Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Storytelling that Propels Careers
Chapter 2: The Quintessential You Story
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While you may use your Quintessential You Story only as a starting point for your own story-development purposes, it’s helpful to imagine that the audience for this story is someone who could hire you or who knows someone who could hire you.
Whatever prompt or approach you choose to develop your Quintessential You Story, the bottom line is that it should convey a strong sense of who you are, the essence of your being, the core of your character. The following sample stories do just that.
Sample Quintessential You Stories
For several semesters, I have assigned my students to write a Quintessential You Story. Here is one of my favorites by a student named Kellie:
A few months back I began working at a hospital where my mom has been a nurse for 10 years. I have thought about working in the health care industry for a while, but I was never quite sure it was for me. I received a job as a unit clerk in the Intensive Care Unit/Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. My job description was to put in doctor’s orders for each patient, monitor the patients’ EKGs, file papers, answer phones, and to keep supplies stocked. Patient care was not a part of my job, but I was always more than willing to help a nurse when needed, knowing that I would learn more about what I wanted to do.I went to work at 6:30 a.m. as usual and started all of my normal tasks for both units and noticed this little old man waving at me every time I would pass his door. I waved to him a few times with a smile on my face and continued with what I was doing. After about the fourth or fifth wave, I became curious about why he was so interested in waving to me.
I walked into his room and decided I would talk to him to see if maybe he needed something, or if I could get his nurse for him. When I entered the room, he immediately called me Kelsie, which is ironically close to my name, and I had yet to introduce myself. I introduced myself and asked him if he needed any help, and he said no, but I shouldn’t play games with him; he knew my name was Kelsie, and he started to laugh. In talking with him for the next few minutes I continued to correct him when he called me by the wrong name, and he continued to correct me.
I left his room with more curiosity on why he was in the hospital and decided to speak with his nurse and look at his chart. His diagnosis wasn’t anything different from most of the older gentlemen we see in the unit. In speaking with his nurse I found out he had Alzheimer’s and could remember only a very small piece from his early adulthood.
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