Interviewing: How to Tell Your Story

By Amanda Bates

Applying for employment is quite frankly hard work. You’re trying to parse out the job description and figure out how to make your qualifications relevant to the employer. But when you’ve had a life filled with constant change, it can be even harder to know how to do this. The more moves, the more complicated the story. Trying to distill what key pieces to share in the job hunt can be overwhelming. Especially if you are applying for a job that, at least on paper, doesn’t seem to have a particularly international bent.

However, as you look for opportunities you have to remember you have one goal—to deliver a cohesive professional story. Your focus is to highlight what parts of your vibrant story make you a great candidate for the job ahead. Allow me to offer some guidance on how to make your story relevant.

Be Concise.

Some of us have really convoluted stories, like the ones that start with, “Well, I was here from this time to this time. Only because I originally was over here, but then this happened and I had to leave to go there before I got here.” Although interesting, your story may leave the listener with a glazed look, because you lost them halfway through the plot.

Even with a fascinating story, your main purpose in the job search is to share how your experiences relate to the position you are applying for. You are not just telling any story, either. You are telling a cohesive, professional narrative. Growing up internationally may be an integral part of your story, but it’s not the only part.

You need to determine what is relevant to the employer and then share it in an efficient manner. Whether it’s on a resume or CV or in an interview, you have precious little time to get your point across. Your resume might be read in under 30 seconds. Your interview with key decision-makers may be between 30 to 45 minutes. You need to zone in on what’s going to get you to the next step. An employer may ask for information to fill in the blanks as you share your story, but don’t get so caught up in it that you forget the mission.

Even with a fascinating story, your main purpose in the job search is to share how your experiences relate to the position you are applying for.

Bring the Context.

In many ways, the job hunt process is like dating. It’s cool you want to talk about you. That’s awesome. But at some point you need to be able to find the commonalities with the other person, if the relationship is going to go anywhere. The relationship needs to have a shared mission. Same thing with employers.

It is often hard for those who haven’t had your experiences to understand the value of those experiences. When you talk about life in rural Ethiopia, you might as well say you’ve lived on another planet to an employer who has been in the same location their whole life. Take the most relevant part of your nomadic life and make it relatable to the receiver. This means understanding what it is they are looking for and utilizing examples from your life to connect the professional dots. Now your proverbial dots may lead to Addis Ababa, but if you can relate the experiences to Lincoln, Nebraska, you might be onto something. Identifying your experiences and correlating them to the listener’s cultural context can help them to better understand how you can work in that job role. Even better, if you can show your experience is a solution to a job-specific issue, that will make it more obvious to the employer you could be a good fit.

Champion Your Skill Set.

Everyone has various skill sets and abilities. Some are naturally given, while others are learned. You have built and strengthened your personal inventory of skills as a result of your cross-cultural life. And while this may not seem special to you, it may be desirable to an employer.

As an ATCK (adult third culture kid), you need to think deeply about what aspects of your thirdculture-kidness make you a standout.

Make a list of what you have learned and developed while crossing borders and add those to your list of qualifications.

Leverage what you know. For example, did your childhood give you insider knowledge about particular communities and cultures? That insight might help inform the decisions a marketing company might make in their next branding campaign. Did you develop the ability to be adaptable? Highlight that; one of the lasting impacts of the recent Covid-19 pandemic will be the heightened need for employees who can flex quickly in dynamic work environments. Can you speak multiple languages? Make that known. You may help a company reach a new subset of customers. Your diverse blend of skills should be at the center of your story.

By telling a concise but relevant story, you help an employer understand your potential in the context of the professional position. While you may have to leave some of your TCK story out, you will strengthen the chance to tell more of your varied background…when you are hired for the position.

As a third culture kid, Amanda Bates’ interest in navigating cross-cultural spaces and identity started young. Her American-born, African-raised perspective continues to influence her as she leads the creative direction of The Black Expat . A trained counselor by profession, Amanda also manages Bates Consulting, a career consulting practice that helps clients build the careers they love.