What’s in it for me?
WIIFM or “What’s in it for me?” plays an intrinsic part in the most successful and impactful marketing material on the planet. Even when space is at a premium WIIFM can be found. Logos often have straplines which state succinctly “what is in it for the consumer?”. Even symbols can infer benefits in the consumer’s mind. These benefits can be expanded upon using various communication channels such as websites, direct mail, brochures, advertorials(etc.) and the most impactful of all, client or customer face to face meetings.
You should approach your interview in the same way a good marketer approaches his/her market. WIIFM should play a focal part in all your answers by focussing on what benefit you can bring to the interviewer and his/her organisation. A good approach to ensure that WIIFM remains front and centre of your answers (making your answers much more memorable also) is to compile a number of succint short stories which hone in on your accomplishments and achievements. Structure these stories using the STAR technique. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result.
You commence your story by explaining the challenge you were faced with(Situation). Then you explain your objectives and what you wanted to achieve(Task). You then go on to explain what you decided to do and why you choose this course of action(Action). Finally, you finish your story by focussing on the positive outcomes which resulted from your actions(Results). These results will answer the interviews main focus which is “what’s in it for me?” of “what’s in it for my organisation?”.
