When being interviewed, rules are increaslingly changing. It is not about what you have done, but about how you have done it.
Welcome in the world of the interview 3.0.
With the interview 3.0, the rule is simple: Prove it!
There are more candidates, there is more competition, recruiters have access to more information on-line about the candidates...they don't know what the truth is.
So recruiters rely more and more on behavioral techniques to get as many details as possible about the candidate. They want to unearth the lies or the things that candidates ares hiding. They want to understand how the candidate behaved precisely "on site".
You still have some old-fashioned recruiters who ask the "3 defaults/3 qualities" question, but they are on the verge of disappearing.
Now it comes to a simple question: How did you do that?
Recruiters want more details, want to understand how you did that or how you developped this new product.
The more vague and inconsistent you will be, the less convincing you will be.
Interview 3.0 is based on behavioral techniques which follow 4 steps:
1) Situation
Where, when, what? What was your position at the time, when was it...
2) Task/Challenge
What was the challenge? What were the obstacles to overcome?
3) Actions
Which precise actions did you take, step by step?
4) Results
Which result(s) did you get? How much?
And the best way for you to prepare the Interview 3.0 is to write down all your achievements, one after the other and following this S.T.A.R. technique.
Here is an example of what you should do:
"In 2008 I was a Marketing Manager at Cuca Cola (S). The market of the colas was not going well and I had no budget to launch my new product (T). I co-ordinated internally all the tasks to design a communication plan. I developed a new way of communicating our product using internet ie blogs. I created a partnership with a sport brand to co market our product (A). From the launching, the product got 5% of market share (R)."
Doing that, you are specific and you give details. It is not anymore about "Yes I am good at..." but "I created this product and implemented...and got these results".
You are proving things by examples and not by self-affirmation.
Interviewing is not about boasting, it is about telling what you have done and how you have done it. The more interviewers will know about the "how" and which behaviors you developed, the more interviewers will be able to identify if you are a good fit for the company.
Interview 3.0 is about authenticity and proof.