Stories to tell in a job interview, says former Google recruiter [Video]

For employers, there are various red flags in a job interview.

Showing up late could be a red flag, being unprepared to talk about the job is another, and there are also phrases that might cause them to raise an eyebrow. “I work too hard” and “I’m a perfectionist,” for example, make it sound like “you are full of s—,” says Nolan Church, former Google recruiter and current CEO of salary data company FairComp.

Conversely, there are things employers like to hear during an interview. “I always tell people to come with stories,” says Church. Here are the kinds of stories he likes to hear.

One type of story Church recommends sharing is “a time when you f—– up,” including “what happened and what you learned.”

“People are so scared to talk about their imperfections or their blemishes during interviews,” he says. “And I actually think that that’s a …