Often, we are left wondering how some job applicants easily land their dream job while many others (including ourselves sometimes) are left waiting for the recruiter’s call. The magic lies in one of the most effective ways to secure an interview: the STAR method.
It is a great technique for approaching interview questions and answering each in an organized, efficient manner. The STAR is a proven method to structure your response to an interview question so that you present all the relevant information without leaving out what is important. Let’s take a look at how you can use the STAR method to your advantage.
What does STAR stand for?
The STAR technique that allows you to come up with concise and clear responses stands for:
S - Situation
T - Task
A - Action
R - Result
Hiring managers often ask open-ended questions during behavioral interviews in order to determine if a candidate would be a good fit for a job. Using the STAR method guarantees that you fully answer such questions without any hesitation.
Use the STAR technique for these interview questions
Although you may not know all the questions, most interviewers will ask about behavioral issues. These include situations that require critical thinking, problem-solving as well as situations that show leadership skills, conflict resolution and performance under pressure.
When used well, the STAR interview technique is one of the best ways for job seekers to answer behavioral questions in a succinct manner that communicates their experience and achievements. Here are a few behavioral questions you are most likely to come across in an interview:
Please share an example of when you had to solve a difficult problem at work. What was your solution to this problem?
Please describe a time when your work was under pressure. What was your reaction?
Please tell me about a mistake that you made at work. What was your response?
Please share a story about a time when you had to make difficult decisions. What was your action plan?
Please describe a situation in which you used logic or data to make a recommendation.
Please tell me about a time you had a disagreement with your boss. How did you resolve it?
Please describe a moment when you had to convey bad news. How did you do it?
Please tell me about a time when you collaborated with other departments to complete an assignment.
Please share about a time in your life when you failed. What lessons did you take away from this experience?
Please tell me about a time you achieved a goal.
Now, here is how you can use STAR to answer each one of the aforementioned behavioral questions:
Situation
Set the scene by mentioning the challenge or situation you came face to face with. Please share pertinent details, if any. You should not use a generic description of your past experiences, but a specific instance or event. The interviewer should have enough information to fully understand your situation. You can use your previous work experience, volunteer work, or other relevant work experience to describe the situation.
Example:
In my last role as Lead Designer, I had to handle a shortage of staff and a large backlog. My team was under stress because my account managers had set tough deadlines. This caused a lot of anxiety and negatively affected the entire team’s morale.
Task
Please describe your role or responsibility in this situation.
Example:
As a team leader, my job was not only to make sure my team met their deadlines but also to communicate bandwidth with other departments and keep my staff motivated.
Action
Describe how you dealt with the situation. Give details about the actions taken to resolve the situation and keep your focus on the work. Hiring managers will want to know the details of your actions and how you contributed. When discussing the project, be careful not to describe the actions of the company or team members. Your role is what you should be focusing on. When describing actions, use "I" instead of "we".
Example:
To meet higher expectations, I set up a formal creative request procedure that included project timeline estimates and time estimates. To discuss the bandwidth of my team and share progress updates, I set up weekly meetings with account managers.
Result
Describe the result of your actions and don't hesitate to take credit for your accomplishments. What did you do? What were the new metrics? What was the reaction of your customers to this new feature? What lessons did you gain? Your story should contain multiple positive outcomes.
Example:
By providing transparency in my team's process and setting higher expectations with account managers, we were able to reprioritize our to-do lists and complete all items in our backlog. We reduced our average project timeline to 2 days in the next quarter.
Prepare for your interview by reviewing the job description and the required skills. Ponder over the kind of challenges or obstacles you are likely to encounter in that position. Create a list of all the situations that you have dealt with in your professional life that displays the skills and strengths you will need for the job.
If you are new to the workforce or do not have an illustrious career to brag about, you could consider examples from volunteer work, internships or group projects that you did while in college. Employers may ask you to give a non-work-related example in some cases. If this happens, consider the challenges and obstacles that you have overcome in your personal life. Whatever stories you choose to tell, be sure to clearly define the situation, task, action as well as result, all the while highlighting those skills that are most relevant to the job.
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