What Stories Should I Tell in a Job Interview?

The Stories Behind the Stories: Leon

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/fan_mail/new] SHOW NOTES The Stories Behind the Stories: Leon The prototype crashed in front of the client.  In the silence that followed — Leon's risk assessment sat open on his laptop.  Every problem they were experiencing.  Clearly outlined.  Four weeks earlier. In this episode of The Stories Behind the Stories, I go deeper into methodical thinking as a character trait — not what it cost Leon to hold firm under pressure, but what it created. For the project. For the team. For the culture that finally understood that speed and quality were never opposites. RESOURCES The Storytelling Newsletter [https://shorturl.at/UCQLj] (Free) Short, focused, and grounded in real WorkLife situations — how we communicate, lead, make decisions, and navigate challenges at work.   WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife (Free). How Methodical Character Traits Create Sustainable Success Under Pressure. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/episodes/18924361] Character-Driven WorkLife Stories That Shift How You Think. Story Lesson How Methodical Character Traits Create Sustainable Success Under Pressure. [https://school-of-worklife.myshopify.com/products/how-methodical-character-traits-create-sustainable-success-under-pressure?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web] A Story About Conviction, Leadership, and Building Resilient Organisations. Guided Programme The Longest Way Round: A Journey of Character [https://shorturl.at/OMuN2] — How Embracing Your Natural Traits and the Wisdom of Great Storytellers Can Transform Your Path to Purpose  Your Character Trait Takeaway What character trait do you bring to your work that holds firm under pressure —  and what is it making possible that speed alone never could? Which character traits in your team create the foundations that allow everything else to move? And what could your organisation sustain — over time, under pressure — because of what those traits are already building? A Note to Listeners Every Thursday a new episode of The Stories Behind the Stories continues. From May 2026 — each new episode will be free for one week. After that it goes behind the subscriber paywall. One week to listen. One week to experience the learning. One week to build it into your working life. If an episode resonates — pass it to someone who would find it useful. A colleague. A client. A friend. That's how this work finds the people it's meant for. After one week each episode joins the back catalogue — available to subscribers only. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/support]

What Stories Should I Tell in a Job Interview?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/fan_mail/new] SHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: What Stories Should I Tell in a Job Interview? What stories should I tell in a job interview is a question every candidate asks — and the answer is three: a success story, a failure story and a passion story, because they help the panel truly meet you. Emeka had earned his place in a final round of five, every candidate at the top of their game. This is the story of the six evenings he spent looking for what only he could say — a success nobody had witnessed, a failure faced and owned, and a quiet passion that was his alone. RESOURCES MENTIONED Get the Job — Professional Self-Coaching for Job Interviews [https://school-of-worklife.myshopify.com/products/get-the-job?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web] Tell the Three Stories That Reveal Your Professional Value, Character and Potential Work With Me [https://schoolofworklife.com/work-with-me-commissioned-learning-content-speaking-and-residencies/]: Commissioned learning resources, speaking engagements, and organisational partnerships. The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities. Carmel O’ Reilly  schoolofworklife.com [http://schoolofworklife.com]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/support]

How to Discover Your Origin Story When Opportunity Meets Support

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/fan_mail/new] SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Discover Your Origin Story When Opportunity Meets Support How to discover your origin story when opportunity meets support is rarely something professionals plan for — but for many, it becomes the turning point that reveals what their capabilities have always been for. Daisy had been at the same advertising firm for six years. She was succeeding by every conventional measure. But she couldn't say why it mattered. This is the story of the unexpected email that arrived at exactly the wrong moment, the question from the right person that changed everything, and what she discovered when she chose uncertainty over the path she'd been building. RESOURCES MENTIONED The Storytelling Newsletter [https://shorturl.at/UCQLj] (Free) Short, focused, and grounded in real WorkLife situations — how we communicate, lead, make decisions, and navigate challenges at work.   Story Lesson: How to Discover Your Origin Story When Opportunity Meets Support [https://school-of-worklife.myshopify.com/products/how-to-discover-your-origin-story-when-opportunity-meets-support?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web] Discover how unexpected invitations and the right champion reveal the professional superpowers that conventional career paths often leave hidden. Guided Programme: The Art of Origin Story Crafting: Finding Your Superpowers [https://school-of-worklife.myshopify.com/products/the-art-of-origin-story-crafting-finding-your-superpowers?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web] Crafting Your Powerful Origin Story with Compelling Beginnings, Authentic Struggles, and Meaningful Payoffs. Commissioned learning resources, speaking engagements, and organisational partnerships: carmel@schoolofworklife.com [carmel@schoolofworklife.com] schoolofworklife.com [http://schoolofworklife.com]  The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities. Carmel O’ Reilly Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/support]

What Is Self-Coaching?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/fan_mail/new] SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: What Is Self-Coaching? What is self-coaching is the question at the heart of my work — and the answer changes what you believe is possible with one quiet hour, a notebook and a defining WorkLife moment ahead of you. Orla had ten days to make her case for a director role — and a life already full. This is the story of what she did with one hour each evening, a twenty-five-minute bus ride and a notebook — and what she learnt on each of her ten days about becoming her own coach. RESOURCES MENTIONED Professional Self-Coaching from School of WorkLife [https://schoolofworklife.com/professional-self-coaching/] — Each resource created for one important professional moment. One purpose. One challenge. One outcome. The thinking, the sequence, the questions and the frameworks a coach would bring to hours of one-to-one work — placed in your hands, to work through in your own space and time. Work With Me [https://schoolofworklife.com/work-with-me-commissioned-learning-content-speaking-and-residencies/]: Commissioned learning resources, speaking engagements, and organisational partnerships. The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities. Carmel O’ Reilly  schoolofworklife.com [http://schoolofworklife.com]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/support]

Introducing Professional Self-Coaching

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/fan_mail/new] SHOW NOTES Episode: Introducing Professional Self-Coaching — Get the Job Today marks the introduction of Professional Self-Coaching — a new collection of School of WorkLife resources created for one important professional moment at a time. Each resource is distilled from more than twenty years of professional coaching, writing and practice, enabling you to coach yourself through a specific WorkLife challenge. The first resource in the collection is Get the Job — helping you prepare the Success, Failure and Passion Stories that reveal your professional value, character and potential, so you can approach your next interview with clarity, confidence and purpose. RESOURCES MENTIONED GET THE JOB: Professional Self-Coaching for Job Interviews [https://school-of-worklife.myshopify.com/products/get-the-job?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web] Tell the Three Stories That Reveal Your Professional Value, Character and Potential — Prepare the Success, Failure and Passion Stories Every Interviewer Remembers Commissioned learning resources, speaking engagements, and organisational partnerships: carmel@schoolofworklife.com schoolofworklife.com The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stories are not based on real people or entities. Carmel O' Reilly Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2564103/support]