Going the Extra Mile

Steve Jobs would describe this Extra Mile as his ‘One last thing’. It’s a piece of information that the audience always remembers whilst walking away from
the presentation.
You need to be memorable in an interview.
Going the Extra Mile by adding a positive reinforcing statement at the end is a GREAT
way to end your answer on an ‘upswing’ and stand out from your competition.

Typically you're going to be asked a maximum of 3 competency-type questions.
Presenting answers using the STAR methodology will help you to structure them
properly and then you need to present them clearly and concisely with relevant
examples.

When you have completed the RESULTS segment, now is the time to go to the Extra Mile.
The Extra Mile is a small but highly impactful short paragraph that tells the interviewer
any one of the following:

1. What you learned and applied as a result of the experience, and link it to a success that
you have had since.
2. What you’re learning as you reflect on the experience itself.
3. A stand-out skill or personal quality that resulted in the successful outcome you
described.

Extra Mile examples:

Decision-making:
I know that what helped me achieve a successful outcome here was my ability to
make a decision that no one wanted to make. I was able to do so by keeping an
open mind, listening, and assessing all available options before making the decision.
This approach has helped me make many successful decisions since.

Working with a new team:
I know what helps me integrate with new teams is my understanding that people
have different needs and preferences. By taking the time to listen and understand these
preferences, I’m able to work with them more effectively.
I use this approach successfully each time I work with a new team.

Leadership experience:
As I reflect on this experience, I realise that because I could demonstrate I knew the
fundamentals of leadership, people trusted me and I was able to bring the team
together and motivate them to achieve the goal.
Since this time I’ve gone on to lead 3 other successful projects.

Resilience:
One thing that I’ve learned from failing in this presentation is that not everyone deals
with failure well. While I can’t say I enjoy failing, I’m not frightened of it. I’m able to use it
to get feedback and I improve every time because of it.

I applied what I learned and my stakeholders tell me I now present and engage them
with a much higher level of skill than before.