STAR – situation, task, approach, results
STAR is a helpful way of answering interview questions which are based around competency and behaviour, competency questions enable the candidate to speak freely in an interview. If you have ever been asked ‘tell me about a time’ or ‘describe how you’ or ‘give me an example of’ this is competency questioning. On the surface it is straight forward because you are openly speaking about real life scenarios however if you have made a statement on your CV which you are not able to personally give detail around, then it can trip you up and leave you exposed. For people who are rusty with interview technique or new to the interview process then the STAR framework can help you however it is important to ensure you do not sound scripted in your answer delivery – you are being hired as a human being not a robot.
So how to use STAR to nail your competency interview questions
The STAR method helps you create an easy-to-follow story with a clear conflict and resolution. Here’s what each part of the technique means:
S – Situation
Think of this section as ‘setting the scene’, you are laying out the narrative and giving context to the situation you handled, e.g
‘We were under a lot of pressure across the whole business to meet our Christmas delivery dates and everyone was beginning to feel quite stressed by it all, we knew if we could achieve our target that bonuses would be paid out so the pressure really was on’.
T – Task
Explain your action or responsibility in the role you played e.g.
‘As head of marketing although it is not my responsibility to get involved on the packing line, I understood this was an important and urgent matter so I communicated the urgency to my team and discussed with my other heads of department about what we could all do collectively to help achieve the target.’
A – Approach
Explain how you handled the situation. If the action was carried out by a team, focus on your efforts.
‘After conveying this to everyone we all agreed we needed to support our warehouse operation, it was not fair to leave them to handle the pressure alone. I took this to our MD and he supported my idea so I created a rota across all the departments freeing up certain team members across sales, marketing, finance and ops to go and lend a hand in the warehouse until all the shipment had been taken care of.’
R – 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.
‘By providing extra helping hands we cleared the Christmas delivery two days ahead of schedule which was a good job because we had a sudden last minute order fly in for Amazon, if we had not cleared the Christmas backlog then the Amazon order would have been late. We had a great time in the warehouse, it was a rally good team bonding experience and had a lovely festive feel, our MD joined us too, it really helped with fostering staff engagement and morale by everyone pulling together.’
Lastly
You may not know in advance if your interview is going to be a competency based one but the chances are it will be. Don’t worry though because if you have been doing your job and are confident you possess the right skills for the role you are being interviewed for, you just need to think about work-related challenges and tasks you have gained experience in and exposure to.
Hopefully you will have received a job description for the role so you know what the hiring company is looking for. Check through the criteria and make a list of your relevant experience and the outcomes of your actions – this will help convince the interviewer you have the right capabilities for the role.
It is ok to talk about times you have failed – we have all had some epic fails in our careers, we are only human but it is what we learn from our failures which sets us apart and shows how we handle set-backs.
Do not become rigid with the STAR framework, you must give a fluid interview where discussion flows rather than static answers drummed out. Regardless of the situations and experiences you convey, make sure they clearly articulate about the situation, task, action and result but highlight your skills and achievements which best relate to the role you are applying.