7 Elements of a Good Story

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

7 Elements of a Good Story
There are 7 things that are critical for any individual to articulate as they
progress through the recruiting process

1. Industry Relevance
2. Communication Skills
3. Leadership Experience
4. Problem Solving Skills
5. Expertise
6. Pedigree
7. Impact

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Where to Use Them
These elements should be stressed in every medium

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Interview
• Writing Samples
• Letters of Recommendation
• Assessments
• Thank You Notes

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

How to Use the 7 Elements
Your “story” should demonstrate as many of the 7 Elements as possible

• Your “story” consists of 3-7 discrete examples of why you are the best
candidate for the job

• These examples consist of educational, professional and personal

experiences
– Educational:
– Professional:
– Personal:

• Good examples demonstrate at least 3 of the 7 Elements

• Your complete story (i.e. the collection of all of your stories) should
highlight at least 6 of the 7 Elements

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Story Matrix
The first step in developing your story is to create your Story Matrix, which
lays out your story in a visual format.

Educational Professional Personal

Industry Relevance • 3 accounting courses (financial, • Internship in accounting firm • Member of accounting club
managerial, audit)

Communication Skills

Leadership • VP of accounting club

• Captain, lacrosse team

Problem Solving

Expertise • Co-wrote published journal article • Varsity lacrosse team

with professor on mark-to-market
accounting

Pedigree

Impact

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Industry Relevance
• Educational
– Coursework
– Degrees
– Certifications

• Professional
– Jobs
– Internships / Externships

• Personal
– Blogs
– Speaking Engagements
– Press

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Communication
• Business Communication
– Business memos, client communications, investor presentations

• Oral Presentations
– Presented to a group or senior managers
– Public speaking engagements
– Theatrical performance

• Writing Skills
– Published works
– Creative writing

• Creating Presentations
– Working with common software (e.g. powerpoint, visio, etc.)

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Leadership
• Leading People
– Management roles (e.g. organizational, professional, educational)
– Extra-curricular (e.g. team captain, director, section leader)

• Project Management
– Responsible for profit & loss, people or execution

• Initiative
– Started a business, organization or movement

• Teamwork
– Effective participation in team environment as the team leader or member of the team

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Problem Solving
• Quantitative Skills
– Mathematics
– Statistics

• Financial Analysis
– Financial statement analysis
– Ratio analysis (i.e. ROI, ROE, etc.)

• Operational
– Computer programming
– Engineering concepts
– Production concepts (e.g. cycle times, throughput, etc.)

• Market Analysis
– Competitive analysis
– Market sizing
– Behavioral modeling

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Expertise
• Awards & Honors
– Professional recognition
– Academic excellence

• Published
– Articles
– Books

• High Level of Achievement

– Athletics
– Arts

• What can you teach

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Pedigree
• Products / Services
– Global Brands (e.g. I-phone, Lexus, Gucci)

• Customers / Clients / Partners

– Fortune 500 companies (e.g. Apple, McKinsey, WalMart, GE, Google)
– International Organizations (e.g. United Nations, OPEC)

• Individuals
– Corporate (e.g. CEO, President, EVP)
– Educational (e.g. Dept. Head, Professor)
– Governmental (e.g. Prime Minister, Parliament, Ambassador)

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®

Impact
• Key Organizational Drivers
– Users acquisition, market share, ROI

• Financial
– Sales growth, profitability, ROE

• Operational
– Product output, cycle times, capacity growth, workforce productivity

• Community
– Donations, people served

Copyright 2008 Gotta Mentor ®