How To Be Memorable in a Job Interview, with Stefano Iaboni
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Six candidates walk into an interview with the same qualifications. Who gets the job? The one the hiring team remembers. On this episode of Find Your Dream Job, keynote speaker, trainer, and facilitator Stefano Iaboni shares how to stand out in a job interview while staying true to who you are. Stefano works across cultures and industries to bring humor to high-pressure moments, and he knows how to build a connection that lasts.
Stefano explains why stories stick in a way that a list of strengths can’t, and how to choose one that moves you. He also shares how to use gentle, self-deprecating humor, why a deep breath before you answer can make all the difference, and how listening and asking questions show an employer you care about the problems they need to solve.
About Our Guest:
- Stefano Iaboni is a keynote speaker, a trainer, and a facilitator.
Resources in This Episode:
- Connect with Stefano on LinkedIn. Visit his website here.
Transcript
Find Your Dream Job, Episode 576:
How To Be Memorable in a Job Interview, with Stefano Iaboni
Airdate: November 4, 2026
Mac Prichard:
This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.
I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.
Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.
Most hiring decisions happen long after you leave the interview room. So if you don’t stand out in the moment,
You risk getting blurred together with your competitors. Stefano Iaboni is here to talk about how to be memorable in a job interview. He’s a keynote speaker, a trainer, and a facilitator.
Stefano works across cultures and industries to bring humor into high-pressure environments where people often feel overwhelmed.
And he joins us from Portland, Oregon. Well, let’s jump right into it.
Stefano, why does it matter to be memorable in a a job interview?
Stefano Iaboni:
First of all, hi and thank you for having me here. Well why does it matter and why does it matter? I believe a lot of people focus on a few things when they go to a job interview: qualifications, professional experience, and giving the right answer.
Imagine six people go to apply for a job; they all have the same qualifications, and they all have to give the same answer. What is it that makes them memorable?
Possibly, you know, I believe it’s the story they share, the passion, you know, the way they communicate, you know, their skills, and maybe just being genuine and trying to create a real human connection.
Because I think that your resume can tell people what you have done, but the interview is an opportunity for you to actually, you know, get the people to discover who you really are, you know, and what you bring to the room.
Mac Prichard:
Okay, so your resume’s gotten you into the room, you have the qualifications, you’ve made that case, you don’t have to, you don’t want to ignore it, but you have to do something different when you sit down in that interview chair. How does that say more about how being memorable helps you get the job and stand out from your competitors?
Stefano Iaboni:
Yeah, I think a lot of folks, you know, when they go to a job interview there is a l you know, a lot of stress. You know, you wanna say the right thing, you wanna be professional, you wanna be the best, you know, you don’t wanna make any mistakes, you know, but sometimes we forget about ourselves.
We forget; we stop being ourselves. And maybe sometimes that’s the thing that gets you the job, you know. So in my experience, you know, as a keynote, you know, or comedian, or a person being on stage, I think it’s important that sometimes you focus so much on doing things perfectly, you know, and you lose that authenticity.
You’re not authentic, and you know, and you’re not spontaneous, and that basically that that performance doesn’t become interesting, you know. And that applies the same in a job interview.
Mac Prichard:
Yeah, and so often, and for the right reasons, I think people think, Gosh, I need to please this employer or this hiring manager. So I’m gonna be the person I think they want to be.
In your experience both as a performer and as an executive coach, why doesn’t that approach work?
Stefano Iaboni:
Because it doesn’t show who you really are. I think it’s important that yes, your skills are important. Yes, you will want to apply to a job, and you know, you need to be qualified in a certain way.
But I also think you don’t need to invent, you know, somebody else. You don’t need to become somebody else. Sometimes I think people feel like, I need to be the best version of myself, or I need to become somebody else.
I wanna share a brief story. I had a casting opportunity, and that was for a football commercial. Sorry, soccer. I know football here is a different thing. So anyway, they asked me when I walked in, they said Stefano, what is your relationship with football?
You know, I’m familiar, so I say, well, you know, I could have said, well, I like football, yeah, football is great, I really enjoy it, you know, in my country it’s almost like a religion. Everybody in my family loves football. There would have been a version, but I chose to win a different way.
So I say it like this. I went to football. I love football. I dream football. I eat football. I shower football. Everything I do is football. My mom: football. My dad: football. The first words that came out of my mouth: go.
So while I was doing this, I saw the people that were auditioning me laughing. They were laughing. I could tell. They were having a great time. So what I did here
I basically took something that was part of me, and I just turned the volume a little bit on it. I just amplified what was already there. I didn’t try; I didn’t invent a new personality. I just, yeah, amplified what was already there.
Mac Prichard:
And how did that help people in that room remember you after you left and they were making a casting decision maybe a few hours or even a few days or weeks later? What
Stefano Iaboni:
Yeah. Yeah. A couple of days later I got the call back. And I believe because of that, because they remember me, because I really showed who I was. You know. They saw me, they saw my personality, they saw my energy, they saw my passion, you know.
I just didn’t give, I don’t know, I think I went a little bit beyond that. And I think that’s very important when it comes to a job interview. You know, you don’t, you don’t wanna just, you know, stick to your skills, you know, just actually let me rephrase that.
You wanna you want the people to feel your skills. They need to feel it. Okay. So this is how they so you tap into emotion. For me, it’s laughter. For me, it’s humor. And I think it’s a great way, in my opinion, to have people remember you and, generally speaking, information that you’re gonna give if you use humor, you know, the right humor, is gonna stick.
People will remember. They you they’re gonna, you know, you’re gonna walk out of their room, and people will be like, I really wanna, you know, maybe work with this person also because I feel why. They made me feel the reason why I wanna hire them.
Mac Prichard:
Okay. Well, let’s talk about how to be memorable, and you mentioned humor. I can also imagine, and I want to talk more about that, but I can imagine listeners and viewers saying, well, I’m not an actor. I’m not going on a casting call.
Yes, I want to be myself, but I’m maybe a pretty buttoned-down personality. What’s your first tip about how to do that, how to be memorable without being inauthentic?
Stefano Iaboni:
Yes, I would say first things we gotta, you gotta relax. So I think when you walk in, maybe it’s good, you know, it’s good to take a deep breath. Maybe count to five, you know, that’s gonna help you, you know, feel more confident.
And then I would say don’t try to be funny. Don’t walk into the room like, I’m gonna tell jokes. This is not an audition for Netflix. This is an audition for a job interview. So just be you and just be authentic.
And really, like, being funny to me, or using humor to me, it’s mainly about, you know, just being self-aware. Maybe a smile, you know, it’s a good way to do it. And then maybe you can comment, you know, so like what they say.
So be a good listener, you know. So don’t just, like, I think there is a tendency of people like, I wanna answer right away. I don’t wanna think. They ask me something; I need to give an answer right away.
I need to be, and it needs to be the best version. I think it’s totally fine to say, That’s a great question. I wanna think about it, and you take a deep breath so you can actually physically, neurologically think about it, right?
And don’t jump on it, you know. Just like, in my opinion, you know, they’re gonna appreciate you by showing if you show your, you know, your strength but also your weakness, you know,
You’re gonna be real, you know; you’re gonna be authentic, and also your weakness might be a point of advantage, you know. Say you’re a very quiet person; maybe the fact that you’re very quiet could mean you’re a very good listener, you know. So just take something that is yours and make it a little, yeah, again, turn the volume a little bit or, you know, say, I don’t know, yes, you can say, you know, don’t just say if you are like a very organized person, right?
I can go to a job interview, and I can say, yes, I’m very organized. All the things I do are very organized. I don’t know; that’s really gonna stick. You know, it’s not gonna be memorable, right? So maybe you can say something, just turn the volume a little bit on that, and you can say, I’m so organized that my folders have folders.
I don’t know, something like that, right? I mean they that might spark a little smile, a little laughter from the other side. And yes, then you wanna add something that’s, you know, connected to the job that is professional, you know, such as giving them an example.
Or, you know, last time, in my past job, you know, I helped teams put things together, organizing projects together; I put all the pieces of the puzzle together. So that is connected with being organized, you know, by you opening your conversation with maybe just a little joke or just amplifying something that you already have.
Mac Prichard:
Let’s take a break, because I want to talk in depth about humor and how you tell a joke or use humor effectively, ’cause it can be a high-risk situation. So stay with us. When we come back, we’ll continue our conversation about how to be memorable in a job interview.
We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with Stefano Iaboni. He’s a keynote speaker, a trainer, and a facilitator, and he works across cultures and industries to help people introduce humor into high-pressure environments where you might feel overwhelmed or disconnected.
And he joins us from Portland, Oregon. Well, we were talking before the break, Stefano, about how to be memorable in a job interview, and I wanna go back to humor.
And you suggested at the end of the break considering using a joke or two, perhaps in your conversation with an employer. That can be a high-risk strategy, can it?
I mean, how do you know it’s gonna work? What you’re you’re a professional comedian as well as an executive coach. What have you seen work effectively?
Stefano Iaboni:
Thank you for that question. I would say it’s very important; don’t force it. Don’t try to force a joke into a job interview. Don’t walk into a job interview thinking, ” My gosh, now I’m gonna tell that joke. It’s gonna be so funny, they’re gonna love it.” Don’t do that. Please do not do that.
Again, this is not you’re not auditioning for a comedy show. You’re not auditioning for a Netflix special. I mean, if you are, then yes. But in a regular job interview, please do not do that. And also, I would say, yes, I agree with you. It could be, you know, risky.
You know, to tell a joke if you don’t know how to do it. So just be aware of that. So again, don’t force it. And telling a joke is obviously not putting anybody down. You’re not, you know, putting the other person down. You’re not putting any other culture down.
I think if you do want to put something down or somebody down, that should be you. I think that’s a good way to use humor. Use a little bit, just a tiny bit of self-deprecation.
You know, you’re not gonna walk into the i job interview and say, I’m the worst person for this job. I’m the least qualified, and obviously you’re not gonna do that. But say something about you again. I give an example about myself. I say, usually I say, “Hi everybody, I am from Italy. I do apologize; nobody’s perfect.”
It’s just a little thing, you know, and it’s about me. It’s about my culture; it’s about being from, you know, say, different or, you know, a foreigner, you know, in this country. And but I just, then I took something that’s personal, you know, and I just made a joke out of it, you know.
Or, you know, my name a lot of the time gets misspelled, so I can use that, and I don’t get upset about it. I don’t, you know, try to, like, hey, well, you didn’t say that right. That’s not my name. No, I make a joke about it. I use it, and I usually say, you know, in the United States, a lot of the time people call me Stefano. They put the accent on the wrong syllable. You know, it’s just a little something, right?
Or I can say, well, you know, I have an accent. I am from Italy. You know, so a lot of times, you know, people don’t understand what I try to say, you know, but they always have the option to buy a DVD for me with subtitles, you know, something like that.
It’s very light, you know, it’s very easy. And again, I’m not putting anybody down, and I’m not forcing it. I think the most important thing is that it’s not about being funny; it’s about creating a moment where people can connect.
Mac Prichard:
Right. And in the examples you’ve shared, you’re kind of gently poking fun at yourself, but the other thing you’re doing when you share those examples is you’re explaining who you are and what and what you are, and you’re proud of that, you know.
And say more about creating connection and how humor can do that and how that can help you stand out, especially in the job interview.
Stefano Iaboni:
Yeah, I would say, you know, when you’re trying to make a connection there, don’t just talk. Don’t, this is an interview; it’s not a monologue, right? Listen, listen.
And then maybe you can say s things like, you know, I wonder, you know, what am I, what can I do to make, you know, this place better, you know, or what are your struggles, you know, what is it that you’re looking for in the perfect candidate for this job that can help you achieve
You know, solve the problems that you’re trying to solve, you know. You’re listening, you know, and you’re also giving a little bit of yourself or your personality.
And then, you know, also another way I would say it’s like if they ask you, you know, give us an example or, you know, tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, you can say something like, yes, I am a great listener, I’m a, you know, people’s person, I’m a, I don’t know, highly organized. Okay.
That’s sure, that’s an answer. I don’t think that’s gonna stick. I don’t think that’s memorable.
Mac Prichard:
And why is that? Is everybody saying that?
Stefano Iaboni:
Yes, I think a lot of time a lot of people say that. We hear that thousands of times. So by the end of the day, the person that they interviewed you won’t remember you. So I would say the things that people do remember, besides humor, are stories. We all tell stories, and that’s, you know, mm, before language, right? Before anything, you know, that we had there, you know, we shared stories of whatever, you know, visually, you know.
If you are somebody that is highly organized, don’t just say I’m highly organized. Give them a specific example. So tell them a specific story. You know, something happened at work; we were in this, you know, high-pressure moment, and then one of the team members decided to quit, you know.
So instead of panicking, you know, I tried to put everybody together to figure out what needed to be done, so I took action right away. I’m giving a practical example. I’m sharing a story.
So you, as an interviewee, can actually see the thing. You can visualize what I’m saying. You know, I think that will stick more than you just making a comment about yourself, such as, yes, I am an organized person. Give them, you know, put them in that situation. Try to create that moment where they can see yourself in their story.
Mac Prichard:
Okay, so stories stick; people will remember the stories you share. What is your best advice about how to both prepare a story and tell it? What have you seen work, especially if your time is limited? You might be in that interview room for thirty minutes and might only have an opportunity to tell one or two stories. What would you recommend?
Stefano Iaboni:
Yes. Think about a story that moves you. Things about stories that, like, you’re very passionate about, you know, things about stories that you tell your friends, stories that you tell your family, right?
A story that, like, you maybe told in the past and you felt like, you know, when I was telling that story, I felt good. It made me feel good. People told me that was a funny story, that was an interesting story, that was an amazing story. Try to go back to that memory, right? Connect to things again, things that are a part of you, things that you already have.
Don’t try to invent something, don’t try to impress people, don’t try to be, you know, extraordinary. Just honestly, just be. I think that’s the main thing, you know? Yes, you wanna do, you know, create a good impression, but really I would say focus on creating a genuine connection, a real connection with this other person.
You might, if you discover that you have things in common, you know, that’s gold, you know, that that’s really gonna help you. You know, you know, and it’s not about, you know, you asking everything about this person’s life.
It could be as simple as, like, we both, like, say me and you, Mac, we both wear glasses. That’s something that we have in common. I can make a simple comment on that, you know. I really like your glasses. Where did you get them? How long have you been wearing glasses? It’s just something very simple. They can spark a conversation.
But now we have something, right? Or I don’t know, the things that you have in your background. I see you have books. I have books too. Well, what is your favorite book? What is one book that you’ve been rereading lately? What is a book that you would like to recommend to somebody else? You know, you would recommend to a friend, you know, something like that.
Take those things. Don’t go overthinking, I think. You know, just really try to tap into your feelings, tie the trap into your emotion, and see what the things are that move you, what are the things that you are passionate about.
Mac Prichard:
Mm-hmm. So look for ways to connect with your interviewers. You mentioned the importance of storytelling, and we talked about the value of humor, especially gently poking fun at yourself. And I love the point you made in the first segment about, well, it’s not gonna
One way to prepare before you go in is just to take a deep breath and relax in a moment before you sit down in that chair or open that door.
I wanna go back to a point you made a moment ago about listening. Why is it important both to listen and ask questions? How can doing that help you be memorable in a job interview?
Stefano Iaboni:
It shows that you generally have interest in g this job. That you’re passionate about it. It shows part of your personality. No, you’re not just somebody that, like, I’m not just talking at you. we’re talk; we’re having a conversation here.
I’m not just, you know, trying to like regurgitate everything that I have because I wanna get hired, because I wanna get this job so badly. I’m taking a moment; I am listening. What, why are they hiring me? Why am I here? Right? Ask yourself that question. Why am I here? Why am I applying for this? Yes, because I want to get the job.
But ultimately, it’s because you are gonna help this person, this company, solve an issue, solve a problem. So be curious about that. What is it, the struggle that they have? Why are they looking for that position? Why are they looking for somebody that can do that job? What is that thing that they’re dealing with? You know, what did they have in the past? Ask questions.
Be open-minded, be curious, and pause. You know, they say something; pause, reflect on it. You know, paraphrasing is also good. They say something such as, like, we’ve been struggling with, like, keeping people, you know, in the office engaged.
But you can just simply say, I understand that, you know, engaging people in the office is a big struggle for you. You just basically paraphrase it. You’re repeating what the person just told you, right? But by doing that, you’re showing that you’re listening.
That you care and you generally have interest. That’s gonna help you.
Mac Prichard:
Terrific. Well, it’s been a great conversation. Tell us what’s next for you.
Stefano Iaboni:
I’m putting on my own conference, and then it’s happening on November sixth, and the conference starts at nine thirty. The doors open at nine thirty. The conference actually starts at ten. It’s gonna be a table space. And my conference is called Work Hard, Laugh Harder.
And it’s a conference that I wanna create because I feel sometimes when you go to conferences, again, you might have people, you know, talking at you, you know.
But I wanna do something that goes beyond that, that is engaging, that is fun, that is, you know, an opportunity for people to discover each other and really like, yeah, go beyond that and go deeper on what it is to create a workplace culture where people stay engaged, and they experience less stress, and the people that you can’t afford to lose don’t quit.
Mac Prichard:
Terrific. Well, we’ll be sure to include a link to both your website and your LinkedIn, and I know you so people can learn more about that conference and your other services.
And when you do reach out on LinkedIn, please mention you heard Stefano on Find Your Dream Job. Now, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listener to remember about how to be memorable in a job interview?
Stefano Iaboni:
Take five seconds, take a deep breath, remember your value, and just go for it.
Mac Prichard:
Thank you for listening to Find Your Dream Job.
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This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.
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