STAR Interview Technique

Posted 3 years ago
star interview technique

Get Familiar With The STAR Interview Technique

The STAR interview technique is designed to help people structure their answers. It is particularly useful when answering behavioural interview questions. Let’s check it out.

For many interviewees, one of the most challenging aspects of the process is consistently providing clear and concise answers. Although interviews sometimes seem like they go on forever, your window of opportunity to answer each question is relatively short.

What is the STAR Interview Technique?

It is an acronym that stands for:

  • Situation
  • Task
  • Action
  • Result

It is a way of answering behavioural interview questions, which are queries about your past achievements and behaviours. The main goal of this type of interview is to determine how applicants have solved previous work situations. Hiring managers then decide if the candidate has the requisite qualities and skills for the role.

In general, the interviewer wants to know if you have the following skills:

  • Creativity
  • Attention to detail
  • Presentation skills
  • Problem-solving ability
  • Analytical skills

Fortunately, recognising behavioural interview questions is easy. Here are some examples:

  • Describe a time when a project deadline was about to expire. What did you do about it?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision.
  • Could you provide an example of a time when you motivated a team?
  • How do you deal with conflict? Could you provide an example?
  • Outline a time when you set a goal and managed to achieve it. What steps did you take?

How Does the STAR Method Work?

Each letter represents an important concept. Use the STAR technique to work your way through an answer in a coherent fashion.

  • Situation: Share the context around the challenge or situation you faced at the start of the story.
  • Task: What did you have to do?
  • Action: What steps did you take to ensure you completed the task?
  • Result: What was the outcome? If possible, try to provide firm examples of how your efforts helped achieve the final (hopefully favourable) outcome.

How do I Prepare for a STAR Interview?

Although you won’t know the exact interview questions, you should have a reasonably good idea. After all, the majority of behavioural interviews ask questions relating to the challenges you faced at work. The goal is to see what skills the candidate demonstrated. In the main, many of the interview questions are simply variations of others.

Let’s look at some possible interview questions and use the STAR technique to answer them.

STAR Interview Question Examples

Sample 1

Tell Me About a Time When You Helped Your Company When It Was in Trouble?

  • Situation: My employer, a newspaper company, had lost a significant amount of revenue as long-term clients were no longer renewing contracts.
  • Task: I was asked to develop new ways to generate money for the newspaper as it was close to financial difficulty.
  • Action: I helped set up a digital version of the newspaper, which enabled people to view it online.
  • Result: Our daily readership increased by 70% in six months. During that period, advertising revenue went up by 80% as former, and new clients lined up to place ads in the paper.

Sample 2

Have You Ever Made a Major Error at Work? What Did You Do in the Aftermath?

  • Situation: I worked for a delivery company and was in charge of handling valuable goods sent to an important client. However, I got the address wrong, and the goods ended up in a different town. The client was furious because they needed the merchandise for a time-sensitive project.
  • Task: I was the first to learn about my mistake. I immediately informed my manager and explained that I would take responsibility for fixing the mistake.
  • Action: I spent some time trying to determine a plan of action. After discussing options with my manager, I elected to contact the person who mistakenly received the goods. Then I drove there overnight, collected the goods, and delivered them to the client the first thing the following morning.
  • Result: The client appreciated the effort taken in ensuring they received their goods and is a current customer as I speak.

Sample 3

Please Outline a Situation Where You Had to Deal with an Emergency at Work?

  • Situation: When I was an accounts manager at ACME Limited, an important colleague quit for personal reasons. He did so almost immediately after the company landed its most prestigious client ever.
  • Task: I was already overloaded with clients. In fact, I had almost twice as many as most of my co-workers. However, senior management would only entrust this client to me, so I agreed. I was aware that losing this client would spell financial and reputational disaster for the company.
  • Action: The first step was to hand over several of my existing clients to other colleagues. I ensured that this was a smooth transition and that the clients were happy with the situation. Then I took measures to relax and ensure the stress didn’t catch up. These actions ensured I was available to the client and able to provide VIP service. I worked weekends and evenings when necessary.
  • Result: The client was extremely impressed with my service, and within three months, increased the size of their contract to €8 million per annum.

Why Do Employers Ask Behavioural Interview Questions?

As we have already mentioned, the goal is to see whether you are the right fit for the job. Behavioural interview questions are considered the most effective way to learn more about the person behind the CV. The notion is that previous behaviour is a good indicator of how you will react in the future.

If you fail to demonstrate your ability to cope with certain situations likely to crop up during the job, you are not considered a good fit.

Final Thoughts on the STAR Interview Technique

Ultimately, the STAR interview technique is a great way to plan out your answers in advance. While you may not know the precise wording of the questions, you can browse possible queries online and produce an outline of possible answers. More importantly, perhaps, you can produce concise yet compelling answers that frame you as the best person for the job.

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