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The STAR interview method is a technique that helps you prepare for interview questions that determine whether you will be able to handle specific situations associated with a job. STAR stands for: situation, task, action, result. This method will help you prepare clear and concise responses using real-life examples.
Hiring managers ask behavioural interview questions to determine whether a candidate is the right fit for a job. By using this strategy, you can make sure you are fully addressing the interviewer’s question while also demonstrating how you were able to overcome previous challenges and be successful.
Here is some additional background on behavioural questioning and a few tips to help you leverage the STAR method in your next interview.
What Are Behavioural Questions?
The behavioural interview is used to learn how you have behaved in previous work situations. In your answers, employers are looking for examples of your past actions that may be predictors of how you will act when you face these situations again. Generally, these questions are more open-ended and usually ask you to share stories or examples from your previous jobs.
STAR interview question examples
Here are a few examples of behavioural questions you might be asked during an interview.
- Share an example of a time when you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve this problem?
- Describe a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?
- Tell me about a mistake you have made. How did you handle it?
- Share an example of a time you had to make a difficult decision. What did you do?
- Explain a situation where you used data or logic to make a recommendation.
- Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you resolve it?
- Describe a time when you had to deliver bad news. How did you do it?
- Tell me about a time you worked with other departments to complete a project.
- Share an example of a time when you failed. What did you learn from the experience?
- Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a specific goal.
How Does The STAR Method Work?
The STAR method helps you create an easy-to-follow story with a clear conflict and resolution. Here is what each part of the technique means.
Situation
Set the stage for the story by sharing context around the situation or challenge you faced. Share any relevant details.
For example, “In my last role as lead designer, my team was short-staffed and facing a significant backlog of work. The account managers were setting tough deadlines, which was causing stress for my team and affecting morale.”
Task
Describe your responsibility or role in the situation or challenge.
For example, “As a team leader, it was my role not only to ensure my team met our deadlines but also to communicate bandwidth to other departments and keep my team motivated.”
Action
Explain how you handled the situation or overcame the challenge. If the action was carried out by a team, focus on your efforts.
For example, “I set up a formal creative request process including project timeline estimates to set better expectations. I scheduled weekly meetings with account managers to discuss my team’s bandwidth and share progress updates.”
Result
What was the outcome you reached through your actions? If possible, quantify your success or provide concrete examples of the effects of your efforts.
For example, “By providing more transparency into my team’s processes and setting better expectations with the account managers, we were able to re-prioritise the design team’s to-do list and complete everything in our backlog. The following quarter, we shortened our average project timeline by two days.”
How To Use The STAR Method To Prepare For An Interview?
While you would not know the interview questions ahead of time, most behavioural interviews will focus on various work-related challenges that demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving and situations that showcase leadership skills, conflict resolution and performance under pressure.
To prepare for your interview, review the job description and required skills and consider what sorts of challenges might arise or what obstacles you may have to navigate in the position. Then, make a list of the various situations you have handled in your professional history that would display the sorts of strengths you will need to succeed in the role.
If you are new to the workforce and do not have a lengthy professional history to draw from, consider examples from internships, volunteer work or group projects you completed for school. In some cases, employers may ask you to share a non-work-related example, so consider challenges or obstacles you have overcome in your personal life, too.
No matter what stories you decide to share, make sure you define a situation, task, action and result and showcase skills and abilities most relevant to the job.
How To Answer A Question Using The STAR Method (With Examples)?
Here are three examples of how to answer popular behavioural interview questions using the STAR method.
Share an example of a time when you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve this problem?
“I was working as a retail manager at a department store during Diwali. A customer purchased an outfit online and had it delivered to the store. One of my associates accidentally put the outfit on display where another customer immediately purchased it. Before calling the customer to let her know about the mistake, I located the same outfit at another store location nearby. I ordered it to be pressed and delivered to her home on the morning of Diwali along with a gift card to thank her for her understanding. The customer was so thankful that she wrote us a five-star review on several review sites.”
Describe a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?
“In my previous job as an account executive, one of my co-workers quit immediately after signing the biggest client our firm had ever taken on. Although I was already managing a full load of accounts, I was assigned this new client as well. I knew the stakes were high and if we lost this deal then we would not hit our quarterly goal. I made myself completely available to the client and took calls on evenings and weekends until the project was delivered. The client was so impressed with my dedication that they immediately signed an annual contract with our company worth INR 50 lakhs.”
Tell me about a mistake you have made. How did you handle it?
“I was working as an intern for an events company and I was responsible for ordering the floral arrangements for a private event hosted by a high profile client. Unfortunately, I mixed up the information from another event and the flowers were delivered to the wrong venue on the other side of town. I admitted my mistake to my boss, took an early lunch break, drove to the other venue, picked up the flowers and delivered them to the appropriate venue an hour before the event. The client never knew about my mix-up and my boss was very grateful.”
When it comes to behavioural interviews, the STAR response technique will help you craft responses that are compelling and succinct while thoroughly answering the interviewer’s question. Just make sure your answers are honest and share only positive outcomes. Consider writing your stories down and practice saying them out loud, editing to make them short and clear where necessary. While questions may vary, having at least three to five experiences to draw from will ensure you are able to deliver a confident response no matter what the interviewer asks.
