.

Quintessential Careers is the main site in a network of career-related sites, including: 10careerstories.com, MyCareerBlast.com, CareerDoctor.org, 10CareerStories.com, and Quintessential Resumes & Cover Letters, among others.

Quintessential Careers has earned more than 100 awards and honors, been recognized in numerous career books and magazines, and welcomed the praises of career counselors, job-seekers, and employers from throughout the U.S. and around the world. Its articles have been reprinted in all forms of media around the world.