How to be a STAR interviewee

For a stellar interview, be a STAR interviewee

The STAR method is a useful framework to help you prepare for interviews.  The approach can be applied to job applications, performance reviews and workplace appraisals.  STAR will allow you to structure your answers to ensure that you are making your point clearly.

What is the STAR Method?

STAR stands for:

• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result

It is a great tool for competency-based interviews and behavioural questions.

Why is STAR so useful?

Employers and interviewers like to ask questions about your behaviour to understand how you resolve issues and challenges.  Your answers will lead the interviewer to think they can predict how you would react to future situations.

The STAR method gives you a structure to make sure you give convincing and relevant answers.

How do I use STAR?

The following headings will help you form your answers.

Situation

Set the scene by outlining a specific situation.  Provide the interviewer with a few key details e.g. the nature of the project, where it took place and who else was involved.

Task

Explain your role in the situation.  Give a few more details e.g.

• What was your role?
• What was your goal?
• What were you tasked to do?

Action

This is where you talk about what you did.  Be specific and explain how you overcame the challenges presented by the task.  Be clear about the actions and decisions you made compared with the decisions made collectively or by others.

Result

Finally give a summary of the consequence of your actions.  Mention specific results in your answer and refer to facts, figures and stats that quantify your success.  Don’t exaggerate your influence on the outcome.  If you say something that is patently untrue it undermines your credibility for the whole interview.

You can also discuss what you learned and share insights that you can apply to future challenges.  If a task didn’t go entirely to plan it is a sign of strength (and not weakness) to show that you learned from the experience and would change your approach in the future.

Example:

Situation

We found our houses kept getting blown down by a wolf.  My two siblings who live with me already tried changing the building materials, experimenting with straw and sticks.

Task

It was my turn to build a house.  It had to be strong enough to withstand wolf-breath.  The materials had to be readily available and able to be transported in wheelbarrow loads.

Action

I noticed a builder’s merchant across the bridge on the other side of the river.  I organised my siblings to take our wheelbarrow to the shop and collect batches of bricks and mortar.  We worked as a team to build a house with brick walls.  We used the sticks and straw from the previous attempts to form a roof.

Result

The house was built in less than a week.  The next time the wolf came by it was unable to blow the house down and we were safe.  The wolf moved away and didn’t bother us again.

How can I use the STAR method to prepare for an interview?

Job description

Read the job description carefully and think about examples you can use to demonstrate the attributes that the position requires

Application and CV

Check that your application relates to the job description.  You won’t be able to evidence everything – the interview will give you the opportunity for this.  You can allude to projects in your application to steer the conversation towards your strengths.

Practise

Get a friend to ask you questions based on the job description.  You might think it is obvious how you would answer questions, but in the unfamiliar situation of an interview it is good to have some practice to fall back on.

Apply for the Manager job at Alterledger

Armed with the STAR method, why not apply for the position of Manager at Alterledger http://bit.ly/Alterledger-Manager-Job?