Behavioral & STAR · Values & Leadership-Principles Interviews · Lesson 2 of 2
Mapping your bank to any company's values
You don't rebuild your story bank per company — you re-map it. Every company has values (published or implied); your prep is connecting your existing stories to their language.
- Find the company's stated values (careers page, engineering blog, 'how we work' docs).
- For each value, pick the one story from your bank that best demonstrates it.
- Re-frame that story's opening and emphasis in their vocabulary (e.g. 'customer obsession', 'default to trust').
- Flag any value with no matching story — that's a prep gap to close.
Mirror their language, keep your factsIf the company prizes 'customer obsession', open the relevant story from the customer's pain, not the tech. Same true events, tuned vocabulary. This is framing, never fabrication.
Don't force itIf a story doesn't genuinely show a value, don't jam it in — interviewers smell a stretched fit instantly. Better to have a real, modest story for that value than a grand one that clearly doesn't fit.
◆ Lock it in
- Re-map the same bank to each company's stated values.
- Pick the best story per value and frame it in their vocabulary.
- A value with no story is a gap to fill; never force a bad fit.
Feynman drill — say it out loudDescribe how you'd prep your stories for a company whose top value is 'customer obsession.'
Step 1 rate your confidence · Step 2 pick your answer
How should you adapt your story bank for a specific company's values?
Step 1 — how sure are you?