star for problem solving

How it works

Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance.

Explore how BetterUp connects to your core business systems.

We pair AI with the latest in human-centered coaching to drive powerful, lasting learning and behavior change.

Build leaders that accelerate team performance and engagement.

Unlock performance potential at scale with AI-powered curated growth journeys.

Build resilience, well-being and agility to drive performance across your entire enterprise.

Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders.

Unlock business impact from the top with executive coaching.

Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Accelerate the performance and potential of your agencies and employees.

See how innovative organizations use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce.

Discover how BetterUp measurably impacts key business outcomes for organizations like yours.

A demo is the first step to transforming your business. Meet with us to develop a plan for attaining your goals.

• What is coaching?

Learn how 1:1 coaching works, who its for, and if it's right for you.

Accelerate your personal and professional growth with the expert guidance of a BetterUp Coach.

Types of Coaching

Navigate career transitions, accelerate your professional growth, and achieve your career goals with expert coaching.

Enhance your communication skills for better personal and professional relationships, with tailored coaching that focuses on your needs.

Find balance, resilience, and well-being in all areas of your life with holistic coaching designed to empower you.

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Research, expert insights, and resources to develop courageous leaders within your organization.

Best practices, research, and tools to fuel individual and business growth.

View on-demand BetterUp events and learn about upcoming live discussions.

The latest insights and ideas for building a high-performing workplace.

• BetterUp Briefing

The online magazine that helps you understand tomorrow's workforce trends, today.

Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more.

Founded in 2022 to deepen the understanding of the intersection of well-being, purpose, and performance

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

30 star interview method questions to prepare for

Almost every job interview has a set of behavioral questions. They usually start with “Tell me about a time when…” and they can catch job seekers off guard if they’re unprepared. 

The good news? There’s a secret recipe that’ll help you prepare for and ace these tricky questions. 

Known as the STAR interview method, this technique is a way of concisely answering certain job interview questions using specific, real-life examples. 

For example, say your interviewer asks you to describe a time you performed under pressure. Using the STAR technique, you can prove you’re able to perform well under pressure by giving an example from your past experiences. 

Let’s explore what the STAR method is, how to prepare for a behavioral question, and how you can use this technique to help you land your next job.

What is the STAR interview method? 

The STAR method is a technique used to answer behavioral interview questions in a structured and compelling way. Behavioral questions prompt job candidates to give specific examples of how they’ve handled past situations or challenges. 

These are questions like:

• Tell me about a time you had to pivot part of the way through a project.
• How do you handle collaborative workstreams?

It can be challenging to share a cohesive example on the spot. But with the right preparation and a STAR interview structure, you can have some answers ready to go.

The acronym STAR stands for –– situation , task , action , result :

• Situation : Set the scene by briefly describing the situation, challenge, or event you faced.
• Task : Explain what your responsibilities were in that situation. What role did you play?
• Action : Describe what steps you took to overcome the challenge or address the situation 
• Result : Share what you achieved through your actions.

Each pillar helps you tell an in-depth yet short story with a beginning, middle, and end.

25 examples of STAR interview questions

But how do you know when it’s the right time to use the STAR format during an interview? 

It’s simple: be on the lookout for behavioral questions. They usually start with prompts like these:

• Tell me about a time …
• Share an example of a time…
• Describe a time when…
• Have you ever…
• Do you usually…

Here are a few specific examples of behavioral interview questions to answer with the STAR method: 

• Have you ever had to develop a new skill on the job? Tell me about your approach to the learning process. 
• Describe a time when you had a tight deadline to meet. How did you get things done? 
• Have you ever had a direct disagreement with your manager ? How did you handle that situation? 
• Tell me about one of your proudest professional accomplishments. 
• Describe a time you motivated your team to achieve results. What was your approach?
• How do you go about setting team goals ?
• Give me an example of a time when you failed to hit your goals. How did you respond and what did you do?
• Have you ever had to push back on a key stakeholder? What did that interaction look like?
• Describe the projects you typically enjoy most.
• Share an example of a time when you had to shift priorities quickly. How did you handle that situation?
• Have you ever managed an employee who wasn’t hitting the mark ? How did you handle the situation?
• Share an example of a time when you went above and beyond what is expected of your role.
• Share an example of a project you needed buy-in from various stakeholders to complete. 
• Explain a situation where you overcame a challenge at work.
• Tell me about a time when you had to navigate changes at work.
• Describe a time when you had to motivate your peers. How did you do it and what was the outcome?
• Tell me about the last project you owned and were really proud of.
• Share a time when things did not go your way. How did you respond and what did you learn?
• Share an example of a time when you were under immense pressure at work. How did you handle the situation?
• Tell me about a time when you surprised yourself.
• Have you ever spent too much time on a project? How did you recover?
• Describe a time when you helped a coworker achieve their goals.
• Give me an example of a time when you performed well under pressure.
• Tell me about a time when you had to make a tough decision.
• Tell me about a time when you made the wrong decision.

These questions can be challenging if you’re caught unprepared. The STAR interview method helps you prepare and deliver a compelling story that will satisfy the interviewer’s questions and demonstrate why you’re the right person for the role.

How to use the STAR method in an interview

Let’s learn how to use each pillar of the STAR technique to deliver a compelling and structured response to any behavioral or situational interview question . 

1. Situation: Set the stage 

Begin answering the question by giving your interviewer context around the specific situation or challenge you faced. 

Try to limit this part to only a few sentences to set the scene. The bulk of your answer should focus on your actions and results. 

Make sure the situation you’ve chosen clearly demonstrates the skill or capability you’re being asked about and is complex enough for the role you’re interviewing for. 

For example, if it’s a more senior role, choose a situation that involves high stakes and demonstrates your expertise.

2. Task: Explain where you fit in 

Describe the task you had to complete and what your involvement was. 

Similar to the situation portion of your answer, this part should also be brief and to the point. For example, it can be a simple sentence like this one: 

“As the customer experience manager, it was my responsibility to resolve the client’s concern at the first point of contact.”

3. Action: Describe each step 

This is the most important part of your answer because it’s your opportunity to showcase your capabilities. The hiring manager doesn’t just want to hear what you’ve accomplished but how you’ve accomplished it. 

Explain what steps you took to overcome the challenge or reach your goal. Be as specific as possible, describe each step in detail, and avoid vague statements like “I worked really hard.” 

Keep the focus on yourself when answering the question. Use “I” statements and talk about what you specifically did, not what was accomplished as a team.

4. Results: Impress with your achievements 

This is the time to share the results of your actions with your potential employer. What positive impact were you able to achieve? How did you resolve the situation? 

Make sure the outcome is always a positive one. For example, even if you’re asked to describe a time you made a mistake, you should focus on what you learned from the experience. 

Employers love to see measurable results, so don’t forget to quantify your results when you can or back them up with concrete examples.

5 example STAR interview questions and answers

Here are some examples of STAR interview questions and answers to help you ace your next opportunity. 

1. Give me an example of a goal you’ve set and how you achieved it.

The scope of this behavioral question is to determine how you set goals and what steps you take to make sure you meet your objectives.

Situation: When I first transitioned into a sales role at company X, I was a bit shy of meeting my first-quarter sales target. 

Task: This motivated me to not only meet my sales target during my second quarter but exceed it. 

Action: I broke my goal down into smaller weekly goals and changed my sales strategy. I leveraged social selling to find new customers and develop relationships with them. I also asked my sales manager to coach me on my closing techniques and objection handling. 

Result: With this new strategy, I exceeded my sales target by 10%. 

2. Tell me about a time you failed. How did you handle it? 

Being honest about a time you failed shows you have integrity. Just remember to focus on what you learned from the experience. 

Situation: Shortly after I was promoted to senior project manager, I was in charge of leading a project for a major client. This project would typically take about a month to complete, but the client was in a rush and asked if I could have it ready in three weeks. 

Task: Excited that it was my first project, I agreed. Shortly after, I realized I'd need a bit more time to finish it and deliver quality work.

Action: I reached out to the client right away and apologized. I also asked for a three-day extension, and they were generous enough to extend the deadline. 

Result: I managed to finish the project and deliver it before the extended deadline. However, I learned to manage my time better and never overpromise on something I can’t deliver. 

3. Can you describe a time people didn’t see things your way? 

Behavioral questions worded this way are tricky. Author Mak Murphy explains that these questions don’t give away the “correct answer” to see if you reveal your true attitude.

In this case, what the question is trying to ask is, “Describe a time you successfully persuaded someone to see things your way.” 

Situation: I recently led a brainstorming session . The purpose of this session was to create a brand awareness campaign for a product my company was launching. 

Task: One of my teammates and I disagreed on what direction we should take for the campaign. I wanted to focus more on maximizing social media presence, and he wanted to go the brand partnership route.

Action: I asked my colleague to have a one-on-one meeting with me. I asked him to share his ideas and perspective. After listening and offering constructive criticism and feedback , I shared my ideas. 

Result: The conversation helped me see blind spots in my strategy and improve it. I also persuaded my coworker to get on board with my strategy by explaining its rationale. As a result, I merged our ideas and created a successful brand awareness campaign. Our social media engagement and website traffic both saw an increase of over 40%.

4. Tell me about a time when you worked well with a team. 

Teamwork skills, particularly remote teamwork skills, are one of the top competencies that employers are looking for . 

Situation: In my previous job as an event coordinator, I worked with a team of five to plan and execute company events and conferences. Last year, we collaborated on the company’s annual holiday party for over 500 employees.

Task: There were so many moving pieces. Everyone on our team had different responsibilities, but we all had to work as one unit to bring the party to life. 

Action: Even though I was the most junior person on the team, I organized a project management system that would allow us to check in with each other daily. They’d never done this before, but everyone loved the virtual task-tracking features. 

Result: Thanks to the new system, our team meetings were far more productive and we ended up ahead of schedule. Ultimately, our team’s collaboration led to what our CEO called the best holiday party he had ever attended. 

5. Can you share a time when you’ve had to juggle multiple priorities at work? 

Situation: While working as a client success manager at a tech company, one of my colleagues left the company for a new opportunity. My manager asked me to take on some of her responsibilities. 

Task: I had to reprioritize my own clients and projects to make room for her most important ones. It was overwhelming at first, with so many tasks to juggle and my unfamiliarity with my colleague’s book of business. 

Action: I worked through my responsibilities and reprioritized them based on the company’s goals, my availability, and other factors (with a bit of input from my manager). I also came up with ways to automate certain tasks to free up more of my time.

Result: Thanks to new automation efforts and successful prioritizing, none of our clients realized that there had been an internal shift at the company. Our team’s high quality of service was maintained — and I became more efficient in the process .

Why should I use the STAR method? 

It’s easy to get overwhelmed during an interview and forget everything you’ve prepared. The STAR framework is a simple way to provide a good answer, even when you’re feeling nervous. 

But the reasons for using the STAR interview technique go further than that. For one, today’s job market is stronger than ever . A quick search through LinkedIn will show you that there are endless opportunities available for candidates. 

But that doesn't mean it’s easy to land your dream job. In fact, recent research has shown that remote and hybrid jobs are receiving seven times the applicants as in-person positions . 

Standing out during the interview process is key to landing a more flexible, higher-paying, or otherwise better-fitting job. The STAR method is here to help you build your communication skills , tell your authentic story, and ace your next interview .

How do I prepare for STAR interview questions? 

Acing STAR interview questions is all about preparation and practice. The more you prepare, the better equipped you’ll be to use this technique to your advantage. 

Here’s what you need to do before each interview . 

1. Highlight the skills and experience required for the role

Take time to look over the job description and highlight the transferable skills and experience you need to succeed in the role. Recruiters will tailor their behavioral questions to find out if you have the right skills for the job. 

If the role you’re interviewing for requires problem-solving skills , for example, you may be asked something like, “Tell me about a time you faced an unexpected challenge at work. How did you overcome it?” 

2. Reflect on previous achievements and wins 

Using the STAR method, write down specific examples of situations where you demonstrated the competencies relevant to the role you’re interviewing for. 

Your answers should provide concrete and verifiable evidence that shows how you dealt with challenges in the past. Avoid vague statements and walk the interviewer through the specific steps you took to achieve your desired result.

3. Practice your answers 

Simulating a real interview will help you feel more prepared and confident. Plus, practicing with a friend can offer you a fresh perspective and tell you what’s working and what isn’t. 

Even if you’re practicing on your own, answer the questions out loud. The more comfortable you get vocalizing your answers, the more natural you’ll sound during the interview.

4. Get ready for common behavioral questions 

Review common behavioral interview questions and use the STAR technique to answer them. Common STAR interview method questions focus on soft skills like communication, collaboration , leadership behaviors , or problem-solving. 

For instance, you may be asked to describe a time you disagreed with a team member or talk about a time you resolved a work-related conflict . Both questions assess your communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills.

More tips to ace your STAR interview

Ready to put the STAR interview technique into practice? Here are some key takeaways to keep in mind: 

• Use the STAR method to answer behavioral questions, like “Can you share a time when…” 
• STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result and is meant to help you structure your answers to those questions.
• The benefit of the STAR method is that it should help you provide clear and concise answers — be specific, but don’t get caught up in the details. 
• You can prepare to use the STAR method by reflecting on past accomplishments that are relevant to the role you’re interviewing for.
• Don’t forget to practice your answers ahead of time!

Mastering the STAR interview method

This simple yet powerful method will help you ace your next interview by delivering compelling answers that show employers you’re the right person for the job. 

If you’re planning your next career move, BetterUp can help. Our world-class coaches offer guidance and support to help you during this transition.

Master your next interview

Explore personalized coaching to excel in behavioral interviews and secure your dream job.

Chris Helvajian

Chris Helvajian is a talent acquisition leader with more than a decade of experience in talent acquisition. He's passionate about creating scalable solutions to resolve recruiting problems at their root. His golden thread is "connecting people to opportunity." Chris is currently a recruiter at BetterUp and received his MBA at Chapman University.

How to answer “Tell me about a time” questions with confidence

30 interview questions for managers and how to answer them, 35 behavioral interview questions to ask in your next interview, the 9 types of interviews you should know about, 33 questions to ask a hiring manager in an interview, 10+ virtual interview tips: from preparation to interview day, breathe in, breathe out: 15 tips to prepare for an interview, how to follow-up after an interview: use these email templates & examples, find the best candidates with a structured interview, similar articles, how to use motivational interview questions to drive change, land a promotion: prepare for these internal interview questions, 5 problem-solving questions to prepare you for your next interview, grey rocking: why this method works for a minute (and when it doesn't), answer “what’s your greatest accomplishment” with ease, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

• Platform Overview
• Integrations
• Powered by AI
• BetterUp Lead
• BetterUp Manage™
• BetterUp Care™
• Sales Performance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Case Studies
• Why BetterUp?
• About Coaching
• Find your Coach
• Career Coaching
• Communication Coaching
• Life Coaching
• News and Press
• Leadership Team
• Become a BetterUp Coach
• BetterUp Labs
• Center for Purpose & Performance
• Leadership Training
• Business Coaching
• Contact Support
• Contact Sales
• Privacy Policy
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Trust & Security
• Cookie Preferences

STAR Method Finally Explained (The Only Guide You Need)

If you’ve ever found yourself in a job interview, wracking your brain to deliver concise yet compelling responses, then this guide is for you.

We’re about to dive deep into the STAR Method – a tried and tested technique that’s your secret weapon to ace any interview.

The STAR method is a structured technique used to answer behavioral interview questions. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This approach allows the interviewee to provide clear, concise, and thoughtful answers based on real-life examples from their own experiences.

Let’s dive in and discover how this powerful technique can transform your interviewing skills.

Understanding the STAR Method: The Basics

The STAR method is not just an interview response strategy; it’s a structured approach that helps you present your experiences and skills in a way that leaves a lasting impression on your potential employer.

Here are some key aspects of the STAR method that further illuminate its importance:

• Specificity : The STAR method encourages you to focus on specific situations rather than generalities. This allows interviewers to see exactly how you apply your skills in real-world scenarios.
• Structure : By following the Situation, Task, Action, Result framework, you ensure your responses are organized and coherent. It also ensures you don’t miss out on any critical details.
• Relevance : With STAR, you can tailor your answers to demonstrate how your past experiences directly align with the job requirements.
• Evidence-Based : Rather than simply stating that you have certain skills, the STAR method enables you to provide concrete examples where these skills have been put into action.

However, while the STAR method is an excellent tool for answering behavioral interview questions effectively, it’s not always applicable.

For instance:

• Not all interview questions require a detailed story or example. Some may simply need direct answers.
• In some instances, there might be more emphasis on future actions (e.g., “How would you handle…?”) rather than past situations.

Historical Origins: The Genesis Of The STAR Method

The STAR technique, a renowned method for answering behavioral interview questions, didn’t just appear out of the blue.

Its roots can be traced back to the 1980s when it was developed by psychologists as part of the structured behavioral interview methodology.

The goal was to create an approach that would allow employers to objectively assess a candidate’s potential based on their past experiences and behaviors.

In its early days, the STAR concept was primarily used within large corporations with dedicated human resources departments. These organizations saw value in a standardized approach that could help them sift through numerous applicants while minimizing bias.

Over time, however, the technique gained wider acceptance beyond corporate walls. It started being adopted by small businesses, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and even individuals preparing for job interviews. Today, it’s considered a gold standard in behavioral interviewing across industries worldwide.

While it has evolved over time with variations like STAR-L (where L stands for Learning), at its core remains the same principle: using past behavior as the best predictor of future performance .

This focus on concrete examples rather than hypothetical scenarios sets it apart from other interviewing techniques and contributes significantly to its ongoing popularity among hiring professionals around the globe.

Breaking Down The STAR Method (A Step-By-Step Guide)

At its core, the STAR method is about storytelling.

It allows you to weave together narratives from your past experiences that not only answer an interviewer’s question but also highlight relevant skills and competencies.

Let’s break down the components:

• Situation : Set the scene
• Task : Define your responsibilities
• Action : Describe what steps you took
• Result : Highlight the outcomes

This four-step framework helps ensure that every example you give during an interview is easy to follow and highlights your abilities effectively.

It’s important to note that while the STAR method may seem straightforward on paper, its real-world application requires practice and finesse.

The aim isn’t just to structure responses but also to deliver them in a compelling manner that resonates with interviewers.

Situation: Defining And Setting The Scene

Diving straight into the first element of the STAR method, let’s explore ‘ Situation ‘.

This is where you set the stage for your story. But don’t just think of it as a simple backdrop; this is your chance to draw your interviewer – into your narrative.

Start by providing context .

What was the environment like? Was it a high-pressure sales team chasing ambitious targets, or an under-resourced non-profit struggling to meet community needs?

Perhaps it was a start-up on the verge of significant expansion, or a well-established corporation navigating a challenging market downturn?

Next, identify any key players involved.

Were there colleagues who played pivotal roles? Or maybe external stakeholders like clients, suppliers, or regulatory bodies that influenced the situation?

Remember, details are crucial here but be careful not to get lost in them.

Your goal is to provide enough information so that anyone listening can understand what you were up against without getting bogged down in unnecessary specifics.

This isn’t just about painting a picture of your past work environment. You’re laying out the particular circumstances surrounding the challenge you faced. So clearly define what made this situation unique or difficult.

For example, instead of saying, “I was working as a project manager at a software company”, add more context : “I was overseeing a critical software development project at XYZ Corp., one of our biggest clients had requested an advanced feature within an extremely tight deadline.”

This gives depth and adds complexity to your situation – showing you weren’t just performing routine tasks but dealing with demanding situations.

Task: Detailing Your Specific Responsibilities

In the STAR method, the ‘Task’ component is where you’ll outline your specific responsibilities in a given situation.

When detailing your task, clarity is crucial. You want the interviewer to understand exactly what was expected of you.

Start by describing any objectives or goals that were set for you at the outset. Were there targets or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that you had to meet? Did you have a deadline?

These details help paint a picture of the pressure or challenges involved in your task.

Next, consider any constraints or limitations that might have been present. For instance, did you have limited resources, such as time, budget, or manpower? Were there any particular rules or regulations that needed to be adhered to?

Mentioning these elements can highlight how demanding your task was and set up a compelling narrative for how you overcame these obstacles.

Also crucial in this section is demonstrating an understanding of who benefited from your tasks – whether it was clients, colleagues, stakeholders, or even broader society.

By doing this, not only are you showing awareness of your role within a larger context but also emphasizing its significance.

Avoid being too generic or vague. Instead of saying “I managed a team,” say something like “I was responsible for leading a five-person team tasked with developing a comprehensive marketing strategy within two weeks.” The latter gives more depth and provides a clearer picture of what exactly your task entailed.

Don’t shy away from using industry-specific jargon if it helps illustrate your point better. However, ensure it doesn’t cloud comprehension for those outside your field – balance technical language with layman terms when necessary.

Action: Describing The Steps You Took

Taking action is the critical core of the STAR Method.

It’s where you get to demonstrate your problem-solving skills, initiative, and ability to adapt in real-time situations.

Here’s how you can effectively describe the steps you took:

• Be Specific: Avoid vague descriptions. Instead, delve into the exact steps you undertook to address the situation or task at hand. Did you organize a team meeting? Implement a new software system? Develop a marketing strategy? The more specific, the better.
• Showcase Your Skills: This is your chance to highlight your unique abilities and strengths. Focus on actions that underline key competencies such as leadership, teamwork, creativity, resilience, or strategic thinking.
• Use Active Language: Frame your actions with dynamic verbs like ‘spearheaded’, ‘negotiated’, ‘engineered’, or ‘orchestrated’. This makes your actions more impactful and engaging for the reader.
• Sequence Your Actions: Detailing your actions in chronological order helps provide clarity and paints a vivid picture of how events unfolded.
• Quantify Where Possible: If you can attach numbers or percentages to illustrate your action’s impact – do it! For example: “I led a team of five members,” “We increased sales by 20%,” or “I reduced project delivery time by two weeks.”
• Highlight Challenges Overcome: If any obstacles arose during this phase and you successfully navigated them, be sure to include these details too—it adds depth and demonstrates resilience.
• Include Collaborative Efforts: If your action involved others (e.g., colleagues, stakeholders), mention their involvement to show your ability to work effectively within a team.

Result: Highlighting The Outcomes Of Your Actions

In the STAR method, the Result is your shining moment, your chance to highlight the outcomes of your actions.

The key here is to quantify your success whenever possible. Numbers speak volumes in an interview setting.

Did you increase sales by 20%? Reduce customer complaints by 50%? Or perhaps you streamlined a process that saved 10 hours of work each week? These are powerful statements that can establish you as a problem-solver who gets results.

But what if your result wasn’t quantifiable or didn’t end in absolute success? That’s okay too! What matters is that you show progress, learning, and growth.

Perhaps your action led to improved team morale or better communication within the department. Maybe it paved the way for future improvements or sparked new ideas for innovation.

Remember, not all results have to be earth-shattering successes. Sometimes, they’re stepping stones towards bigger victories down the line.

Another point worth noting is that results should ideally tie back to the company’s goals or values. This shows alignment with their mission and demonstrates how you could contribute if hired.

For instance, if applying for a role in a company known for its customer service excellence, highlighting a result where you resolved a complex client issue and retained their business would resonate well with interviewers.

Lastly, ensure your result answers this question: “What was different because of what I did?” This keeps you focused on showcasing the impact of your actions rather than just listing tasks completed.

Benefits Of Using The STAR Method

The STAR method stands out for a myriad of reasons, offering a multitude of benefits that make it an indispensable tool in your interview arsenal.

• Structured Responses : The STAR method offers a clear framework for detailing your experiences. By organizing your answer into the four key components – Situation, Task, Action, and Result – you give comprehensive insights into your past roles. This not only paints a full picture for the interviewer but also underscores your thorough understanding of your experiences.
• Showcase Soft Skills : Instead of merely narrating events, the STAR method emphasizes how you navigated those events. It lets you highlight vital skills such as problem-solving, leadership, initiative, and creativity—attributes employers are eager to see in potential candidates.
• Promote Specificity : With the STAR method, generic responses won’t cut it. This approach nudges you to share specific instances where you’ve demonstrated pivotal skills or achieved noteworthy results. Detailed answers are not only more memorable but also evidence your capacity to yield real-world results.
• Versatility : Its adaptability is one of the STAR method’s strongest suits. It’s effective in various interview styles, be it behavioral, competency-based, or panel interviews. Whether discussing teamwork, conflict resolution, or project management, the STAR method ensures your answers are always rooted in real-life experiences.
• Enhances Self-Awareness : Regularly using the STAR method encourages introspection. Reflecting on past events—both triumphs and missteps—helps foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth.

By utilizing the STAR method—you’re not just recounting events; you’re showcasing problem-solving abilities under pressure (Situation), organizational skills (Task), initiative & resourcefulness (Action), and the ability to achieve desired outcomes (Result).

Tips To Craft Your STAR Responses

Crafting your own STAR responses can feel like a daunting task, but with the right strategies and practice, it’s a skill you can master.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you along the way:

• Start with Specifics : The more specific you can be about the situation or task, the better. Vague or generalized descriptions can make it harder for interviewers to understand what you did and why it mattered.
• Action is Key : This is where you get to shine! Detail every step of your action plan – from conception to execution. Show how your actions directly contributed to resolving the situation or completing the task at hand.
• Quantify Your Results : Whenever possible, try to quantify your results. Did you increase sales by 20%? Improve efficiency by 35%? Cut down project delivery time by half? Numbers provide concrete evidence of your achievements.
• Keep It Relevant : Make sure that your STAR response aligns with the job role you’re applying for. If you’re interviewing for a leadership position, highlight situations where you led a team or made crucial decisions.
• Practice Out Loud : This might seem awkward at first, but saying your responses out loud will help them sound more natural during an actual interview.
• Be Honest : Never exaggerate or fabricate elements of your story – honesty is always best in interview scenarios.
• Use Varied Examples : Don’t rely on one experience for all questions; diversify your examples from different areas of work life – projects, teamwork, leadership instances etc.
• Review Job Description : Align examples with key skills/attributes mentioned in job description for maximum impact.
• Think About Lessons Learned : Every experience comes with lessons learned – reflecting on these shows growth mindset and continuous learning attitude which employers value highly.
• Stay Calm & Composed : Interview situations can be stressful, but maintaining a calm and composed demeanor will help you articulate your responses better.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls When Using the STAR Method

For a compelling STAR response, avoid these common mistakes:

• Being too vague : When describing the Situation or Task, many individuals fail to provide enough detail. This leaves interviewers wondering about the context or importance of your actions and results. Avoid this by being specific about what was happening and why it mattered.
• Skipping steps : Each element of STAR is vital for painting a complete picture. Don’t rush through or skip any part of the process—especially Action and Result—as this can leave gaps in your story.
• Focusing on group achievements : While teamwork is important, remember that the goal here is to highlight your skills and contributions. Make sure you’re focusing on what you did, not just your team.
• Neglecting the Result : Some people concentrate so much on the Situation, Task, and Action that they forget to adequately address the Result. Remember, outcomes matter! Be clear about what changed as a result of your actions.
• Over-rehearsing : While practice is important, sounding too rehearsed can come off as insincere or robotic. Keep it natural; let your passion for what you’ve achieved shine through.
• Not aligning with job requirements : Always keep in mind what competencies or qualities the interviewer is looking for and tailor your response accordingly.
• Ignoring non-verbal cues : Body language matters! Maintain eye contact, use open body language, and show enthusiasm through your tone of voice and facial expressions.
• Not learning from past experiences : Use feedback from previous interviews to refine your responses continually.

To avoid these pitfalls:

• Practice crafting detailed yet concise responses.
• Ensure you cover all elements of STAR without neglecting any.
• Highlight personal contributions and achievements.
• Align your responses with the job requirements.
• Pay attention to non-verbal cues.
• Use feedback to improve.

Real-World Examples: STAR Method In Action

Theory is one thing, but practical application is another.

Let’s delve into some real-world examples that illustrate how the STAR method can be employed effectively.

Example 1: A Project Manager Role

Consider a scenario where you’re interviewing for a project manager role and you’re asked, “Can you describe a time when you had to manage a particularly challenging project?”

• Situation : You could start by setting the scene – “At my previous job, I was given the responsibility of managing a project that involved implementing a new software system across all departments.”
• Task : Then, detail your specific responsibilities – “As the Project Manager, it was my duty to ensure smooth coordination between all departments and complete implementation within six months.”
• Action : Next, describe your actions – “I started by conducting meetings with each department head to understand their unique needs. I then created an implementation schedule and assigned tasks to team members based on their expertise. Regular progress meetings were scheduled to address any issues promptly.”
• Result : Finally, highlight the outcomes – “The new software system was successfully implemented across all departments within five months – one month ahead of schedule.”

Example 2: A Customer Service Role

Now imagine you’re interviewing for a customer service position and are asked, “Tell me about a time when you turned around an unhappy customer.”

• Situation : Start by painting the picture – “In my previous role as Customer Service Representative at XYZ Company, I received a call from an irate customer who had received an incorrect product.”
• Task : Detail your responsibilities – “My task was not only to resolve this issue but also to regain the customer’s trust in our company.”
• Action : Describe what steps you took – “I apologized sincerely for our mistake and assured her that we would rectify it immediately. I arranged for express shipping of the correct product along with return postage for the incorrect item. Additionally, I provided a discount code for her next purchase as a gesture of goodwill.”
• Result : Highlight the outcomes – “The customer was appreciative of how we handled the situation and continued to be a loyal customer.”

Adapting STAR For Different Interview Types

The beauty of the STAR technique lies in its universal applicability.

Whether you’re facing a panel, competency-based, behavioral, or even a stress interview, STAR can be your guiding light.

• Panel Interviews : With multiple eyes and ears on you, clarity is crucial. Using the STAR method, structure your answers so that every interviewer grasps your role and its impact. Address each element of your experience, ensuring you resonate with everyone on the panel.
• Competency-Based Interviews : Here, interviewers are seeking proof of specific skills. Lean into the ‘Task’ and ‘Action’ components of STAR. For instance, when discussing leadership, detail a time you led a team, the responsibilities you shouldered, actions you took, and the team’s achievements.
• Behavioral Interviews : These look to past scenarios as indicators of future behavior. Lay out the situation, your role, your actions, and the outcomes using STAR. This structured approach offers a tangible glimpse into your problem-solving and decision-making processes.
• Stress Interviews : While these are designed to see how you fare under pressure, the ‘Action’ component of STAR lets you highlight your adeptness at navigating challenges.

Variations To STAR: STAR-L (With Learning) And Beyond

As you become more comfortable with the STAR method, you may find yourself seeking ways to add depth and nuance to your responses.

One such variation is the STAR-L method, where ‘L’ stands for ‘Learning.’ This model carries you one step further by asking you to reflect on what you learned from the situation.

In this framework, after describing the Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR), you elaborate on what Lessons were gleaned from that experience.

This additional step showcases your ability to engage in self-reflection and continuous learning – two assets highly valued in today’s rapidly evolving work environment.

For instance, if your original STAR response was about a project where you led a team through a challenging deadline crunch and achieved success, in the STAR-L method, you might add that the experience taught you about the importance of clear communication or how better planning could have prevented such a tight deadline.

Beyond STAR-L are other variations like STAR-AR (Action-Result) or even SAR (Situation-Action-Result).

These versions are often used when interviewers want more emphasis on actions taken and their direct outcomes rather than focusing too much on context or task details.

The choice between these methods largely depends on the nature of your role and industry.

For example, roles requiring strategic decision-making might benefit more from using STAR-L to highlight learnings from past experiences. In contrast, positions focused on immediate results might prefer SAR or STAR-AR.

Comparing STAR: Differences From PAR (Problem, Action, Result) & CAR (Challenge, Action, Result) Techniques

The STAR method stands distinct from its counterparts – PAR (Problem, Action, Result) and CAR (Challenge, Action, Result).

While they all share a common thread of structuring responses in a clear and concise manner, there are subtle differences that set them apart.

• The STAR method provides a complete narrative by including situational context.
• The PAR method focuses primarily on problem-solving abilities.
• The CAR technique emphasizes resilience in overcoming challenges.

The STAR method is comprehensive in nature as it not only focuses on the problem at hand but also delves into the context or situation that led to it. This enables you to provide a detailed background before explaining your specific role or task. You then proceed to explain your actions and finally emphasize the results achieved.

On the other hand, the PAR technique zeroes in on identifying a Problem first. The focus here is more on problem-solving skills rather than situational context. After identifying a problem, you describe your action taken to resolve it and end with discussing the result. While this approach is direct-to-the-point, it may lack depth without setting up an initial context.

Similarly, the CAR technique begins by outlining a Challenge faced. The emphasis is on overcoming adversity or challenge rather than focusing solely on problem-solving. After describing how you tackled the challenge (Action), you discuss the result achieved.

Incorporating Emotion: The Role Of Feelings In STAR Responses

Incorporating emotion into your STAR responses can be a game-changer.

Emotion, when appropriately expressed, adds a layer of authenticity and relatability that can make your narrative more compelling.

It’s not just about what you did but how you felt while doing it.

Remember that interviews are not just an evaluation of your technical skills or experiences; they’re also about understanding who you are as a person.

Your emotions can indicate passion, dedication, resilience, and empathy – qualities that often define great employees.

When setting the scene in the ‘Situation’ step of STAR, don’t shy away from expressing how the situation made you feel. Were you daunted by the challenge? Excited at the prospect? This helps paint a vivid picture and draws your interviewer into the story.

During the ‘Task’ phase, sharing your emotional state can help showcase your motivation levels and commitment to tackling challenges head-on. Did the task fill you with dread or did it spark determination?

As you move on to ‘Action’, feelings play an integral role in demonstrating your work ethic and character. Were you frustrated when things didn’t go as planned? How did overcoming obstacles make you feel? These details provide depth to your response and highlight personal growth.

Finally, in discussing ‘Results’, emotions can emphasize the significance of your achievements. Was there a sense of relief or accomplishment? Did it boost your confidence or reaffirm your abilities?

However, there’s a delicate balance to strike here. Over-emphasizing emotions might make you come across as overly dramatic or unprofessional.

Keep it genuine and relevant; every emotional reference should serve to enhance understanding of your actions and results.

Pay attention to positive emotions – they leave interviewers with an optimistic impression of both past experiences and potential future performance. Negative emotions aren’t off-limits but frame them as part of learning curves or stepping stones towards success.

Role Of Non-Verbal Cues: Enhancing STAR Responses With Body Language

Non-verbal cues are the unspoken elements of communication that can significantly influence how your STAR responses are perceived.

Here’s how you can harness them effectively:

• Eye Contact : This is a primary indicator of confidence and honesty. As you detail the Situation or Task, direct eye contact shows you’re genuinely recounting your experiences and engaging with the interviewer.
• Posture : Your posture speaks volumes. Sit upright to show attentiveness. As you delve into the Action phase of your STAR response, a slight forward lean can subtly indicate your enthusiasm and engagement.
• Hand Gestures : These can breathe life into your narratives. Used rightly, gestures can make your Actions and Results more tangible. However, moderation is key—ensure your movements are purposeful and not distracting.
• Facial Expressions : They mirror your inner emotions. A genuine, relaxed smile or a thoughtful expression during the Result phase can underscore the positive outcomes of your story.
• Tone of Voice : Though not strictly ‘body language’, it is a pivotal non-verbal cue. Introduce variations in pitch to keep the interviewer engaged.

Remember, consistency between what you say (your STAR responses) and how you say it (your non-verbal cues) is key for effective communication during interviews.

Feedback Mechanisms: How To Refine Your STAR Responses

Feedback is crucial when mastering the STAR method for interviews.

By incorporating diverse feedback mechanisms, you can refine your answers for maximum impact.

Here’s how:

• Self-Evaluation : After practicing, pause and assess. Did you address the Situation, Task, Action, and Result effectively? Were there moments you lost focus? Recognizing your own strengths and pitfalls is the first step to improvement.
• Peer Review : Invite a friend or mentor to listen to your answers. Their external viewpoint can pinpoint areas that need refinement. Ask for feedback on both content and delivery, such as maintaining eye contact and speaking confidently.
• Record and Review : Film yourself during mock interviews. Observing yourself offers insights into non-verbal cues like body language and facial expressions, helping you make necessary adjustments.
• Seek Professional Guidance : A career coach or interview expert can offer seasoned insights, enhancing the depth and delivery of your responses.
• Embrace AI Feedback Tools : Several online platforms now provide AI-driven feedback on aspects like speech clarity, emotional tone, and response coherence. They can be a unique and modern tool in your preparation arsenal.

Refinement doesn’t happen overnight; it’s a gradual process that involves constant practice and willingness to learn from feedback received.

Practice Makes Perfect: Tips For Rehearsing STAR Answers

Naturally, the best way to master the STAR method is through practice.

Here are some strategic tips to guide you in rehearsing your STAR answers.

• Identify Potential Questions: Begin by identifying common interview questions related to your field or role. These questions will serve as a basis for your STAR responses. Look for those that ask about specific situations, tasks, actions, and results.
• Draft Your Responses: Once you’ve identified potential questions, draft your answers using the STAR format. Be specific and detailed in each section—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to paint a clear picture of your experience.
• Use Real-Life Experiences: Make sure to use real-life examples from your past experiences—whether they’re from previous jobs, volunteer work, or even academic projects. This not only makes it easier for you to remember details but also adds authenticity to your response.
• Rehearse Out Loud: Practicing out loud allows you to hear how your responses sound and gives you an opportunity to refine them further. Try practicing in front of a mirror or record yourself for playback; this can help identify any areas of awkwardness or confusion in your delivery.
• Get Feedback: Ask someone—a mentor, colleague or friend—to listen to your responses and provide feedback. They can point out any inconsistencies or gaps in your story that you may have missed.
• Time Yourself: While it’s important to be thorough with your responses, keep in mind that recruiters don’t want overly long answers either. Aim for two minutes per response—a stopwatch can help keep track!
• Adapt and Refine: Based on the feedback received and self-assessment done during rehearsal sessions, adapt and refine your responses until they’re polished and succinct.
• Keep It Fresh: Don’t memorize word-for-word as this can make you sound robotic during interviews; instead understand the key points you want to convey.

Evaluating Success: How Interviewers Assess STAR Responses

Interviewers are adept at assessing STAR responses, and they look for several key elements to gauge the success of your answer.

Understanding these criteria can help you tailor your responses more effectively.

• Relevance: First and foremost, interviewers assess whether the Situation, Task, Action, and Result you present align with the question asked or the competency being evaluated. Your response must be directly relevant to demonstrate that you understand what’s being asked of you.
• Specificity: Vague answers can leave interviewers guessing about your abilities. They prefer specific scenarios that showcase concrete actions taken and tangible results achieved. The more detailed your answer without rambling, the better.
• Action Orientation: Interviewers want to see that you’re a doer. They will evaluate how much of your story focuses on the actions you took versus background details or other people’s contributions.
• Result Impact: Your result should not just be a successful outcome; it should have had a significant impact on your team, project, or organization. Interviewers look for this to gauge how effective and influential you are in your role.
• Consistency: Consistency between what you say and what is known about you from other sources (like references or LinkedIn) adds credibility to your STAR response.
• Behavioral Indicators: Interviewers often use behavioral indicators to understand how likely it is that past behavior will predict future performance in similar situations.
• Non-verbal Cues: Your body language, tone of voice, facial expressions – all these non-verbal cues play a role in how well your STAR response is received.
• Learning Reflections: Some interviewers also appreciate when candidates reflect on their experiences and articulate what they learned from them or how they would improve their approach in future similar scenarios.

In conclusion, mastering the STAR method is not just about acing job interviews.

It’s a powerful tool that enhances your communication skills , helping you to present yourself in the best possible light.

Remember, like any skill, perfecting the STAR method requires practice and patience. Don’t be discouraged by initial challenges; instead, consider them as opportunities for learning and growth.

Use feedback constructively to refine your responses until they truly shine.

And don’t forget the power of non-verbal cues – a confident posture and genuine smile can add a whole new dimension to your story!

The STAR method is more than a technique; it’s a strategy for success. So go ahead – embrace it, and let your star shine bright!

877 Interview Blog Names To Spotlight Your Unique Voice

The Editorial Team at InterviewGuy.com is composed of certified interview coaches, seasoned HR professionals, and industry insiders. With decades of collective expertise and access to an unparalleled database of interview questions, we are dedicated to empowering job seekers. Our content meets real-time industry demands, ensuring readers receive timely, accurate, and actionable advice. We value our readers' insights and encourage feedback, corrections, and questions to maintain the highest level of accuracy and relevance.

Similar Posts

24 Answers To “Why Do You Want To Be A Waitress” (2024)

25 Answers To “Why Do You Want To Be A Bartender”

31 Answers To “Why Do You Want To Work As A Cook” (2024)

25 In-N-Out Burger Interview Questions (And Insider Answers)

51 Answers To “What Animal Would You Be and Why” 2024

27 Chick-fil-A Interview Questions (With Perfect Answers)

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Product Design Bundle and save

User Research New

Content Design

UX Design Fundamentals

Software and Coding Fundamentals for UX

• UX training for teams
• Hire our alumni
• Student Stories
• State of UX Hiring Report 2024
• Our mission
• Advisory Council

Education for every phase of your UX career

Professional Diploma

Learn the full user experience (UX) process from research to interaction design to prototyping.

Combine the UX Diploma with the UI Certificate to pursue a career as a product designer.

Professional Certificates

Learn how to plan, execute, analyse and communicate user research effectively.

Master content design and UX writing principles, from tone and style to writing for interfaces.

Understand the fundamentals of UI elements and design systems, as well as the role of UI in UX.

Short Courses

Gain a solid foundation in the philosophy, principles and methods of user experience design.

Learn the essentials of software development so you can work more effectively with developers.

Give your team the skills, knowledge and mindset to create great digital products.

Join our hiring programme and access our list of certified professionals.

Learn about our mission to set the global standard in UX education.

Meet our leadership team with UX and education expertise.

Members of the council connect us to the wider UX industry.

Our team are available to answer any of your questions.

Fresh insights from experts, alumni and the wider design community.

Success stories from our course alumni building thriving careers.

Discover a wealth of UX expertise on our YouTube channel.

Latest industry insights. A practical guide to landing a job in UX.

What Is the STAR Method? Here’s How To Use It in Your Next Interview (With Examples)

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Results—and it’s a great tool for answering interview questions. Here’s how to use the STAR method, with examples.

Free course: Introduction to UX Design

What is UX? Why has it become so important? Could it be a career for you? Learn the answers, and more, with a free 7-lesson video course.

If you’ve ever had a job interview, you’re probably familiar with questions like “Tell me about a time when…” or “How do you handle [insert tricky situation].”

You’re probably also familiar with how stressful these questions can be. You know you’re supposed to provide some kind of example, and you know you’ve got loads you could draw from…but you just can’t think of any right now. 

After some umming and ahhing, you eventually pull an example from your mental archives. But you’re feeling a bit flustered and realise you’re rambling. You’re not conveying the point you wanted to make, and the interviewer is looking rather lost. 

Fortunately, there’s a very simple solution to this common conundrum. It’s called the STAR framework , and it’ll help you to answer behavioural interview questions concisely and coherently. 

If you’re new to STAR, this guide is for you. It contains everything you need to know about the STAR method, including useful examples to help you model your own answers. 

Keep reading to learn:

What is the STAR method?

What is the star/ar method, why is the star method useful.

• What kind of interview questions is the STAR method used for?

How to use the STAR method in your next job interview: 3 expert tips

Some star and star/ar example answers for ux designers, the takeaway, more career tips for ux designers.

So, what exactly is the STAR framework? Let’s begin.

[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]

STAR stands for Situation , Task , Action , and Results . 

It provides a helpful framework for structuring your answers to interview questions. Specifically, the STAR method is useful when you need to tell a concise and logical story—usually in response to behavioural questions such as “Tell me about a time when…” 

Here’s how the STAR framework helps you format your answer:

• Situation . This is where you set the scene and provide necessary context. This usually involves laying out the problem or challenge you had to solve. For example: “I was working as a junior UX designer at an e-commerce startup. We noticed that there was a really high rate of users abandoning their shopping carts at the last step in the purchase process, so we needed to improve the experience.”
• Task . Here you outline the specific role you played, including any goals or objectives you were tasked with reaching. For example: “I was responsible for reviewing and redesigning the checkout process to reduce ‘abandoned cart’ rates by at least 55%.”
• Action . This is where you share the actions you took to solve the problem/tackle the challenge and to meet your goals. For example: “I started by conducting usability tests to identify the main pain-points in the checkout process. I then conducted some competitor research to see how similar e-commerce sites were structuring the process. Based on my findings, I redesigned our process, removing a very time-consuming step which asked users to fill out a long form with unnecessary information. I also implemented additional payment options as we were previously only allowing customers to pay via PayPal.”
• Results . Here you state the results and outcomes you were able to achieve. For example: “A month after the redesign was live, we saw a 75% increase in customers completing their purchases. The redesign not only improved the user experience of the site, but also significantly increased sales.”

But what if you’re asked to tell the interviewer about a project which didn’t quite go to plan? 

There’s an expansion of the STAR method which comes in very handy for such questions: STAR/AR . We explain in the next section.

The STAR/AR framework adds two extra elements to your story: (alternative) Action and (alternative) Result . 

This is useful when you didn’t achieve the desired results and want to share your learnings. 

Here’s how the STAR/AR method works:

• Situation . As with STAR, this is where you outline the context and the challenge.
• Task . Again, outline your role on the project and the outcomes you were aiming for.
• Action . Here, you share the specific steps and actions you took to address the challenge.
• Results . This is where you explain the outcomes (or consequences) and reflect on why the action(s) you undertook weren’t successful.
• Alternative Action . Here, you share what you learned and what you could have done differently/would do differently next time. In other words, what alternative actions could you have taken for better results?
• Alternative Results . Explain how your alternative action(s) could have impacted the results differently. What could you have achieved if you had pursued a different course of action?

The STAR/AR framework is a great tool for sharing unsuccessful projects and framing them in a positive light which showcases your ability to reflect, learn, and improve. 

The STAR and STAR/AR frameworks are useful because they help you to provide logical, well-structured answers which tell a relevant story. 

When following the STAR method, you’ll ensure that you cover all the necessary details that the interviewer is looking for—and that you do so in a coherent, easy-to-follow way. 

By focusing on the four points of STAR, you can also avoid rambling, going off on a tangent, or diving into too much detail and losing the point you wanted to make. 

Communication is a critical skill (one of the most in-demand skills for 2023 , in fact)—not just for UX roles , but for pretty much any job you apply for. Interviewers will be looking out for your ability to communicate effectively and concisely—and the STAR method will help you do just that. 

What kind of interview questions is the STAR framework used for?

The STAR framework is ideal for answering behavioural interview questions. Behavioural questions are those which focus on how you behaved in a specific situation, and they typically require you to share specific examples. 

Here are some common behavioural interview questions which can be answered using the STAR method:

• You had to take on a new task which you had no experience of doing before
• You made a mistake at work
• You had to delegate to other colleagues or team members
• You have clashing deadlines and not enough time to meet them all?
• You and a colleague can’t reach an agreement on something?
• A last-minute request comes in and you’ve already got lots on your plate?
• A successful project you worked on
• A time when you had to work with a difficult or uncooperative colleague or client
• An unsuccessful project you worked on

The interviewer won’t always formulate their behavioural questions in the same way. But, if it sounds like they’re digging for insights into how you approach certain challenges and situations, the chances are that they’re looking for a concrete example or an anecdote. That’s your cue to apply the STAR framework. 

[UX DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS COURSE]

1. Plan ahead and have some STAR stories at the ready

You can’t anticipate exactly what questions will come up in your interview. But you can—and should—spend some time reading through the job description to get an idea of the skills and qualities the hiring manager will be looking out for. 

You can then plan some STAR stories which highlight those critical skills. For example, if you’re applying for a UX design role with a heavy focus on user research , you’ll definitely want to prepare a STAR anecdote based on a time you successfully contributed to a user research project. 

Maybe the job you’re applying for requires lots of involvement in UX strategy . In that case, you’ll want to come up with an example of a time when you took on a strategic role or contributed to a strategic initiative. 

In short: Pull out the key skills, qualities, and behaviours the job description focuses on and come up with STAR stories which highlight and demonstrate these.

2. Formulate you STAR answers using only the most relevant detail

When using the STAR method, it’s important to follow the framework to the letter. The goal is to share every story or example in a concise, logical manner—delivering the relevant points and making it easy for the hiring manager to follow along. 

For example, when it comes to the Situation aspect, you don’t need to provide too much historical background or unnecessary detail. You want to set the scene without going round the houses. Share some context about where you were working, who you were working with (if relevant) and introduce the problem, project, or challenge you’re going to focus on. Good: “During my UX design internship at a software company, I was responsible for onboarding new clients. Our new client surveys reported a low satisfaction score, so I was then responsible for improving the experience.” Not so good: “I once did a UX design internship at a software company. I worked there for about six months in total and had lots of contact with new clients. They were mostly clients in the telecoms industry and I was responsible for onboarding them, which I usually did via video calls but sometimes they came by to the office. For every new client, we gave them a survey to complete after onboarding and sadly our client satisfaction scores were quite low so my manager asked me to look into ways to improve it.” 

Can you see how the second answer is much longer and includes detail which isn’t necessarily relevant to the story? If you do this for each point of the STAR, you run the risk of telling a long, winding story which loses the listener’s interest before you’ve been able to demonstrate your skills and achievements. 

In short: Keep your answers focused and concise. Go through each aspect of the STAR and come up with just two or three key points for each. 

3. Practice using the STAR method on the fly

It’s great to go into your interview with some STAR stories at the ready. At the same time, it’s important that you’re able to implement the STAR method on the fly, too. You don’t know what the interviewer will ask you, after all, so it’s good to be prepared for some curveballs. 

If you can, find a friend, colleague, or relative who can roleplay the interview with you. Ask them to come up with some behavioural questions based on the job description and practice answering them using the STAR framework—with no prior preparation. 

This will get you well-versed in structuring your answers under pressure—a task which can be tricky when you’re already feeling those interview nerves. And, if you do find yourself struggling to come up with something right away, don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer if you can have a moment or two to think. 

In short: In addition to planning some STAR answers ahead of the interview, practice answering behavioural questions under pressure. This will ease your nerves going into the interview and reinforce your confidence in the STAR framework. 

Now we know exactly what the STAR method is and how it’s used, let’s share some example answers for UX designers. These should provide some inspiration for your own STAR anecdotes. 

STAR example #1: Tell me about your most successful UX design project

With this question, the hiring manager is asking you to describe a specific project and, most importantly, to explain how you contributed to the project’s success. 

Here’s an example answer based on the STAR framework. 

Situation : “I once volunteered with a non-profit organisation which taught coding skills to primary school-age children. I volunteered to help them redesign their digital learning portal.”

Task : “I was responsible for planning and conducting user research to determine what features could be added to the platform, and then sharing my findings with key stakeholders, including the CEO and the product manager. The goal was to increase the average learner engagement time by 10 minutes per day, per user.”

Action : “I conducted user interviews with eight kids who had already used the platform, and with their parents. This allowed me to gain insights from direct users (the kids) and also from their parents who are able to access the learning platform and see their kids’ progress. From these interviews, I identified three new features that could improve the experience for both learners and their parents. I also discovered that there were some existing features that weren’t being used. I presented my findings and recommendations to the CEO and product manager, suggesting that they build and integrate three new features and remove two unused features.”

Results : “They followed my recommendations and launched those new features a few months later. After three months, the average learner engagement time had increased by 17 minutes per user, per day—much higher than the original target. Students also reported a net promoter score (NPS) that was three points higher than the six months prior.” 

STAR example #2: Think back to a time when you and your colleague couldn’t agree on the direction a project should take. How did you handle it?

This question is all about collaboration, conflict resolution, and overcoming challenges. Here’s how your answer might take shape with the STAR method.

Situation : “I was working as the only UX designer at an insurance company. I collaborated closely with the product owner who didn’t really believe in user research. They wanted me to provide prototypes for the new company app without conducting any research, but I wanted to do at least a brief round of user research before moving forward.”

Task : “I was set the task of coming up with prototypes for the new app within one month. They then wanted the new app to launch three months after that.”

Action : “I came up with a plan for how I could conduct user research on a low budget and still have the prototypes ready in time for the planned launch date. I put together a brief presentation outlining the steps I would take to conduct research, as well as the suggested cost and timeline, and a summary of how it would be useful for the end results. I shared this with the product owner to show them that I could still meet their deadlines and complete the project within budget if I included user research in the process. They appreciated that I had come up with a solution and a plan, and agreed that I could go ahead with the research.”

Results : “I conducted the user research as approved by the product owner and made sure to share my findings and insights with them so they could be involved in the process and see the value. We were able to launch the app on time and everyone was happy. For the next project, the product owner was immediately on board with user research and I didn’t have to go through the approval process again.”

The STAR framework will help you to answer behavioural questions logically and coherently, telling a well-structured story which highlights the key skills and qualities the hiring manager is looking for. It will also allow you to showcase your excellent communication skills—earning you a big tick from any interviewer. 

Use it when preparing for your next job interview, and remember: you can always turn to the STAR/AR variation when you’re talking about unsuccessful projects or learning curves. 

The STAR method is just one tool that will help you in your UX career. If you’re a newcomer to the field, you can accelerate your chances of interview success by reframing your previous experience and using it to your advantage . You’ll also want to make sure that your UX portfolio is ticking all the boxes , and that your UX CV and cover letter are well-primed to catch the hiring manager’s attention. 

• STAR method

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the best UX insights and career advice direct to your inbox each month.

Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter

You'll now get the best career advice, industry insights and UX community content, direct to your inbox every month.

Upcoming courses

Professional diploma in ux design.

Learn the full UX process, from research to design to prototyping.

Professional Certificate in UI Design

Master key concepts and techniques of UI design.

Certificate in Software and Coding Fundamentals for UX

Collaborate effectively with software developers.

Certificate in UX Design Fundamentals

Get a comprehensive introduction to UX design.

Professional Certificate in Content Design

Learn the skills you need to start a career in content design.

Professional Certificate in User Research

Master the research skills that make UX professionals so valuable.

Upcoming course

Build your UX career with a globally-recognised, industry-approved certification. Get the mindset, the skills and the confidence of UX designers.

You may also like

What is Gemini AI (formerly known as Bard AI) and how can you use it to become a better UX designer?

What are the laws of UX? All 21 laws explained

The 10 best user interface (UI) design tools to try in 2024

Build your UX career with a globally recognised, industry-approved qualification. Get the mindset, the confidence and the skills that make UX designers so valuable.

4 June 2024

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Article • 9 min read

STAR Method

A model approach to nail your next interview.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

"Can you tell me about a time when you…" is a phrase that can strike fear into interviewees. Your mind goes blank, you get flustered and blurt out the first ill-thought-out example that comes to mind.

Fortunately, the STAR Method can prepare you to answer this type of tricky interview question effectively. And, as we'll see, you can also use the framework beyond interviews to help you identify, reflect on, and demonstrate positive behaviors in other areas of your work life.

What Is the STAR Method for Interviews?

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result . It's a framework developed to prepare for and answer competency-based questions in interviews.

Employers ask behavioral-based questions to understand how you've dealt with issues and challenges in the past – and to predict how you'll likely react to situations in their workplace. They're also used to assess whether you have the skills and knowledge needed for the role.

When you use the STAR Method, you draw from real-life work experiences, and communicate them clearly to your interviewer. Let's look at each step in turn.

The Four-Step STAR Interview Method

Competency-based interviews ask open-ended questions designed to reveal how you approach and overcome workplace challenges. Think of the STAR technique as the structure to tell a story that demonstrates your skills .

• Situation: start by setting the scene for your example. Here, you outline a specific challenge you faced and give the interviewer some context. For example, you could name a project you worked on, where it took place, and the size of your team.
• Task: this is where you explain your role in the situation. Again, give a few brief details. For example, were you the leader? What was your goal? What were you tasked to do?
• Action: now you explain what you did. Be specific and explain how you overcame the challenge. Outline the steps you took to resolve the situation. Even if it was a team effort, explain what you did and lead with "I" instead of "we" to detail your approach.
• Result: finally, summarize the effects of your actions. Mention specific results in your answer, and, if possible, talk about facts, figures and stats that quantify your success. You can also discuss what you learned and share insights that you can apply to future challenges.

How to Answer STAR Interview Questions

Let's look at a STAR Method example, and answer a classic interview question: "Describe a problem that you faced at work – and how you dealt with it."

Situation: "In my last job as a studio manager, two of my designers left just after we landed new business with a big client. Our first deadline was in four weeks!"

Task: "I didn't have time to recruit new designers, given the tight timescale. So, as well as manage the studio, I had to step in and do some of the design work and hold weekly progress updates with the client."

Action: "First, I revised my task list and delegated as many jobs as possible to my studio assistant. For example, they set up job descriptions for the new roles and liaised with recruitment agencies. I also reached out to freelancers I knew, to plug the gaps until we found new hires. With that, and a few late nights, we hit the deadline for our first campaign. It brought in a much-needed $15,000 for that quarter."

Result: "The client loved our work. Now, they account for 40 percent of our business. The situation also taught me to keep a bank of freelancers. I looked into our work culture, too. Exit interviews with the employees who left revealed that they wanted more learning opportunities. So I now take a greater role in making learning and development part of our company culture."

At each stage of the STAR model, career coach Michael Higgins [1] recommends that you:

• Be specific to engage and convince your interviewers.
• Be concise to hold their attention for every question.
• Finish on a positive note to leave a strong impression.

Prepping for Behavioral Interview Questions

Recruiters want to see beyond your resumé to understand how you have behaved in work situations. They're looking for a combination of knowledge, skills, and attributes. These usually fall under common competencies such as teamwork, leadership and decision-making.

You can use the STAR approach to turn your experiences into answers for almost any question that comes your way.

Following the tips below will give you a bank of answers you can turn to.

You'll find examples of typical questions in our article How to Answer Interview Questions .

• Update your CV/resumé using the STAR Method as a guide. This will enable you to create more compelling applications for future jobs, and then better articulate past achievements in an interview. Tell a story that illustrates how you put your training and experience to practical and effective use in the workplace.
• Review the job description and match up your skill sets using the STAR framework, so that you can later illustrate them in the interview. You should also research the company and industry to which you're applying, to help predict the types of challenges they face. Where have you experienced and resolved similar issues?
• Look for the similarities between behavioral interview questions. The wording of questions may be different, but they will be looking for evidence of the same behaviors. For example, with some tweaking, you can apply the same STAR answer to: "Tell me about a time when you had to rely on a team to get things done," and "Think of a time when you worked effectively in a team situation."
• Practice your answers in front of a mirror or get a friend to interview you. That way, talking about your achievements will come more naturally. And you'll learn how to flex and adapt your bank of answers to fit almost any competency-based question.
• Be honest. Don't be tempted to use the STAR Technique dishonestly or to exaggerate your skill level . You'll come unstuck if you're hired and later called on to put those skills into practice.

The STAR Technique for Hiring Managers

Use the following tips to make best use of the STAR method if you are interviewing candidates:

• Match your questions to the role requirements. Spend time considering the competency level and behavioral skill set you want to see. The more specific you are, the more effective your STAR interview questions are likely to be.
• Take a balanced approach. Don't base too much of the interview around the STAR technique. Or you may end up clear about how the candidate might react in certain situations, but have little idea of who they are as an individual.
• Allow for nerves. If a candidate is struggling to answer a STAR interview question, don't be afraid to reframe it slightly. This can encourage them to get over their anxiety, and to better communicate their knowledge and experience.

Looking Beyond STAR Interviews

The ability to reflect on – and articulate – your successes is also useful outside of the interview room. For example:

• Self-reflection. Use the STAR method to help recognize your strengths and weaknesses anytime, to build your confidence and aid in plotting your career. Similarly, a Personal SWOT Analysis identifies opportunities and obstacles in your life, based on your talents. This can point your career in a direction that plays to your strengths and away from your weaknesses.
• Reframing negative thoughts into positive ones. The STAR approach can also be used to create affirmations . And studies by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the U.S. [2] support the idea that repeating positive statements about your successes will improve your outlook and build your resilience.
• Giving feedback. If you're a manager, coach or mentor, you can use the STAR technique to support people so they can recognize their strengths , boost their confidence and develop themselves.

Infographic

Check out our STAR Treatment infographic .

The STAR Method ( Situation, Task, Action and Result ) is a framework to help you to prepare, reflect on, and answer behavioral interview questions effectively. It's not a tool to memorize "perfect answers." Rather, it's a skeleton key to unlock your strengths and experiences.

If you're a recruiter, understanding the method enables you to uncover the skills, behaviors and knowledge required for a particular role.

Use the STAR Technique at any time to help yourself (and others) to recognize strengths, build confidence and think more positively.

[1] The Guardian. (2014). ‘Using the Star technique to shine at job interviews: a how-to guide’ [Online]. Available here . [Accessed December 18, 2020]

[2] NCBI. (2016). ‘Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation’ [Online]. Available here .

You've accessed 1 of your 2 free resources.

Get unlimited access

Discover more content

How to answer interview questions.

Job Interview Question Tips

How to Perform Your Best in a Video Interview

Delivering a knockout interview online

Add comment

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!

Get 30% off your first year of Mind Tools

Great teams begin with empowered leaders. Our tools and resources offer the support to let you flourish into leadership. Join today!

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Member Extras

Most Popular

Latest Updates

How to Manage Passive-Aggressive People

How Can I Manage Passive-Aggressive Team Members?

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

Written communication.

Discover how to construct an effective message, and test and hone your writing skills

Stress Busters

Discover four powerful approaches for dealing with stress

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

How businesses work together.

Understanding Partnerships and Collaboration in Business

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Team Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Member Podcast

How to Use the STAR Interview Method to Land a Job

Sharing anecdotes created with this simple acronym helps convey your experience and skills in a lively, memorable way.

The STAR method is a technique for organizing your answer to job interview questions that ask you to “describe a time when you” encountered a particular situation. It stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result.

What Is the STAR Interview Method?  

During a  job interview , you will probably be asked to tell a story about a time you handled a specific scenario or applied certain skills in the past. The best way to answer these types of questions is to use the STAR method, in which you tell a compelling story by describing the situation you faced, the task needed to be done, the actions you took to complete the task and the results of your actions.

The four steps — which form the acronym STAR — are as follows:

• Situation: Set up the scene of the situation and give necessary context.
• Task: Describe your task and responsibilities in the situation.
• Action: Explain the actions and steps you took to complete the task.
• Result: Discuss the results and positive outcomes of your actions.

The STAR method is especially useful for interviewees who aren’t great at thinking on their feet .

“It provides a candidate with a method of communicating a response in an organized method with a focus on behaviors and results,” said Theresa Adams, senior HR knowledge advisor at the  Society for Human Resource Management .

When Do You Use the STAR Method?

The STAR method is best for answering questions that require you to talk about an experience where you demonstrated a desired skill or trait. These kinds of scenarios arise when interviewers ask behavioral questions . 

Behavioral interview questions gauge how candidates may react in certain work situations. Examples of behavioral questions can include “tell me about a time you led a work project” or “tell me about a time you experienced conflict with a coworker .”

It’s best to limit the STAR method only to interview questions that ask you to provide concrete examples of skills and abilities. Basic interview questions like “ Why do you want to work here ?” or “ Where do you see yourself in five years ?” don’t mention a specific situation, so the STAR method would be inappropriate in these instances. 

How Does the STAR Method Work?

STAR interview answers follow each letter of the acronym as a step.  

1. Set Up the Situation

First, set up the situation at hand. Give the interviewer a clear (but brief) picture of where your example takes place and what was occurring. Include several details relevant to the interview question at most to avoid a lengthy response. You should spend no more than 20 percent of your talking time setting the stage, so keep your description concise. 

2. Describe the Task

Describe your main task, objective or goal in the situation, and what your responsibilities entailed. The interviewer should understand what your role was in the scenario and what you were expected to accomplish . Keep the summary as short as possible since you should spend no more than 10 percent of your answer talking about the task. 

3. Explain the Actions You Took

Explain what you did to accomplish your task, and what was significant about the action you chose to carry out. Don’t give a generic overview — it’s worth highlighting any details specific to your action and scenario. This is the most important part of your answer and can take up as much as 60 percent of your talking time. So, take the time to emphasize at least one or two key steps you took to resolve a situation or achieve a goal .  

4. Share the Results

Remember that stories you tell during an interview need to accomplish two things: Demonstrate your past capabilities and show the value you’ll add in the future. This is the time to not only reveal the result, but share what you learned during the experience and how you might handle it differently. Still, the results shouldn’t make up more than 10 percent of your answer. If you can promptly highlight your achievements and growth, the STAR format can be a strategic way to format your accomplishments into a strong narrative .  

How to Prepare for an Interview With the STAR Method

Anyone can say that they’re hardworking , responsible or adaptable — but you need to back up your claims with evidence. Instead of listing your  qualities and skills , tell a specific story about a time you exemplified them. Doing so will make your interview more memorable and give the employer a glimpse into how you behave in the workplace .

Here’s a few tips for practicing the STAR method and how to best apply it in an interview.  

“Do your best to avoid long-winded answers,” said  Octavia Goredema , a  career coach and author of Prep, Push, Pivot: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women . Practice pre-interview so you’re able to share answers confidently and with impact. “Interviewers will listen for relevant examples and details that convey how you solved a problem or overcame a challenge,” Goredema said.

Wait For Your Cue  

Getting your timing right is as important as choosing the right story. Relying too heavily on the STAR method can make your answers seem unnatural and may signal that you aren’t engaged in the current conversation, which is a turnoff for employers. Don’t leap in to share an anecdote every chance you get. Instead, listen for cues from your interviewer to pick the right moment to share. 

“When an interviewer is asking you to give an example of a situation where you had to overcome major obstacles to meet your objectives, the STAR method can be a useful tool in thinking about how to frame your answers and effectively answer their questions,” said Savanna Thompson, vice president of people at  98point6 . 

Be Authentic

An effective workplace story doesn’t have to be one where everything went perfectly. Don’t be afraid to tell stories where mistakes were made or things didn’t go entirely according to plan. Ultimately, the STAR method should show how you generated a positive impact at work and give you a chance to explain what you learned. 

See Interviews Holistically  

“Tell me about a time when…” most likely won’t encompass the entire interview, Goredema said. She recommends making a list of all tough questions like “ why should we hire you ” and practicing responses.

Example STAR Method Questions

Tell me about a time you overcame a difficult challenge  .

Situation: “I was just about to go into a board committee meeting when I received some emergency family news.”

Task: “I knew my attention wouldn’t be completely on the meeting, but this meeting had been on the books for months. I had to decide how to handle the situation.”

Action: “I decided that transparency was the best course of action. I went to the meeting and told the board what had happened. I offered to stay at the meeting. The board chair told me I should leave, and she offered to record the meeting so I could listen to it later.”

Result: “I was able to attend to the emergency and the board meeting continued. I listened to the recording during the week and was able to share a few thoughts with the board chair. I felt that trusting them with my news, and that in this case, vulnerability was a desirable leadership quality . The board’s understanding verified my choice.”

Tell Me About a Time You Were Suddenly Given a Leadership Opportunity

Situation: “I had been at my company for about six months when my manager had to take substantial FMLA leave to care for his parents. I was asked if I’d step in as acting manager during the time he was away.” 

Task: “My task was to keep my team on track and handle my own workload.”

Action: “Before he left, my manager, his manager and I met to go over the day-to-day aspects of managing our team as well as prioritize projects. Because I was cognizant that I’d have to get my own work done and manage the team, I got permission to place two long-term projects on hold until my manager returned. I then met with my team to devise a weekly plan for meeting deadlines and we set up a weekly 15-minute team meeting, in lieu of formal one-on-ones , to keep us on track. To keep my own work on track, I created a day-by-day plan and stuck to it.” 

Result: “Everything ran smoothly during my manager’s time away. I felt proud that I had asked for, and gotten, certain dispensations during his absence; I feel it showed that I understood priorities, for instance handling my own work and keeping the team’s day-to-day work on track, and didn’t try to be a superhero. My manager returned and was happy how things had gone during his absence, and six months later, I received a promotion .”

Describe a Time When a Project of Yours Didn’t Turn Out as Expected

Situation: “My team was asked to onboard a client that had been with the company in the past. The client had left the company because it felt it wasn’t getting proper customer service, but decided to give us a second chance.”

Task: “My task was to onboard and welcome this boomerang client in a way that they would feel that they made the right decision in returning.”

Action: “Before meeting the client, my team, sales and customer service met to figure out exactly what happened during the first go-round, and then outlined clear steps for rectifying those situations. For instance, the client had previously gotten check-in communication from customer service every two weeks; we decided to ask the client if one week would work better. We also decided that the account manager would, situation permitting, fly out to see the client every three months, and also offered the client a three-month free trial of a product we’d just introduced.”

Result: “The client seemed happy and satisfied with our efforts, but still left our company after a few months. In retrospect, maybe we tried too hard to keep them as a client, or perhaps it was just meant to be. In any event, I, my team, and the other teams learned a lot about each other and about client retention tools, so end over end it was a good experience.”

Why Is the STAR Interview Method Effective?

STAR answers form a connection between job candidates and interviewers, said Timothy Golden, a professor in the Lally School of Management at  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . They help demonstrate your merits as a candidate , and also give interviewers a glimpse into how they’d operate as a potential employee.

“The beauty of the STAR method is that you never know what you’ll get,” said Martin Welker, CEO of  Zenkit . “The open-ended questions can reveal a wealth of information about the candidate’s potential as an employee as well as how they would fit into the team and  company culture .”

That’s especially true for  remote interviews . “One of the biggest differences in remote interviews is that the job candidate and the interviewer have the potential to feel psychologically distant from one another,” Golden said. “They feel less psychological closeness because they are spatially distant from each other. Both the job candidate and interviewer should work to psychologically connect with each other, through sharing stories and facial expressions.” 

Successful interviews, for both interviewer and candidate, will bridge that separation, and create an environment where the job interview can help both parties to truly understand one another . Where one person walks away with a job offer , and the other rejoices in a fine addition to their staff, it’s a win-win.

How the STAR Method Can Help Alleviate Implicit Bias

Behavioral-based questions produce key insights into a candidate’s competencies , said Elaine Obukhova, Academy of Management Scholar and assistant professor at McGill University in Toronto. Understanding how people have responded to certain past situations can help predict how they’ll respond in the future. 

So how can STAR curb  implicit bias ? Obukhova offers one example: Chinese-American job candidates, she said, can be stereotypically viewed as competent, but also as “cold” or “lacking leadership potential.” STAR questions can get past that bias because they focus on what people did rather than how they seem. 

“People from different backgrounds express themselves differently,” she said. “Interviews that focus on the discovery of ‘fit’ or ‘passion’ often disadvantage people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds,” she said. “Asking about strengths and weaknesses will tell interviewers how well-spoken the candidate is, not necessarily reveal competence.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the star method.

The STAR method is an interview technique that helps candidates format answers for behavioral questions. STAR stands for situation, task, action and result.

What are examples of STAR questions?

"Tell me about a time you led a project" or "Describe a time when you were under pressure at work: how did you handle it?" are examples of STAR questions. 

How long should a STAR method response be?

Between one to four minutes long; approximately a few minutes.

What are the 4 steps in STAR?

• S ituation: provide the setting and context.
• T ask: describe the challenge you faced.
• A ction: outline the steps you took to resolve the challenge.
• R esult: share the outcome of your actions.

An earlier version of this story was written by Sunny Betz.

Recent Job Interviews Articles

How To Master the STAR Method For Interview Questions

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

By Mike Simpson

Updated 6/5/2022.

Job interviews are stressful, especially when faced with the dreaded behavioral-style interview. Behavioral questions help a hiring manager determine if a candidate also has the skills, experience, and traits to do the job effectively. As Monster puts it, it gives hiring managers an “honest glimpse behind the resume.”

That’s why you need an effective approach to create great answers. Luckily, we’re here to teach you about the STAR method and how, with a little preparation, you can provide answers that are on-point.

What Is the STAR Method?

Considering that behavioral interviews are the second-most popular format , having a strategy is essential. That’s where the STAR method comes into play.

In the simplest sense, the STAR interview method is a technique for answering behavioral interview questions. The STAR method interview approach relies heavily on story-telling strategies. You “show” the hiring manager how you’d handle a situation using examples with a clear beginning, middle, and end for the scenario you present.

“STAR” is actually an acronym in this case. Each letter outlines a component of a great answer, effectively giving you a framework to follow when creating responses to behavioral interview questions.

STAR Stands for Situation, Task, Action & Result

So, STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Let’s take a second to break down exactly what each letter means.

The “situation” is the initiating event that launched the scenario you’re about to discuss . For example, getting an assignment from a manager is a situation. The same goes for encountering an obstacle. Essentially, you’re setting the stage with the situation part of the strategy. 

Think of a situation similar to what the interviewer is asking you about that had a successful outcome. It doesn’t necessarily have to be work-related as long as it’s relevant. Remember to include the who, what, where, when, and how.

The “task” is the aspect of the situation you had to manage . You outline the work that was laid before you, giving the hiring manager insights about your role in the equation.

Describe the task you were responsible for in that situation. Keep it specific but concise. Make sure to highlight any challenges you faced.

The “action” is the part where you describe exactly what you did . How did you complete the task you were assigned? What skills did you use? How did you collaborate with? What traits helped you during the journey?

Remember to focus on skills and characteristics the hiring manager will find desirable, primarily by choosing ones that align with the job and company culture. That way, you come across as a stronger match.

The “result” is functionally a closing to the story . You’re discussing what happened after you were given the task and took action.

Share what the outcome of the situation was and how you specifically contributed to that outcome. What did you accomplish? What did you learn? What were the results of your actions?

When to Use the STAR Method

While there is literally an unlimited amount of possible behavioral questions a hiring manager could ask you, there are several specific categories they all fall into:

• Problem Solving/Planning
• Initiative/Leadership
• Interpersonal Skills/Conflict
• Pressure/Stress

Prior to going in for your interview, make sure you take a hard look at the job you’re applying for and use clues from that to prepare your STAR answers. By picking out what skills the company is specifically looking for or are required for the job, it will help you target your success stories.

Once you have those skills identified, go through your own personal history and background and find success stories that align with those skills.

In fact we we wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free checklist for behavioral questions that covers all the critical info you need when dealing with these tricky types of job interview questions!

Click below to get your free PDF now:

CLICK HERE TO GET THE BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW CHECKLIST

Common Mistakes While Answering STAR Questions

1. not answering the question at all.

If an interviewer asks you a question and you can’t think of a single specific success story from your past that you can apply to the situation, then tell them that! It’s far better to be honest than make something up.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you get to tell the interviewer to move on to the next question. Instead, you’re going to flip the question back onto yourself and follow up with “…but if I had encountered a situation like that, this is how I would deal with it.”

2. Not being prepared

This one is a no-brainer. Coming up with a story on the spot often means an interviewer is stuck listening to you ramble on and on.

Doing your homework ahead of time means not only will you have your success story prepared, but it will be concise and targeted. We recommend coming up with 3 to 5 success stories that collectively demonstrate a wide variety of common behaviors a hiring manager would be looking for.

3. Being too prepared

Yes, this is possible. You want your story to seem effortless but not so rehearsed as to be robotic. Review your answers before you go in for your interview, but don’t overdo it. Keep it light and conversational rather than rehearsing a story you have practiced word-for-word.

4. Telling a story that is anything but a success

You want the job, right? So why would you tell a story where you fail miserably and learn absolutely nothing from the experience? While it might be a funny story overall, it’s not one that’s going to get you a job.

Telling a story that has absolutely no positive outcome, either from the final results or the lessons you learned, hurts your chances of getting hired; it’s that simple.

5. Telling a story that has nothing to do with the question asked

This goes along with being prepared. Telling a story that is unrelated to the question demonstrates to a hiring manager that you lack focus and attention to detail, two key qualities that every good candidate should possess.

6. Telling a story that makes you seem like an unrealistic superhero

Don’t tell a story where you are “the only employee doing anything right ever.” Nobody is absolutely perfect, and telling a story where you singlehandedly saved the entire company isn’t going to just come off as impossible; it’s going to come off as fiction.

Top 5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of STAR

So, now that you know what you are not supposed to do, let’s focus on what you do need to do to get the most out of the STAR method interview questions.

1. Be prepared

I know we said this above, but it really is a necessity for answering STAR interview questions. Going in with a solid set of targeted success stories will not only make answering them easier for you but will help you highlight to the hiring manager the specific qualities and skills that make you perfect for the position and set you apart from the other candidates.

2. Be specific

The STAR Method is not about being vague and wishy-washy. This goes hand in hand with being prepared. Prior to your interview, you should have identified the skills and qualities the company is looking for. Make sure your stories are specific and targeted. Remember, you need to highlight the behavior that the hiring manager is interested in, and your success story should clearly align with that.

Being vague or general will not only make it difficult for the hiring manager to properly evaluate you, but it will dilute the impact of your success story.

3. Be quantitative

This is very important. Hiring Managers absolutely LOVE numbers, so have solid, tangible results to back up your stories. Did you increase sales for your department by 58% ? Did your actions make your team 89% more efficient? Back up your successes with hard facts and numbers wherever possible.

4. Be concise

Keep your stories short, sweet, and targeted. No extra info or boring details that are irrelevant to the specific question. By embracing brevity, your answers can be more impactful, particularly if you touch on each of the points that make the STAR method of interviewing what it is.

5. Be honest

The last thing you want to do is dazzle your interviewer with a story that isn’t 100% true. Not only do you undermine your credibility down the road if they find out you weren’t honest, but it calls into question their ability to trust you overall…and nobody wants to hire someone they don’t trust.

Example Question and Answer Breakdown

Now that we’ve gone over all this, let’s put it into practice with an example behavioral question and a STAR method interview answer, focusing on problem-solving and initiative with the response.

“Can you tell me about a time you went above and beyond your expected duties?”

Situation : “I was a part of a team working on a presentation meant to help us secure a major new client for our company. The weather was bad, and as a result, my supervisor got caught in a snowstorm and was unable to make it back in time. It looked like we were going to have to cancel the meeting and potentially lose the client.”

Task : “I had been looking for ways to take on more responsibility, so I volunteered to finish up the presentation.”

Action : “I worked with my supervisor via the phone, and between the two of us, we were able to go ahead with the scheduled meeting.”

Result : “As a result of my initiative, we not only landed the client but I was also recommended for a promotion.”

Here’s another question.

“Tell me about a time when you took the lead on a difficult project?”

Here’s our answer broken into the STAR Method. The quality we are highlighting is Leadership:

STAR Method Interview Questions and Answers

While the options above show you how to break down the answers when you use the interview STAR method, having a few more STAR method examples can help you see how the answers flow once they’re together. Here are a few more STAR interview questions and answers to get you headed in the right direction.

1. Can you tell me about a time you were in a stressful situation and how you handled it?

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

“In my last role, a coworker that was handling a large project for a critical client experienced a medical emergency, taking them out of the office unexpectedly for a significant period. The deadline for their project was looming, and there was no way they’d be back in time to handle it.

“My manager reached out and asked me to take over the project. At this point, there was the equivalent of five days’ worth of work and just three days to get it done. The pressure was significant.

“I began by familiarizing myself with the project requirements, as I didn’t have an in-depth understanding initially. Next, I broke down the remaining tasks into micro-goals, creating a functional roadmap for success. Then, I blocked out each responsibility on my calendar. As I did, I determined that overtime would be necessary, so I quickly secured the needed approval using my plan to outline why it was essential.

“After that, I took a deep breath and got to work. Additionally, I engaged with colleagues to expedite various pieces, such as supporting critical data, allowing me to remain focused. While it was a difficult undertaking, the project was ultimately a success. I completed the work with two hours to spare, and the client was thrilled with the end result.”

2. As a team leader, how do you handle conflict? Tell me about a time when you experienced conflict and what you did to resolve it.

“When I’m overseeing a team, I find that communication and compromise are keys to mitigating conflict. In my current job, I was working with a multi-disciplinary project team to create a new application for a client. There was a debate about the best way to design a particular interface, with two team members having different perspectives based on their unique professional expertise.

“While the conflict could have delayed the project, I acted quickly to ensure that didn’t happen. I met with each team member one-on-one to learn more about their perspective. Along the way, I discovered that one team member didn’t inherently dislike the other’s idea; it was that the approach wasn’t possible based on the technologies used.

“Once I learned that detail, I brought the two colleagues together to oversee a discussion. I outlined the technical constraint, ensuring the other team member knew that was the only reason their colleague didn’t want to move forward with their idea. Then, I worked with them to find a similar solution that was feasible, creating a functional compromise.”

3. Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work

“In my last position, I was responsible for hiring seasonal workers for the first time. We needed to bring in more than a dozen short-term hires and had very little time to do so. While I was meeting with a candidate, it seemed like they had all of the necessary technical ability. However, I ignored a red flag – namely, a negative attitude about training – assuming that their existing skills would make it a non-issue.

“When they came on board, it was clear that their mindset would hinder them from reaching full productivity quickly. Additionally, their attitude negatively impacted other new hires that were taking part in initial training.

“Ultimately, that new hire had to be let go and replaced, which wasn’t ideal. However, it taught me the importance of not overlooking mindset and attitude when choosing candidates. As a result, my subsequent hiring decisions were much better fits, resulting in higher productivity and better retention.”

4. Have you ever had to work with someone you didn’t like? How did you handle that?

“In my last job, I was assigned to a project with a colleague with a work style that didn’t mesh well with mine. I’m generally a planner, and I like to outline my responsibilities in advance, divvying out tasks fairly to make them manageable and easier to track. My colleague favored a more organic approach, essentially deciding what to tackle next as they completed the previous task.

“In the end, this led to a disagreement about how to proceed. However, instead of digging in, I figured there had to be a reasonable compromise. I sat down with them and explained why I favored a planned approach and asked them to let me know why they preferred theirs. Ultimately, I learned that over-planning made them feel constrained, which hampered their creativity.

“With that knowledge, I proposed a solution. We would create a general framework for the entire project, using it as a joint roadmap. Then, as we moved forward, we would take ownership of tasks as needed. That gave them space while giving me structure, allowing us to complete the work on time.”

5. How do you handle setting goals? Can you give an example?

“Generally, I find that goals are beneficial when I need to stay on target. In my last job, I used goal-setting to enhance my personal performance. Initially, I was meeting expectations as a sales professional, but I wanted to exceed them.

“I began by outlining my sales numbers, letting me know where I currently sat. Next, I choose a target, aiming for a 10 percent increase in three months. Then, I broke down what I’d need to do each day to make that happen, such as conducting a specific number of calls or securing a particular number of qualified leads.

“After that, I used the information to create mini-goals for my time. This gave me a functional to-do list that guided me toward success. Ultimately, I was able to reach by target two weeks early, and by continuing with that strategy, achieved a 25 percent increase by the end of six months.”

Putting It All Together

So, the next time you’re meeting with a hiring manager and they ask you a behavioral question, don’t panic. With the STAR method for interviews, you’re prepared. Use the information above to your advantage, ensuring you can create your own amazing responses and stand out from the competition.

FREE : Behavioral Interview Questions PDF Checklist

Ok the next thing you should do is download our handy "Behavioral Interview Questions Checklist PDF ".

In it you'll get 25 common behavioral questions along with tips on how to answer them with the STAR METHOD and the traps you need to avoid ....

All in a beautifully designed pdf Jeff spent hours working on. ---- He made me put that in 😉

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Mike simpson.

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

Copyright © 2024 · TheInterviewguys.com · All Rights Reserved

• Our Products
• Case Studies
• Interview Questions
• Jobs Articles
• Members Login

How to Ace Interviews with the STAR Method [9+ Examples]

Behavioral job interview questions are hard.

Everything is going seemingly well, until the interviewer drops the “Can you tell me about a time when you…”  question.

Shoot, what now?

You try to think of a coherent answer, but you just can’t think of anything on the spot.

So, you blurt out something awkward (which you instantly regret) and pray that the interviewer will just let this one slide.

...But it didn’t have to go this way. There IS a way to give a good answer to every single behavioral job interview question:

The STAR Method.

In this guide, we’re going to teach you what, exactly, that is, and how to use it to ace your upcoming job interview!

• What the STAR method is and when to use it
• 4 tips to keep in mind when answering with the STAR method
• 9 sample job interview answers that follow the STAR method

Sounds good?

Let’s begin!

What is the STAR Method and When You Should Use?

So, first things first - what is the STAR method, exactly ?

In short, the STAR method is a structured answer that can be used to answer most behavioral interview questions.

Here’s what it stands for:

• (S) Situation - What’s the context? Describe the situation or the background first.
• (T) Task - Talk about your responsibilities or the tasks you had to complete (i.e. what was the challenge for the specific task?)
• (A) Action - How did you fix the situation? Describe your process and the steps you took.
• (R) Results - Describe the results of your actions. If possible, use numbers or hard data (e.g. by what % did you increase the overall sales? What changed?).

While you can use the STAR method for ANY interview question, it’s most useful for answering behavioral interview questions .

So, what ARE behavioral interview questions, exactly ?

In short, they’re just like any interview question, but their main focus is on real-life work situations.

• What’s your #1 strength?
• Give us an example of how you used your #1 strength at work, and what kind of results did it drive?

Makes sense, right?

Now, here are a few examples of what those questions might look like:

• Can you give me an example of when you had to take charge in your previous position? What happened and how did you react?
• Tell me about a time when you were faced with a tight deadline. Did you still manage to complete your tasks? How?
• Have you ever set specific goals for yourself at work? How did you make sure you would meet your objectives? 

Now that you know what behavioral interview questions are, let’s take a look at a sample answer that follows the STAR method:

Behavioral Interview Question:

“Give me an example of when you had to be very strategic in your tasks to meet all of your responsibilities under a specific deadline.”

Sample Answer:

Situation - “I typically like to plan out my work weeks in advance if possible. But in my previous sales manager role at Company X, I had to suddenly move the team to a new customer relationship management (CRM) software. The software we were using before unexpectedly changed their pricing model, which made it too expensive for us.”

Task - ”I had to find new software that met our requirement, by the end of Q3 (when the price increase hit), while making sure my own sales numbers did not decrease. The new tool also had to be intuitive and easy for our employees to adapt to.”

Action - “In order to do that, I had to be very careful with how I managed my time. The first thing I did was ask our sales associates what the number one problem was with our current CRM, so I knew what to look for in a new one aside from the price factor. After that, I dedicated 1-2 hours each day to research, and once I found the new software, migrating our data. I made sure to delete any old contacts, update the missing information on our current leads, and caught the team up on how to use the new software. All the while, I was still handling my daily responsibilities as usual, without any decrease in performance.”

Results - “Finally, we managed to complete the transfer 1 week behind the deadline. I finished the quarter 12% ahead of my sales goals, and the team was satisfied with the new CRM. By planning ahead and with proper time allocation, everything worked out well.” 

This is pretty much a perfect answer that follows the STAR method .

It gives the right amount of background , clearly shows the challenge without getting too detailed, presents the process when approaching the problem, and ends on a high note using data and numbers to show their results.

By using the above formula, it’s much easier to structure your answer so that the HR manager doesn’t get lost following your story. 

Now, if you really want to nail your answer, here’s what you need to keep in mind when following the STAR structure:

4 Tips on Getting the Most Out of the STAR Method

Knowing what the acronym stands for is only the first step.

Here’s how to really get the most out of the method:

1) Keep It Relevant

Sounds obvious, right?

But here’s the thing:

Even if you’re following the STAR formula down to the T, it won’t amount to much if your answer is not relevant .

Think about this: what are you trying to communicate with your answer?

Ideally, it should be related to your position and show that you come equipped with skills that will be helpful in the job you’re seeking.

For example: if you’re applying for a job in graphic design , you wouldn’t start talking about your greatest accomplishment in accounting , right?

If your answer is not relevant for the job, it basically doesn’t even count.

2) Have a Few Examples Ready

There’s no way for you to know in advance what type of behavioral interview question the interviewer will ask.

But it’s still a good idea to have a few examples ready that follow the STAR method.

This way, you can tweak and adapt your answer on the go depending on the question.

Keep in mind, though, that your answers shouldn’t be a word-for-word memorized script.

You’ll want to sound natural when answering.

And if you’re having a hard time coming up with an answer during the interview, don’t be afraid to ask for a minute to come up with an example.

It’s ok to take a few seconds and structure your answer in your head first. If anything, the HR manager might appreciate that you’re not rushing in your answers.

• While you’ll never know what questions they’ll ask during the interview, you can still prepare for the most common ones. Check out our complete list of most common interview questions and answers here !

3) Give Proper Context

Imagine you’re telling a story about how you saved a client’s project at the last minute.

You swooped in, took charge, and made sure everyone knew what to do.

That’s awesome! That’s what the interviewer wants to know about.

However, you don’t have to :

• Go in-depth about how you found the client in the first place.
• Describe your whole working relationship with them from the beginning till the end.
• Give their whole backstory and explain why you’re such good friends with the client.

As we mentioned before, your answer should be relevant and straight to the point .

So, when talking about the situation , try to only summarize the buildup to your story in only 1-2 sentences.

4) Show Your Work

Finally, it’s your time to brag a bit.

Don’t be afraid to go all out and show how you made a difference. Make sure to mention the following:

• What kind of impact did your actions have on your department/company?
• What were the EXACT results? use numbers and data to back it up.
• What did you learn from the experience?

No interviewer will be satisfied with a lackluster ending like “Yeah so, and then, we finished the project in time, and everyone lived happily ever after”

See how boring that sounds?

Even if the ending of your story isn’t all that amazing, you can at least say what you learned .

Star Interview Questions and Answers (+9 Examples)

Your answer following the STAR method will depend on the specific behavioral interview question being asked.

So, to help you prepare, we’re going to give you 9 more common behavioral interview questions (with their corresponding sample answers)!

The questions we’re going to cover include:

• What’s your greatest achievement?
• How do you set and accomplish personal goals when under pressure?
• Have you ever faced conflict or disagreement with a coworker? What Happened and how did you resolve it?
• How do you handle unexpected challenges? Give me an example
• Have you ever been in a situation when the client was wrong, and you had to correct them? Give me an example.
• Tell me about a time you failed. What happened and what did you learn?
• How do you handle irate customers? Give me an example.
• Can you tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to deliver excellent customer experience?
• Can you give me an example of a goal you set, but couldn’t meet? How did you handle it?

Now, let’s dig right in!

1) What is your greatest achievement?

S - “When I was a manager at Cafe X, we would always get a lot more customers than usual during the summer. It would almost always be packed, and sometimes, there were not enough servers to handle the work. And if someone got sick or unexpectedly could not show up - things were only worse.”

T - “So, I had to come up with a system so that we would not get overwhelmed during those 3+ months.”

A - “To make sure we were prepared, I realized we needed a better schedule. For the next summer, I had a very strict shift schedule ready, and a reward system in case someone couldn’t show up for their shift. If someone called in sick, whoever filled in for them would be rewarded with extra pay. And if there was absolutely no one else available, I would personally fill in for them instead.”

R - “Overall, the summer went pretty smoothly with minimal accidents. We didn’t get ANY negative reviews on TripAdvisor for the summer (whereas for the summer before that, we had several for slow service).”

2) How do you set and accomplish personal goals when under pressure? Give me an example.

S - “Sure! To give you some context, during university, I had very limited financial aid, and my parents couldn’t help co-pay the rest of the tuition. So, while studying, I also had to work to pay for the university. At the same time, I also took up a lot of extracurricular activities (and internships when possible) to get as much professional work experience as possible before graduating.”

T - “To keep up with the workload, I realized I had to manage my time very efficiently. So, I set up Google Calendar and got a personal notepad for my daily tasks and responsibilities.”

A - “Through hard work and dedication, I managed to balance studying, a part-time job, and all extracurricular activities. Sure, it was pretty tiring at times, but by the end of each day I would always go over and edit my calendar for the rest of the week. This way, I knew pretty much everything I had to get done daily, and never missed an assignment or a deadline either!”

R - “In the end, I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, no student loans, and a personal design portfolio which landed me my first real job at Company X within a month of graduating.

3) Have you ever faced conflict or disagreement with a coworker? What happened and how did you resolve it?

S - “Yep! During my internship at Company X, my team and I were supposed to work together and brainstorm new talent sourcing ideas for a client. The client was a large supermarket chain located in a very rural area, so they were struggling to source new talent. ”

T - “Basically our task was to meet on a daily basis, brainstorm and finally settle on 3 great ideas. After a couple of meetings, we did have SOME ideas, but none of them were too exceptional. The management wanted something that they could confidently present to the client (that would, for sure, drive results for them).

Some of my teammates wanted to just give up, say “well, here’s our ideas, we don’t have anything else!” and be done with it. Me and another teammate, however, wanted to work on it a bit more and come up with something that WOULD work.

There was a LOT of back and forth from there, the tensions were high, and the team kept shutting down all the ideas we were proposing. The deadline was super close, and had to figure out a way to move forward.”

A - “So, I gave it some thought, and realized that we’d forever be in a deadlock if we continued like this. They wouldn’t agree with our approach, and we wouldn’t agree with theirs. So, we decided to bring in an unbiased third party who didn't have any emotional investment here.

We then conducted a longer meeting without any time restraints (so we’d get everything done ASAP in a single meeting), where we went through each idea one by one, and the third party acted as a sort of mediator. When someone pitched something, they also had to back it up with as many facts as possible, otherwise it wouldn’t count.”

R - “This really helped bring in something new to the table. The “mediator” helped sort through all the bad ideas, as well as infusing the team with some new energy.

We eventually DID end up coming up with completely original ideas, which were also something we all agree upon. We finished the meeting in approx. 2 hours, and the management had 3 awesome ideas they could pitch to the client. The client DID implement one of the ideas, which eventually resulted in 3 new hires.”

4) How do you handle unexpected challenges? Give me an example

S - “One time, while preparing for a presentation at a conference for Company X, one of our guest speakers had to unexpectedly cancel due to an emergency. We found out only a few hours before the event, and there was now a 1-hour gap in our schedule we had to fix.”

T - “So, we didn’t have a lot of time, and had to somehow fill up the time slot to keep the event going.”

A - “As one of the main event organizers and community managers at the company, I decided to take initiative. Instead of the guest speaker, I wanted to present our CEO as the speaker instead - which was definitely a possibility because he was working behind the scenes as well. I personally spent an hour working with him one-on-one, trying to get him to transform his decade’s worth of experience into a presentation. With 30 minutes to spare, everything was ready to go and all that was left was to present.”

R - “From the one 1 hour gap, the speech lasted about 45 minutes, and for the rest of the 15 minutes we took some questions from the audience. After that, everything continued on track, and most of the audience members loved the presentation.”

5) Have you ever been in a situation when the client was wrong, and you had to correct them? Give me an example.

S - “Yes, that happens every so often. 

I can think of one example which happened during my first job as a recruiter. I had sent out a candidate over to a client and the hiring manager had rejected him based on CV alone. They said that the candidate was too junior of a profile for the position, no experience with X, Y and Z.” 

T - “I went through the resume and my notes several times, and I was 100% sure that this had to have been a mistake on the client’s part - the candidate was an exact match for the job ad they gave me.

So I had to somehow let them know about it without seeming to be telling them how to do their job.”

A - “I contacted my candidate, I got exact and thorough information on his experience with X, Y and Z, wrote it all out in an email and obviously with a very calm and professional tone explained to our client’s hiring manager that my candidate did in fact have experience in all areas pointed out, proven by this and that project, etc. And I kindly asked him to review his application.”

R - “He responded, agreed that the candidate did in fact have the required experience and admitted that it was an error on their end. So, they DID invite the candidate for an interview. Given, he wasn’t chosen for the role, but oh well, at least we gave him a chance.”

6) Tell me about a time you failed. What happened and what did you learn?

S - “During my last job, I was managing the web dev team in charge of setting up an online e-commerce store for one of our clients. In hindsight, I was too ambitious with the project, and over-promised the turnaround rate for the website. I told them we’d be done within 2 months, as it seemed like a very cookie cutter project at the time. However, around 2 weeks into the project, we realized we were off by at least a month, as we would have to hand-code a bunch of stuff that we thought was open source or sold as packaged plugins.”

T - “So, I had to inform them about the issue, give an updated deadline for our team, and fix my mistake.”

A - “After the meeting, they were understanding, but not very happy. I then assembled our web developers and started working hard on the project the very next day. We focused 100% of our time on fixing the issue, outsourced some of the small tasks to save time, and ended up fixing everything before the new deadline.”

R - “In the end, their site was a success and I learned a valuable lesson on managing expectations. I realized that sometimes it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver, and learned how to better set and manage deadlines for my team.”

7) How do you handle angry customers? Give me an example.

S - “I always try to be calm and collected. Recently, when I was serving a customer behind the checkout, I had a customer shout at me for not being eligible for a refund. The customer was getting louder and there was a large line starting to form behind him.”

T - “I had to remain calm, move the conflict somewhere else, and make sure the other customers could go about their purchases.”

A - “I realized the best thing to do was to move the situation away from the cash register. I asked my colleague to take over for me so that I could talk to the customer one-on-one and better explain the situation. I explained that I could understand his frustration, but I made it clear that sales items were non-refundable, even though he had a receipt.”

R - “In the end, he began to calm down and accepted my explanation. While he still wasn’t happy about it, I managed to dissolve the situation before he made any more of a scene. I believe that by being calm and empathetic, it’s possible to dissolve most (if not all) such situations.”

8) Can you tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to deliver excellent customer experience?

S - “When I was working at Company X, we were preparing for a video presentation for a client when I learned that someone on their team was deaf. The presentation was due the next day in the morning and I was the only one left in the office after 5PM.”

T - “I realized there was only one solution and that was for me to stay behind in the evening and add the captions myself.”

A - “It took a few hours, and around 8PM, I was done. Then, I let our team know about the update.”

R - “In the end, the client enjoyed the presentation. They were very impressed (and surprised) by our attention to detail, and we ended up closing them soon after.”

9) Can you give me an example of a goal you set, but couldn’t meet? How did you handle it?

S - “In my previous job, one month, we decided to focus most of our marketing efforts on growing our blog. I was charged by the CMO to take over the blog and create content. The issue was, I had ZERO experience with content, but we didn’t have anyone else to own the channel.”

T - “I had to write 5 total articles in that month, create the social media posts for them, and work on promoting them.”

A - “Halfway through the month, I realized I couldn’t write. At all. It just wasn’t my thing, and I had NOTHING to show for the month’s work. So, here’s what I did: I explained the situation to the CMO, and we came up with an alternative solution. We’d find outsourced content writers on UpWork, and I’d manage them as a content strategist.”

R - “Overall, we ended up hiring a content writer, who managed to pump out the 4 articles before the deadline. I worked hand-in-hand with them to ensure that their writing was on-brand, and I also created the social posts for them and promoted them. Overall, the articles performed pretty well, even landing us a handful of new leads.”

Key Takeaways

Yes, interviews can be quite scary. 

With the STAR method, though, you’ll stand a much better chance at acing them!

Now, let’s recap everything we’ve learned:

• To answer behavioral job interview questions, you need to give real-life examples and stories. To answer it right, you need to follow the STAR method.
• As a reminder, the acronym stands for: S - Situation, T - Task, A - Action, R - Results.
• The format is quite straightforward to follow. Just make sure your answers are relevant, give proper context , describe your thought process , and finally, include real facts and figures .
• And for sample answers, you can always consult with the examples above for some inspiration.

Are you looking for more ways to prepare for and to ace the job interview? Then you should look no further than the Novorésumé career blog for the latest career advice and other actionable guides!

Recommended reading:

• Thank You Email After Interview - 2024 Guide & Examples
• 26+ Biggest Interview Mistakes (To Avoid in 2024)
• Why Should We Hire You - 10+ Best Answers
• Best Resume Formats for 2024 [3+ Professional Templates]
• 19+ STAR Interview Questions - Complete List

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.

STAR Interview Method: The Ultimate Guide

Updated: January 22, 2019

Published: December 10, 2018

A resume tells you that a candidate has the required skills and background for the open role. A cover letter confirms their interest in the position.

An interview, then, is a critical step for evaluating a candidate's critical thinking, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. Essentially, it's an opportunity to dig deeper into an interviewee's potential, and the STAR interview method is your shovel.

STAR Method

The STAR method stands for Situation, Task, Action, Results. With this behavioral interview approach, employers can find out how candidates would act in certain situations on the job based on their past experiences. Candidates' answers would describe a situation, the required task, the candidate's chosen action, and the result of that action.

To evaluate each candidate you interview fairly, you'll want to ask questions to understand how they'll perform in the role. The STAR method is a behavioral interviewing technique that can be used to gain those insights.

Interview questions using the STAR method urge candidates to tell a linear story. From this story, interviewers can identify a sense of judgment in the candidate that might not be visible in more generic skill-based interview questions.

The STAR Answer Format

Here's a bit more detail on how "STAR" answers should sound when listening to a candidate's answer.

S: Situation

Answers to STAR interview questions should first paint a picture of a problem or dilemma that the candidate ultimately solved. Interviewees can explain how the situation came about and who else was involved.

The "Task" component of a STAR answer elaborates on the candidate's role in this situation. What was he/she tasked with doing in response to the situation? Who identified this task? What was the desired result of carrying out this task?

The "Action" in a STAR answer reveals how the candidate actually approached that task, and the steps they took to solve the problem introduced in the "Situation" stage of their answer.

The "Results" included in a STAR answer should explain the outcome of the candidate's actions. Was the original problem solved? How did the candidate's results differ from the expected results?

For instance, rather than asking, "What is your greatest weakness?", a good STAR question might be, "Give an example of a goal you didn't meet and how you handled it."

Essentially, the STAR method requires a candidate to explain a prior work situation anecdotally, provide details regarding the tasks required, what actions the candidate took to achieve those tasks, and the results of the situation.

When used properly, the STAR method is extremely effective. Here, we've created a comprehensive guide on how to use the STAR method, so you can learn how to prepare to interview a candidate, and check out examples of questions to identify your best candidate.

Here's a list of 10 popular STAR interview questions. Ideally, you'll tailor them for the specific role and candidate, but you can use these for initial inspiration.

Typical STAR Interview Questions

Sense of judgment.

• Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
• Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).
• Tell me about a time when you had multiple important projects to finish and how you prioritized them.
• Can you recall an experience where you received conflicting pieces of feedback on a project? How did you address this feedback?
• Describe a time when a close colleague caused a project to suffer or fail, and how you explained this failure to the project manager.

Handling Pressure

These questions can help you reveal how well a candidate performs under various types of pressure.

• Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it.
• Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
• Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer.
• Describe a situation where you disagreed with a superior and how this disagreement was settled.
• Tell me about a time you had to learn something you weren't familiar with very quickly.

Leadership Potential

These questions can help you reveal a candidate's leadership potential, confidence, and willingness to take the initiative on projects when they have little or no direction to start with.

• You indicated on your resume that leadership is one of your strengths. Describe an experience in which you used your leadership abilities.
• Tell me about a time when you delegated a project to others effectively.
• Can you recall a time where you had to give negative feedback to a colleague. How did you express this feedback?
• Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
• Describe a time you had a direct report or managed a team that was being recruited to work on other projects without your consent.

Self-Awareness

These questions can reveal how much self-awareness a candidate has of his or her strengths and, more importantly, weaknesses.

• Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with a coworker who might not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
• Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.
• Tell me about a time you were reprimanded or criticized for your performance.
• Tell me about a project that wasn't going to meet its deadline and how you minimized or confronted the consequences.
• Tell me about a time you felt you weren't being listened to, and how you made you presence or opinion known to your colleagues.

How to Format Your Interview for the STAR Approach

To successfully incorporate STAR questions into your interview strategy, there are four steps you'll need to take.

1. Make a list of role-specific STAR questions.

Start by making a list of questions applicable to the specific candidate's prior experiences, skills, and characteristics. The list of questions above can serve as general starting points, but to really delve into a candidate's specific background in relation to the role, you'll want to tailor your questions appropriately.

For instance, "Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively" is vague, and could lead the candidate to describing a work situation from five years ago, when really, you wanted to hear about a data-related marketing project from her last position alone. Make yourself clear, and reference a specific resume item: "I'd like to hear more about your experience as a Sr. Digital Marketing Manager at Company X. Could you tell me specifically about a time in that role when you delegated a project effectively?"

If you're using the STAR interview method, ask questions that require situation-specific answers. For instance, if you want to know about a candidate's flexibility, you might ask, “Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you assist them?”

2. Tell candidates what you're looking for in their answers.

Not everyone agrees this step is necessary: some recruiters prefer not to explain that they're looking for situation-specific answers, to see how the candidate deals with answering the question however she wants. Some hiring managers see the benefit of being vague -- at the very least, you'll likely get a candid answer from your candidate. But other experts, like Todd Lombardi, a college relations specialist at Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc., believes it's important to explain what he's looking for before asking a candidate any behavioral interview questions.

When Lombardi starts a behavioral interview , he details the process, telling the candidate he's looking for specific examples, names of people, dates, and outcomes.

Lombardi speaks with candidates about projects they've worked on, how their role has evolved, how they've handled deadlines or unexpected situations, and how they've coped with adversity. He asks these questions because, "Everyone's got that kind of experience."

If you don't explain what you're looking for upfront, you risk receiving an incomplete answer or confusing the candidate. If the candidate answers insufficiently, perhaps you want to offer her an opportunity to modify her answer. Say: "I'm looking for details about a specific example -- you've explained the situation and tasks required, but I'd still like to know what steps you took to complete the tasks, and what results you got from the project."

3. Know what you're looking for.

STAR interview questions are particularly helpful for determining major characteristics in your candidate, or receiving more context for potential issues you see with their resume.

For instance, let's say you ask, "Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or professor on an idea or concept. How did you convince them? What was the result?"

When you ask STAR questions, you should know what you're looking for in a candidate's answer. In the question above, it shouldn't matter too much what the candidate's idea was -- instead, you're looking for the candidate to display a high level of assertiveness, confidence, and good decision-making skills.

Regardless of how the candidate answers, take note of how the candidate demonstrated -- or didn't demonstrate -- those characteristics. They're more important than how the situation played out.

If you're not sure what you're looking for when you ask a candidate STAR questions, consider what's missing from the candidate's resume. If the candidate's resume reflects skills tied to analytics, but you're fearful the candidate lacks the creativity necessary for the role, ask a question regarding innovation. When the candidate answers, take note of whether she mentions original ideas she offered. Essentially, work backward -- consider what information you want from the candidate, and then figure out how to phrase it in an appropriate behavioral interview question.

Sara DeBrule, our Global Marketing Recruitment Team Lead at HubSpot, recommends working to identify "the candidates who have taken the time to understand the business challenge, and are able to position themselves as the solution."

DeBrule explains, "It's obvious when a candidate has read up on the STAR interviewing technique because they are able to tell a linear story about the ways they are able to successfully impact [the company] in the desired way for the role."

Even if a candidate hasn't had the exact experience necessary for the role, the applicant should still be able to draw parallels between past experiences and how those experiences would translate to future success in the role. Ultimately, DeBrule says she aims to uncover whether a candidate focuses on results, seeks out industry knowledge and trends, has influence over her coworkers in order to work as a team player, and pursues new opportunities for growth.

If you're stuck on what constitutes a good answer to a behavioral interview question, check out our behavioral interview article to get some ideas.

4. Remain open-minded.

Each candidate has completely different life and work experiences, all of which contribute to unique and sometimes unexpected answers to STAR behavioral interview questions.

It's important to remain open-minded. You want to build a team with diverse employees, each of whom bring new and different ideas and past experiences to the table -- if a candidate answers differently than you'd expected them to, it doesn't mean they've answered wrong.

"At the end of the day, I'm trying to understand a candidate's ability to tell their story of impact -- how they've impacted businesses in the past, and how they're going to impact [our company] in the future," Sara DeBrule explains.

Remember, these STAR interview method questions should be used sparingly and wisely -- asking ten in a row will only confuse you and your candidate. Instead, you should mix behavioral interview questions with more standard interview questions, especially during a first-round interview. Allow a candidate to warm up with a few standard questions, before diving into any STAR behavioral ones.

Use some of these STAR interview questions in your next interview to ensure you're providing as many opportunities as possible for the candidate to demonstrate how she can help your company succeed. Hopefully, behavioral interview tactics will help you create candid, insightful, and useful conversations with job applicants.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

5 Steps to Create an Outstanding Marketing Plan [Free Templates]

How to Use Google Calendar: 21 Features That'll Make You More Productive

It’s Gen Z’s Workplace Now, and It Looks Different

Ask The Hustle: What Should I Do After an Unexpected Layoff?

Working From Home: 13 Challenges and How To Overcome Them

What Is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Ask the Hustle: How do you grow a social media following without buying followers?

22 Questions To Ask Hiring Managers (and HR) in a Job Interview

16 of the Best Job Interview Questions to Ask Candidates (And What to Look for in Their Answers)

"Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake": Best Answers and Examples

Everything you need to find, recruit, hire, and train marketing all-stars.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Career Planning
• Finding a Job
• Interview Strategies

How to Use the STAR Interview Response Method

STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result

What is the star interview response method, star key concepts, how to prepare for an interview using star, examples of interview questions and answers using star, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Are job interviews challenging for you? Do you struggle to give concise answers to interview questions? Are you unsure how to share your accomplishments during an interview without sounding boastful? What's the best way to let the interviewer know that you're the right candidate for the job?

The STAR interview response method can help make the process easier. Using this method of answering interview questions allows you to share concrete examples of how you successfully handled situations at work to show you possess the experience and skills required for the job you’re interviewing for.

Read below for a detailed description of the STAR interview response technique and examples of how to best use the model.

Key Takeaways

• STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result.
• Each concept in the STAR acronym is a step that candidates can use to respond to interview questions.
• By following all four steps, applicants can provide comprehensive answers to interview questions.

STAR stands for  S ituation,  T ask,  A ction, and  R esult. Using this strategy is particularly helpful in response to behavioral or  competency-focused questions , which typically start with phrases such as, "Describe a time when..." or, "Share an example of a situation where...."

Jon Marchione / The Balance

The STAR interview response method is a way of answering  behavioral interview  questions. Behavioral interview questions are questions about how you have behaved in the past. Specifically, they are about how you have handled certain work situations.

Employers using this technique analyze jobs and define the skills and qualities that high-level performers have exhibited in that job. Since past performance can be a good predictor of the future, interviewers ask these questions to determine whether candidates have the skills and experiences required to excel in the job. 

For example, employers might be looking for proof of problem-solving skills, analytical ability, creativity, perseverance through failure, writing skills, presentation skills, teamwork orientation, persuasive skills, quantitative skills, or accuracy.

Examples of  behavioral interview questions  include the following:

• Tell me about an occasion when you had to complete a task under a tight deadline.
• Have you ever gone above and beyond the call of duty?
• What do you do when a team member refuses to complete his or her part of a project?

Some interviewers structure their questions using the STAR technique. However, job seekers can also use the STAR interview method to prepare for behavioral interview questions.

STAR is an acronym for four key concepts. Each concept is a step the job candidate can take when answering a behavioral interview question. By following all four steps, the job candidate will provide a comprehensive answer. The four steps referenced in the acronym are the following:

Situation:  Describe the context within which you performed a job or faced a challenge at work. For example, perhaps you were working on a group project, or you had a conflict with a co-worker. This situation can be drawn from work experience, a volunteer position, or any other relevant event. Be as specific as possible.

Task:  Next, describe your responsibility in that situation. Perhaps you had to help your group complete a project within a tight deadline, resolve a conflict with a co-worker, or hit a sales target. 

Action:  You then describe how you completed the task or endeavored to meet the challenge. Focus on what you did rather than what your team, boss, or co-worker did. 

Instead of saying, "We did XYZ," say, "I did XYZ."

Result:  Finally, explain the outcomes or results generated by the action taken. It may be helpful to emphasize what you accomplished or what you learned.

Since you won’t know in advance  what interviewing techniques  or specific questions your interviewer will be using, you’ll benefit from preparing several scenarios from the jobs you’ve held.

Make a list of the job qualifications. First, make a list of the skills and/or experiences required for the job you're applying for. It may help to look at the job listing and similar job listings for indications of the required or preferred skills and qualities. You can then  match your qualifications to those listed in the posting .

Create a list of examples. Then, consider specific examples of occasions when you displayed those skills. For each example, name the  situation, task, action, and result . Whatever examples you select, make sure they are as closely related to the job you’re interviewing for as possible.

Prepare a response. For each example, prepare a brief response:

• Describe the situation (2-3 sentences).
• Explain your task (1-2 sentences).
• Describe the action you took (2-3 sentences).
• Share your result (2-3 sentences).

You can also take a look at  common behavioral interview questions and try answering each of them using the STAR technique.

Tell me about a time you had to complete a task within a tight deadline. Describe the situation and explain how you handled it.

Example answer.

While I typically like to plan out my work in stages and complete it piece by piece, I can also achieve high-quality work results under tight deadlines. Once, at a former company, an employee left days before the deadline for one of his projects. I was asked to assume responsibility for it, with only a few days to learn about and complete the project. I created a task force and delegated work, and we all completed the assignment with a day to spare. In fact, I believe I thrive when working under tight deadlines.

What do you do when a team member doesn't complete their share of the work?

When there are team conflicts or issues, I always try my best to step up as team leader if needed. I think my communication skills make me an effective leader and moderator. For example, one time, when I was working on a team project, two of the team members got embroiled in an argument, both refusing to complete their assignments. They were both dissatisfied with their workloads, so I arranged a team meeting in which we reallocated all the assignments among the team members. This made everyone happier and more productive, and our project was a success.

Tell me about a time you showed initiative on the job.

Last winter,   I was acting as an account coordinator, supporting the account executive for a major client at an ad agency. The account executive had an accident and was sidelined three weeks before a major campaign pitch. I volunteered to fill in and orchestrate the presentation by coordinating the input of the creative and media teams. I called an emergency meeting and facilitated a discussion about ad scenarios, media plans, and the roles of various team members in the presentation. I was able to achieve a consensus on two priority ad concepts we had to pitch and on related media strategies. I drew up a minute-by-minute plan of how we would present the pitch. Based on our discussions, the plan was warmly received by the team. The client loved our plan and adopted the campaign. I was promoted to account executive six months later. 

How can you share examples of your achievements during a job interview?

One of the best ways to share your accomplishments with an interviewer is by telling a story . When answering questions, share a description of what you did and how you achieved a positive outcome. This way, you’re showing the interviewer what you’re able to do rather than just telling them you can do the job.

What can you do when you can’t think of an answer to an interview question?

When you’re asked a challenging question, use the STAR interview technique to respond. Think of something you did at work related to the question, then explain how you handled the situation and what the outcome was. 

MIT. “ Using The STAR Method for Your Next Behavioral Interview .”

CareerOneStop. “ Types of Interviews .”

Case Western Reserve University. " STAR Strategy Examples ."

The University of New Mexico. “ STAR Method Interview Prep .”

• Site Search
• Candidate Portal Login
• Meet the Team
• Testimonials
• Investor Relations
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Work at Airswift
• Talent Acquisition
• Global Employment Outsourcing
• Global Mobility
• Workforce & HR Consulting
• RPO & Managed Services
• Infrastructure
• Oil & Gas
• Process, Mining & Manufacturing
• Renewable Energy
• Case Studies
• Country Hiring Guides

How to use the STAR technique for interviews

August 3, 2023

Source: nappy/pexels

What is the STAR interview technique?

The STAR interview method is a technique job seekers can use to answer behavioral and situational interview questions.

In the realm of job interviews, a traditional question-and-answer format is often followed by hiring managers. However, there is a growing trend of incorporating behavioral interview questions, which prompt candidates to provide specific examples such as "Tell me about a time..." or "What do you do when..." or "Give me an example of...".

These behavioral interviews are designed to evaluate a candidate's suitability for the role by assessing their past performance, as it serves as a strong indicator of future success.

Facing a barrage of questions in an interview can be daunting, particularly when dealing with behavioral and situational inquiries. Luckily, the STAR method can help you in preparing for and responding to these types of questions.

In this article, we'll delve deep into the STAR interview response method, explaining its use and how job candidates can apply it to confidently navigate and ace their upcoming interview.

• What does the STAR acronym stand for?

Why is the STAR technique useful?

How to answer interview questions using the star method.

• Examples of STAR method interview questions
• Find your next role with Airswift

The acronym STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result

The STAR method is designed to help you create a cohesive story with a clear outline of how you handled and resolved a problem. In other words, your answer for each behavioral question should follow the same basic pattern.

Here is what each step in the STAR acronym represents:

Think of the STAR technique as a mental outline that helps you to stay on track when responding to behavioral interview questions. By following the outline, your answers will be more coherent, concise, and impressive to your interviewer.

Breaking down your answer into four parts can provide the interviewer with a deeper understanding of your communication skills, leadership abilities, flexibility, and ability to handle difficult situations.

Here are some of the ways the STAR interview method can be useful to job seekers

• It allows you to provide compelling answers to each question in a logical, easy-to-understand way.
• It enables you to demonstrate any technical and soft skills, qualities, and work experience to the interviewer by means of concrete, "bite-sized" examples from your past.
• It also helps you to engage your interviewer more fully by describing your qualifications within a narrative framework. In other words, it allows you to become a teller of your own story.
• Not only, is STAR useful for interviews, but it can also help you prepare cover letters and job applications in a way that highlights your strengths

Using STAR answers is extremely versatile. No matter what question the interviewer throws at you, you can almost always frame your response in terms of the STAR method. Here's just one concrete example of how you can put it all together.

Let's use "Tell me about a time when you had to use your management skills in order to complete a project on time." as an example of a STAR behavioral interview question.

In this instance, you could respond by relating the answer to a specific work situation by following the structure in the table below:

As you can see, applying the STAR interview approach doesn't have to be too complicated. However, it does require some forethought.

Here are some helpful tips to effectively answer STAR interview questions:

Provide relevant examples.

Use examples that are directly relevant to the skills and qualities the employer is looking for. Customize your answers to showcase your fit for the role.

Prepare in advance

Thoroughly review your resume and think about past experiences that align with the job requirements for the role you're interviewing for. Practice answering some common interview questions with a friend in a mock interview session. 

While having a storytelling element is important and can make your responses more memorable, be weary or straying away from the point. Stay focused and avoid providing unnecessary detail. 

Share measurable results

Whenever possible, include quantifiable outcomes to demonstrate the effect of your actions and enhance the credibility of your responses.

If needed, seek clarification

If there is any confusion about a question, it is advisable to ask the interviewer for clarification before attempting to answer.

Using the STAR format in your next interview

The STAR approach to answering interview questions is a great way to mentally outline your responses to behavioural interview questions. It allows you to demonstrate your skills and experiences, qualifications, and abilities within the framework of a story.

Here are some examples of STAR method interview questions you might be asked:

Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult team member. How did you handle it and what was the outcome?

Describe a situation where you had to meet a tight deadline. What steps did you take to ensure you completed the task on time, and what was the result?

Can you share an example of a problem you encountered at work and how you went about solving it? What were the actions you took, and what impact did your solution have?

Have you ever faced a challenging situation with a customer? How did you handle it, and what was the end result?

Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team through a major change or transition. How did you approach the situation, and what were the outcomes?

Describe a successful negotiation you were involved in. What was your approach, and how did you ensure a positive outcome for all parties?

Have you ever had to deal with a conflict between team members? How did you address the situation, and what steps did you take to resolve it?

Tell me about a situation where you had to work with a diverse group of colleagues to accomplish a shared goal. How did you collaborate, and what were the outcomes?

Describe a time when you had to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. How did you prioritise and manage your time and what were the results?

Have you ever faced a setback or failure in a project? How did you react?

For more tips on finding a job, check out our jobseekers' guide.

Find exciting job opportunities by registering with Airswift

Of course, in order to use the STAR technique in your next interview, you first of all need to land your next interview! That's where we can help.

We are a global workforce solutions provider for the engineering and technology sectors. With over 40 years of experience in staffing and recruitment, we can help you find your next role.

Register with our jobs board today to explore open positions in locations all over the world and find your dream job.

This post was written by: Rob Jones and Firaz Hameed, Recruitment Directors at Airswift

Looking for your next role?

You may also be interested in…

Interviewing the Interviewer

How to ace your telephone interview: a complete guide

Exit interviews – what’s the point?

10 virtual interview tips: How to prepare

10 Important questions to ask in a job interview

15 things you should never say in a job interview

6 video interview tips to master virtual communication

Best interview skills: 20 tips for engineering job interviews

Questions to avoid asking in an interview

How to answer competency based interview questions

Related posts...

• Privacy Policy
• Web Design Manchester by Carbon Creative

• DACA/Undocumented
• First Generation, Low Income
• International Students
• Students of Color
• Students with disabilities
• Undergraduate Students
• Master’s Students
• PhD Students
• Faculty/Staff
• Family/Supporters
• Career Fairs
• Post Jobs, Internships, Fellowships
• Build your Brand at MIT
• Recruiting Guidelines and Resources
• Connect with Us
• Career Advising
• Distinguished Fellowships
• Employer Relations
• Graduate Student Professional Development
• Prehealth Advising
• Student Leadership Opportunities
• Academia & Education
• Architecture, Planning, & Design
• Arts, Communications, & Media
• Business, Finance, & Fintech
• Computing & Computer Technology
• Data Science
• Energy, Environment, & Sustainability
• Life Sciences, Biotech, & Pharma
• Manufacturing & Transportation
• Health & Medical Professions
• Social Impact, Policy, & Law
• Getting Started & Handshake 101
• Exploring careers
• Networking & Informational Interviews
• Connecting with employers
• Resumes, cover letters, portfolios, & CVs
• Finding a Job or Internship
• Post-Graduate and Summer Outcomes
• Professional Development Competencies
• Preparing for Graduate & Professional Schools
• Preparing for Medical / Health Profession Schools
• Interviewing
• New jobs & career transitions
• Career Prep and Development Programs
• Employer Events
• Outside Events for Career and Professional Development
• Events Calendar
• Career Services Workshop Requests
• Early Career Advisory Board
• Peer Career Advisors
• Student Staff
• Mission, Vision, Values and Diversity Commitments
• News and Reports

Using the STAR method for your next behavioral interview (worksheet included)

• Share This: Share Using the STAR method for your next behavioral interview (worksheet included) on Facebook Share Using the STAR method for your next behavioral interview (worksheet included) on LinkedIn Share Using the STAR method for your next behavioral interview (worksheet included) on X

The purpose of behavioral interviewing is to objectively measure a potential employee’s past behaviors as a predictor of future results. In behavioral interviews, candidates are asked to give specific examples of when they demonstrated particular behaviors or skills. Here are some example behavioral interview questions:

• Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team to successfully execute a project.
• Do you have any experience with solving complex problems?
• What is a project that you are most proud of?
• Tell me about a time you failed.

You may notice that a couple of these questions are close-ended, meaning that in a normal every-day conversation you may respond with a simple “yes” or “no.” In a behavioral interview, it is important to practice a “yes, and…” mentality. In other words, provide context for your interviewer with an example that can help you demonstrate the depth of your skills and knowledge.

Interview Tips

When preparing your responses for a behavioral interview, you will also want to keep in mind the following:

• Focus your responses on actual behaviors and emotions. It can be tempting to say what you think will help you get the job, but bending the truth in a job interview can be risky. What you say, if not truthful, can come across as disingenuous to an interviewer, and may not match up with your application materials ( resume, CV, cover letter ) or what a referral has shared about you.
• Describe your role in past situations. When it comes to sharing your experiences with a potential employer, it is important to show ownership of accomplishments by using “I” statements. This can be especially tricky when giving examples of teamwork or collaboration, but using “we” statements can make it difficult for an employer to have a clear understanding of what your skills are. Instead, focus your response on how you contributed to the outcomes of the team efforts.
• Provide specific examples of your actions. Avoid giving answers that are too generalized. When responding to behavioral interview questions, it is important to share specific and clear examples that can give your interviewer insight to your potential as a candidate.
• Reveal your skills related to the job. Your interviewer will prepare questions that will relate directly to the responsibilities of the role. For example, if the target role requires supervision of others or working in a team-based environment, you may be asked to share examples of times when you demonstrated effective leadership or collaboration. If you are asked to share your strengths, refer to the job description to hone in on what skills are important to the role. The ability to communicate effectively, work well with others, and think creatively are a few common descriptors used in internship postings.

The STAR method

S.T.A.R. is a useful acronym and an effective formula for structuring your behavioral interview response. Let’s start by breaking down the formula:

• Situation (20%), explain the situation so that your interviewer understands the context of your example, they do not need to know every detail!
• Task (10%), talk about the task that you took responsibility for completing or the goal of your efforts.
• Action (60%), describe the actions that you personally took to complete the task or reach the end goal. Highlight skills or character traits addressed in the question.
• Result (10%), explain the positive outcomes or results generated by your actions or efforts. Here, it is important to highlight quantifiable results. You may also want to emphasize what you learned from the experience or your key takeaways.

The percentages listed in the graphic above represent the time to dedicate to each section of your story. These numbers are meant to guide you, but don’t worry about getting it exactly right! The most important thing to keep in mind is that most of your response should focus on your A ctions.

Sample response

Here is an example STAR-formatted response for the prompt, “tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership.” Instead of responding simply with “I tutored kids in math,” provide context for your interviewer and demonstrate your skills through an engaging example.

• Situation: When I was a junior in high school, there were several students in my math class who were struggling with some of the more difficult concepts.
• Task: With an upcoming national exam, I was asked by my math teacher to start an after school session to assist the other students.
• Action: I stayed after school twice a week to review class materials and homework. I created a comprehensive study guide. I demonstrated the best methods for solving difficult problems, explained strategies that worked for me, and developed new problems to help them practice.
• Result: Our class average for the national exam was the highest it had been in over ten years, and overall the students I helped were able to develop a better understanding and appreciation for math.

Preparing your responses

When preparing examples to share in an interview, it can feel overwhelming and unrealistic to predict and prepare responses for all questions that may (or may not) come up. While the example shared above was in response to a question about leadership, it could also be adapted to questions regarding communication skills, work ethic, and time management/organization. Consider how the examples you prepare may connect to one or more question, and prepare to adapt your responses on the fly.

Start by identifying both technical and transferable skills needed within a particular role. Review the job description and role responsibilities, paying close attention to the usage and frequency of certain action verbs. Depending on the size and age of a company, you can also use Glassdoor Interview Reviews to learn about others’ experiences and find potential interview questions. Prepare 3-5 stories by creating a bulleted outline or jotting down notes using CAPD’s STAR method worksheet . It can be tempting to script or memorize certain stories, but doing so may limit your ability to adapt as needed in an interview, and can seem unnatural or disingenuous to an interviewer.

Want to learn more as you prepare?  Here are more interview tips .

Time to practice

Ready to start practicing? Schedule a behavioral mock interview with a CAPD staff member to practice your responses, receive feedback, and gain confidence before the real thing. With MIT’s Alumni Advisors Hub , you may be able to find alum from your target company who are willing to provide insight and conduct behavioral mock interviews, as well as coding or technical question prep. You can also use LinkedIn’s Interview Prep tool to receive instantaneous, AI-powered feedback on pacing, how many times you’re using filler words, and sensitive phrases to avoid.

After the interview

Take some time to reflect. What went well? What could go better next time? Jot down some notes to celebrate your wins and to help yourself prepare for future interviews.

Lastly you’ll want to email to your interviewer(s) within 24 hours to thank them for their time and reiterate your interest and excitement for the role. If you spoke with multiple interviewers, consider emailing each one individually. It doesn’t hurt to include some reasons why you think you’d be a great fit, and mention anything worth noting or revisiting from the interview. Our professional correspondence samples can help you to get started.

Explore Jobs

• Jobs Near Me
• Remote Jobs
• Full Time Jobs
• Part Time Jobs
• Entry Level Jobs
• Work From Home Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

• $15 Per Hour Jobs
• $20 Per Hour Jobs
• Hiring Immediately Jobs
• High School Jobs
• H1b Visa Jobs

Explore Careers

• Business And Financial
• Architecture And Engineering
• Computer And Mathematical

Explore Professions

• What They Do
• Certifications
• Demographics

Best Companies

• Health Care
• Fortune 500

Explore Companies

• CEO And Executies
• Resume Builder
• Career Advice
• Explore Majors
• Questions And Answers
• Interview Questions

How To Use The STAR Method In A Job Interview (With Examples)

• Interview Preparation Checklist
• Star Method For Answering Questions
• Star Interview Questions
• Words To Use In An Interview
• Mock Interview Preparation
• How To Make A Good Impression
• Bring Writing Samples
• How To Relax Before An Interview
• Interview Coaching
• Common Video Interview Mistakes
• Common Phone Interview Mistakes
• How To Ace Your Interview For A Remote Job
• Good Weaknesses For A Job Interview
• Good Strengths For A Job Interview
• Talk About Being Laid Off

How To Prepare For A Phone Interview

• How To Decline An Interview
• How Early Should You Arrive For An Interview

Find a Job You Really Want In

Using the STAR method when answering interview questions can help you impress your interviewer and help you land the job. The STAR method helps you answer behavioral and situational interview questions so it’s important to know how to use it.

If you have an interview coming up and want to use this method in your answers, we’ll go over how to use the STAR method in a job interview, provide some example answers using this method, and we’ll go over some mistakes to avoid when answering.

Key Takeaways:

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

The STAR method is an efficient and effective way to highlight your skills through experience when answering interview questions.

The STAR method is particularly useful for behavioral questions as well as certain situational questions.

Be as specific as possible in your answers to make the most of the STAR method.

How to use the STAR method when answering interview questions

Example questions and answers using the star method, 14 common behavioral interview questions that require the star method, how to prepare for an interview using the star method, common star method mistakes to avoid, situational interview questions and the star method, star method faq.

• Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. The STAR method can help you stay on track and answer behavioral interview questions quickly and thoroughly. Here is a breakdown of each step:

Situation. Set the scene for your story — discuss who was involved and what was going on. Your answer won’t work unless you can come up with an appropriate anecdote to discuss. Make sure you really listen to the interviewer’s question so you don’t start telling an irrelevant story.

Here is an example of how your answer should look:

“In my last role, my team and I were facing a significant challenge with declining customer satisfaction scores. We were tasked with finding a solution to improve these scores and retail more customers.”

Task. Next, state what your responsibility was in this situation. It might have been a task you were given or an initiative you took on your own. Often, you can combine the situation and task to fit in one sentence.

“My task was to identify and implement strategies that would lead to a measurable increase in customer satisfaction within a three-month period.”

Action. This is the meat of your answer. Discuss what actions you took along with your thought process and reason for choosing that approach. Make that your direct impact is obvious in the context of the story.

“I decided to propose a new customer feedback system that would allow us to gather real-time feedback and identify areas of improvement. To do this I gathered information and collected data to support my proposal. I also scheduled one-on-one meetings with team members and I addressed any of their concerns and listened to their feedback. I also made sure to keep open communication and provide regular updates throughout the process.”

Result. Wrap up your story with a positive result that clearly shows how your actions created a better situation. Even if the question is about a negative topic, like making a mistake, be sure to finish with positivity — lessons learned and improvements made since then.

“As a result of these efforts, we were able to implement the new customer feedback which led to a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores within the first three months.”

Answering behavioral or situation questions with the STAR method will help you keep your responses focused and give the interviewer the information they’re looking for in a concise way. Think of STAR as a framework that you can use to stay on track and ease the nervousness of not knowing what to say in an interview.

Here are some common behavioral interview questions with example answers using the STAR method to help you get an understanding of how to answering using it:

Tell me about a time you made a mistake . How did you fix the situation?

Situation: At the beginning of my career I was responsible for collecting the week’s sales figures from sales team leaders and compiling them for my supervisor . One week, I forgot to get figures from a few of the teams, resulting in skewed data to present to my supervisor. Task: I had to fix the situation quickly before my supervisor’s big monthly meeting so she could accurately present the company’s sales figures. Action: I quickly called, emailed, and checked in on all the sales team leaders to make sure I had all of the correct information. I had to track down one team leader who was out of the office for the day, but luckily his assistant knew the figures for the week. Result: I was able to remedy my mistake within an hour and provide my supervisor with all the correct data in time for her meeting.

Can you tell me about a time when you boosted monthly sales figures for your team?

Situation: I led a sales team at my previous company and I was responsible for making sure we reached the sales goals my supervisor set. Task: We were meeting our goals, but I wanted to surpass the expectations so I implemented a “check back” policy. Action: I asked everyone on my team to begin checking back with leads that went cold. We began reaching back out to people who asked for more information about our services but never followed up. Result: We were able to convert 50% of those dead leads just by checking back in and seeing if the customer wanted to resume our conversation, bringing us $15,000 above our usual sales goal for the month.

When have you demonstrated leadership skills?

Situation: As a consultant , I worked on various different teams to complete projects. One time, our designated team leader was suddenly reassigned to a new project so I stepped up and offered to lead our team. Task: We had a few days to research, compile, and present our recommendations to a client so I had to manage the team to make sure we were all completing our work and staying within the guidelines the client provided. Action: This meant that I had to balance both my own work for the proposal as well as fielding questions from teammates and overseeing the occasional disagreement. Acting as a mediator , I better understood the recommendations my teammates were proposing and helped them come to an agreement. Result: We successfully pitched our proposal to the client, resulting in an ongoing partnership with them. I was also recognized as a strong leader and became a designated group leader for future projects.

Have you had a time when you disagreed with your boss? How did you handle it?

Situation: We were given a small budget to run paid advertising campaigns for a new product that the company was launching. My boss thought that the money would be better spent on a Google Search Ad, but I wanted to spend it on a social media campaign. Task: I had to convince her that an ad on social media would have a higher ROI than a Google Search Ad, so I had to calculate costs and results for both campaigns to show her why a social media ad made more sense for our budget and goals. Action: I researched and compiled information about what we could expect to gain from these two different ads with our budget. I presented the findings to my boss to convince her to start a paid social media campaign. Result: My work convinced her that we would ultimately see more conversion from a highly targeted social media ad than a Google Search Ad, so I became the person in charge of the project. I oversaw the creation of the content, the targeting, and more, and by the end, we saw a much higher conversion rate than we usually did.

Share an example of when you had to deliver bad news to a coworker.

Situation: As a sales manager , I had to make sure that everyone on my team was meeting their weekly and monthly sales goals. There was one month when a man on my team was barely meeting the goal or did not reach it for four weeks. Our company policy was that after a month of inconsistent performance, we had to have a serious talk with the employee. Task: I had to ask this employee about his work performance and inform him that if his sales remained low for another two weeks, he would be let go. Action: Instead of approaching the situation as a chance to blame him for low sales or scare him about his future, I wanted to understand his point of view. We had a productive conversation about his work and what he was doing to improve his performance so it became a working discussion instead of a chance for me to talk down to him for not meeting our goals. Result: After our conversation, I saw the suggestions he made come to life and I watched his sales numbers rise. Luckily, he improved before the two weeks were up and he became one of my best sales associates after that.

Can you share a time when you successfully persuaded a team or individual to adopt your ideas or recommendations?

Situation: In my previous role at XYZ Inc. we were dealing with a challenge with declining sales. My team was struggling to find a solution and it was impacting our performance. Task: I decided to analyze the situation, come up with a new strategy to boost sales, and convince the team to adopt this new strategy. Action: To create this new strategy, I started by conducting a comprehensive analysis of our sales data to identify any sales trends or customer preferences. Based on this research, I developed a detailed proposal that outlines a new market approach, a revised product positioning, and targeted promotional campaigns. I made sure to meet with key team members one-on-one to communicate this and address any of their concerns. Once everyone agreed to this new strategy, I created a detailed implementation plan with clear milestones, responsibilities, and timelines. Result: As a result of our collaborative efforts and adoption of the new strategy, we saw a significant turnaround in our sales figures. Within six months, our sales in the target product category increased, exceeding our initial goals.

Behavioral questions are easy to identify since they are meant to gather specific information about a task you performed or a goal you achieved in a previous job. If the question starts with something along the lines of “ tell me about a time you… ” or “describe an experience where…” then the interviewer is looking to get concrete examples of how you complete tasks and achieve goals.

Here are some common behavioral interview questions that require the STAR method:

Tell me about a time you had to complete a project with a short deadline.

Can you tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker? How did you resolve it?

Is there a time when you had to set a goal and meet it?

Tell me about a situation where you failed to meet a specific goal. How did you deal with it?

Have you had to make an unpopular decision?

Can you explain a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work? How did you handle it?

Have you ever worked with multiple departments to complete a project? How did it go?

What do you do when you need to motivate your coworkers?

Have you been in a situation where one of your coworkers refused to complete their work?

Tell me about a time you showed initiative in a professional setting.

Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult coworker or team member. How did you handle the situation?

Tell me about a situation where you had to handle a dissatisfied customer or client. How did you address their concerns and ensure their satisfaction?

Describe a moment when you demonstrated strong problem-solving skills. What was the problem, and how did you approach it?

Can you share an experience where you had to provide constructive feedback to a colleague or subordinate? How did you deliver the feedback, and what was the outcome?

To prepare for an interview using the STAR method, the best way to do it is to review common behavioral and situational questions and practice your answers. The more you practice with the format of the STAR method, the better you’ll be at using it during an interview.

Start by writing out your answer to a behavioral question so you can read it back and make sure it sounds like a good answer. You should also answer the questions aloud to practice how you’ll organize your thoughts on the spot. You can do this alone or ask a friend to listen to your responses and help you fine-tune them.

The great thing about behavioral interview questions is that they can be broken down into categories. Consider the following common topics:

Adaptability

Problem-solving

Attention to detail

Customer-focused

Communication

Decision-making

Goal-setting

Taking initiative

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Negotiation

Conflict management

Most of these examples will overlap in some way or another, which will help you when it comes to coming up with an answer.

For example, if you have a story about a time you helped an angry customer reach a positive conclusion, that covers stress, problem-solving, customer interaction, communication, interpersonal skills , and conflict management.

As long as you have a number of stories that cumulatively cover all of the above topics, you should be plenty prepared for your interview. Just be sure to review the job description before heading into your interview, to make sure that all of your stories paint yourself as the ideal candidate the hiring manager is looking for.

You should avoid making your answer sound rehearsed or robotic and being too vague with your answers when using the STAR method. Here are some more mistakes to avoid when using the STAR method:

Sounding rehearsed. It’s good to prepare and practice your answers, but you don’t want to sound like a robot. In order to avoid this, we recommend writing bullet points instead of full answers. That way, you’re sure to hit all the key parts of your story, but your phrasing will sound more natural.

Telling stories that make you look bad. All the stories you tell using the STAR method should end on a positive note. And if the interviewer asks you about a time you made a mistake, don’t bring up the time you cost your former employer hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Being vague. It’s important that your direct impact is super evident in your story. It’s good to talk about team efforts, but make sure that your specific contribution is what’s highlighted.

If you can, use numbers whenever possible. Hiring managers won’t know about your various company policies, but they know that a 10% increase in revenue is always a good thing.

Not being prepared. Coming up with your story on the spot can have you leaving out details or dragging on your answers. There’s also a chance that you could forget to include relevant skills or miss a step in your answers. Being prepared with knowing each step and knowing what you want will help you answer smoothly.

Lying. It’s better to admit you don’t have a great example story rather than make one up. But don’t just flat out say “I don’t know, that never happened to me.” Instead, turn the behavioral interview question into a situational one. Imagine how you would behave in that circumstance, and apply the STAR method as normal.

Situational interview questions are very similar to behavioral questions, except they ask about a hypothetical scenario instead of a real one. These questions start with phrases like “What would you do if…” and “How would you respond when…”

The great news is that the STAR method works just as well for situational interview questions as behavioral ones. After all, the hiring manager or recruiter will be thrilled to hear about a real example that relates to their hypothetical situation.

Even if you don’t have a concrete example for a situational question, you can still use the STAR method to format your answer into a neat and coherent narrative.

What is the STAR method when interviewing?

When interviewing, the STAR method means your answer will address a Situation, what your Task was, what Action you took, and what was the final Result. The STAR method is a great way to neatly organize your answer in such a way that shows how your skills result in success. This helps the interviewer see that you understand the question and have the ability to effectively communicate a relevant answer.

How do you use the STAR technique?

Use the STAR technique by following each step in order. Start with a situation that is appropriate for the question. Then describe what your task or role was to resolve the situation. After, explain what actions you took to fulfill your task. Finally, in a positive manner, describe what were the results of your actions.

Is the STAR method a good technique?

Yes, the STAR method is a good technique for interviews. The STAR method follows a logical progression of your involvement. It gives context, shows skills in actions, and provides results. These are all bits of information the interviewer can use to learn about you and see how you are a great candidate.

When should you use the STAR method in interviews?

You should use the STAR method when answering behavioral interview questions. The STAR method allows you to answer behavioral interview questions with a story or example from your past. This helps the interviewer see how you are as an employee.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Using the STAR method for your next behavioral interview

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Employment Interviewing: Seizing the Opportunity and the Job

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Amanda is a writer with experience in various industries, including travel, real estate, and career advice. After taking on internships and entry-level jobs, she is familiar with the job search process and landing that crucial first job. Included in her experience is work at an employer/intern matching startup where she marketed an intern database to employers and supported college interns looking for work experience.

Denise Bitler has 30+ years of HR experience working in various industries and with all level of employees from hourly through C-suite, as well as company Board Members.She is the founder of Resume-Interview Success, LLC and is an expert in best practices related to resume, cover letter, and Executive bio writing, LinkedIn Profile optimization, job search strategies, and interview coaching.

Recent Job Searches

• Registered Nurse Jobs Resume Location
• Truck Driver Jobs Resume Location
• Call Center Representative Jobs Resume Location
• Customer Service Representative Jobs Resume
• Delivery Driver Jobs Resume Location
• Warehouse Worker Jobs Resume Location
• Account Executive Jobs Resume Location
• Sales Associate Jobs Resume Location
• Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs Resume Location
• Company Driver Jobs Resume

Related posts

How To Ace Your Zoom Interview

11 Interview Tips That Will Help You Stand Out And Get The Job

The Best Time To Interview: What It Is And How To Schedule It

• Career Advice >
• Interview >
• Star Method

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Using the Star technique to shine at job interviews: a how-to guide

Here’s our guide to using the Star technique when answering questions in competency-based job interviews

• Looking for a job? Explore the range of vacancies on Guardian Jobs and find the perfect role for you

There are many types of interviews, from the free flowing to the formal, but one that you are likely to come up against at some point is the competency-based interview.

They’re designed to make the job application process as objective as possible, removing any conscious or subconscious bias by the interviewer by asking each candidate the same questions. Some people feel this type of interview is more stilted – there can be less opportunity to build rapport. However, they are very common, especially in large organisations and the public sector, so it’s worth refining your technique.

The questions will be driven by a competency framework that’s required for the job. For example, a marketing executive may require problem-solving skills, or a job in customer services may require conflict management skills.

The interview questions tend to start with a variation of, “Tell me about a time when…” This may sound simple but, in the heat of the interview, it’s easy to give an unstructured answer, miss out key details, or let the story peter to a halt.

One way of avoiding this is by using the Star acronym to structure your response. Here are two examples of how to implement the technique:

A candidate for a marketing executive role might be asked: “Tell me about a time that you solved a problem to a tight timescale.” Here’s how you could structure your response:

S ituation – set the context for your story. For example, “We were due to be delivering a presentation to a group of 30 interested industry players on our new product and Stuart, the guy due to deliver it, got stuck on a train from Birmingham.”

T ask – what was required of you. For example, “It was my responsibility to find an alternative so it didn’t reflect badly on the company and we didn’t waste the opportunity.”

A ctivity – what you actually did. For example, “I spoke to the event organisers to find out if they could change the running order. They agreed so we bought ourselves some time. I contacted Susan, another member of the team, who at a push could step in. She agreed to drop what she was doing and head to the event.”

R esult – how well the situation played out. For example, “Stuart didn’t make the meeting on time but we explained the problem to the delegates and Susan’s presentation went well – a bit rough around the edges but it was warmly received. Stuart managed to get there for the last 15 minutes to answer questions. As a result we gained some good contacts, at least two of which we converted into paying clients.”

There are a few things to note with this response: it’s important to speak in specific rather than general terms and quantify your success. In this example, we mentioned 30 delegates, the names of the people involved and quantified two contacts converted to clients. From a listener’s perspective, this makes the story more interesting and they are more able to gauge your success. Nameless figures and undefined successes can make the answer less feel less convincing. Secondly, as there are likely to be many questions and interviewers have short attention spans, it’s important to keep your answers concise: convey the maximum achievement in the minimum time. Finally, it’s important to finish on a positive note so the overall impression is strong.

In a second example, a candidate for a customer services role is asked: “Describe a situation when you had to deliver excellent customer service following a complaint”

S ituation: “A customer rang up complaining that they’d waited more than two weeks for a reply from our sales team regarding a product query.”

T ask: “I needed to address the client’s immediate query and find out what went wrong in the normal process.”

A ctivity: “I apologised, got the details and passed them to our head salesperson, who contacted the client within the hour. I investigated why the query hadn’t been answered. I discovered that it was a combination of a wrong mobile number and a generic email address that wasn’t being checked. I let the client know and we offered a goodwill discount on her next order.”

R esult: “The client not only continued to order from us but posted a positive customer service tweet.”

Used at its best, the Star structure is invisible to the listener and it simply comes across as a well-articulated example. Create a bank of answers in this format in advance, so don’t struggle to do it on the day and can make it appear as seamless as possible.

Michael Higgins is a career coach at This is My Path and is author of Pit Stop: A Career Workbook for Busy People .

Looking for a job? Browse Guardian Jobs for your next career step.

• Guardian Careers
• The Careers Blog
• Applications
• Work & careers

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

Advertisement

Mystery of 'impossible' star resolved by three-body solution

A white dwarf star orbiting a sun-like star was thought to be impossibly small, but now astronomers have found another star in the system that solves the puzzle

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

14 May 2024

A white dwarf acts as a lens for the light of the star behind it

NASA/JPL-Caltech

The mystery of a star that seemed too small to exist has been solved – by the detection of another star hiding in the same system.

In 2019, astronomers announced the discovery of an unusual system called KIC 8145411 in which a white dwarf – the dull, compact remnant left behind after certain stars exhaust their nuclear fuel – was orbiting a sun-like star every 450 days. The system is a rare example of a self-lensing binary,…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 2nd of July 2024.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

Existing subscribers

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Mysterious space signals may come from a dead star with a planet

Subscriber-only

Why space dust is key to everything from star birth to life on Earth

Weird white dwarf star has a metal scar after eating a planet, famous supernova left a blazing hot neutron star at its centre, popular articles.

Trending New Scientist articles

The STAR Method: Four Steps to Make a Lasting Impression in Your Next Interview

“Tell me about a time when…”

Do you initially panic when you hear this simple phrase during an interview? Even if you’re well prepared, a simple situational question could throw you a curveball in an otherwise flawless interview experience. But there’s no reason to stress. The STAR Method is one you can master in order to nail your interview answers without hesitation.

Why Hiring Managers Use Situational Questions

One of the best ways to predict a candidate’s future behavior and work style is by analyzing past experiences and decisions. Your responses give hiring managers a glimpse into how you might handle similar situations in a new workplace.

Situational questions also reveal your sense of self-awareness—how you maintain a calm demeanor in challenging situations or how well you work collaboratively through the issue. Low self-awareness may lead to outbursts, poor work quality, and finger-pointing. Show your accountability by recognizing your weaknesses and having examples of how you’re working to improve them. For example, if your soft skills in public speaking are subpar, tell them about a course or networking group you’re taking to refine them.

If you’re applying for a senior position, situational questions can show how well you take initiative, delegate tasks, take ownership, and demonstrate leadership qualities overall. The flow and quality of your story will reveal a lot to your interviewers, so it’s crucial to be well prepared.

What is the STAR Method?

Situational questions, also known as problem-solving questions , are a common tactic used by interviewers. As a candidate, you can use the STAR Method in order to keep your answers organized, clear, and confident.

The STAR Method provides a framework for responding to these tough, open-ended questions so that you answer the question fully and avoid rambling.

Remembering an easy checklist such as the STAR Method ensures you can provide a complete, concise answer to any situational question. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. During the interview, use this technique when responding to the question, “Tell me about a time when you encountered a challenge and solved it”:

S - Once you’ve thought of an appropriate situation, take the time to briefly give enough background to the story. Make sure to include who was involved, the nature of the conflict, where it took place, and when.

T - Explain the task at hand. Who assigned you the task? What was your expected role? What was the expected result?

A - Describe the action you took to resolve the conflict and how you executed the solution. How did you develop the right course of action? If the action was carried out by a team, describe your role and your personal contributions. Include the steps you took and your decision making process in your answer.

R - Talk about the results of your actions, and what the ultimate outcome. Did the actual outcome mirror the expected outcome? Describe what happened and why, and how your decisions contributed to the overall result.

You can add another “R” to this technique for an added bonus to your answer. The extra “R” stands for reflection . A moment of reflection shows an interviewer that you can explain how the actions you took directly impacted the result of a situation, and what you learned in the process. If the outcome wasn’t perfect, explain what you would do differently today if you were posed with the same conflict. This shows the strength of your accountability and self-awareness.

Prepare for the Interview

Some examples of the types of questions you may be asked and should be prepared for are:

• Tell me about a time when a project you were managing had to be delayed. How did you handle that?
• Describe a time when you came up with a new approach to an inefficient process.
• Describe a time when you anticipated potential obstacles in an upcoming project.
• Tell me about a time where you had to change course in an instant mid-project.
• Describe a scenario where you made a critical mistake.
• Can you recall a time where you had conflicting pieces of feedback on a project? How did you handle that?

Review the job description and consider what sorts of conflicts may arise in that position, and what questions the interviewer might ask based on that. Anticipate the questions you’ll be asked by making a long list of potential questions and brainstorming your responses ahead of time. The best way to prepare for these questions is to practice with another person. Reach out to your consultant advisor to rehearse with you. Grab a friend and ask them to rehearse with you.

You can ensure smooth sailing on the interview day by working through any blunders before the interview. Working through the blunders prior to the interview will ensure smooth sailing on the big day.

Do’s and Don'ts of the STAR Method

Resist the urge to make your story sound more impressive by exaggerating or twisting the truth. You may confuse yourself and get lost in the story, or even worse, someone in the room may be familiar enough with the situation to call your bluff.

Avoid talking about a time when you went above management or acted independently of your team, as this may be a red flag to employers. Instead, demonstrate creative collaboration, and independent initiative backed by your team.

Alluding that others are to blame for your past shortcomings reveals to interviewers that they can expect this out of you in the future. Be sure to avoid ridicule and blame, and instead, take these questions as opportunities to showcase your positive qualities and to show ownership of mistakes. Respond with a truthful, human, and descriptive story by using the STAR Method to provide organized, linear answers.

Use The STAR Method for Success

With these tips you’ll be well on your way to scoring the next role of your dreams. Preparing for tough situational questions and using the STAR Method to organize your responses will guarantee you answer the interviewer’s most difficult questions with confidence.

Originally published April 2019; updated August 2022.

You May Also Like

Ehr essentials: 5 proven steps for a successful epic implementation.

Is your healthcare organization planning for an Epic implementation and conversion from another electronic health record system (EHR)? If so, you know you have an epic task ahead of you. Whether you are converting from Allscripts, athenahealth, MEDITECH, eClinicalWorks, Oracle Health, or another EHR, you’ll need a staffing model to support and execute the conversion, […]

The Benefits of Having Your Healthcare HCM, ERP, and SCM in One System

My colleagues and I recently attended a Workday Customer Base event where I led a presentation on HCM Transformation. Many attendees in the room noted their organizations first started their transformation journey by implementing Workday HCM and were now considering Workday ERP and SCM. They expressed it seemed beneficial to consolidate their HCM, ERP and […]

6 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search

It’s finally spring, and that means it's time for growth and new opportunities. For job seekers, it's also a good time to refresh your job search strategies by revisiting key tools like your resume, social profiles and your interview approach.  Finding a new job can seem daunting at times. Applying, interviewing and showing your best […]

Subscribe to Healthcare IT Leaders Blog Updates

• The Star ePaper
• Subscriptions
• Manage Profile
• Change Password
• Manage Logins
• Manage Subscription
• Transaction History
• Manage Billing Info
• Manage For You
• Manage Bookmarks
• Package & Pricing

Recruit and reinforce: Solving Malaysia’s cybersecurity shortfall

• Cybersecurity

Monday, 29 Apr 2024

Related News

Forging a balanced digital frontier: Tapping women in the cybersecurity fight

Fifteen join cybersecurity programme in singapore, microsoft ties pay for top bosses to meeting cybersecurity goals.

The enactment of the new Cyber Security Bill 2024 underscores the urgent need to country’s cyber defences, particularly in light of the shortage of cybersecurity experts. — Bloomberg

In March, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo emphasised to Parliament the need for Malaysia to maintain a high level of expertise in cybersecurity to face future threats.

To enhance the country’s cybersecurity capacity, he said the Digital Ministry is set to introduce several programmes to develop cybersecurity talents and attract experts to the country.

These professionals are expected to bolster Malaysia’s key agencies for national cybersecurity and data protection, namely CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa), and the Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP), which regulates the processing of personal data.

Furthermore, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil reported last October that Malaysia faces a significant deficit of cybersecurity experts, with only 15,000 currently active within the industry.

He estimated that an additional 12,000 experts across various fields are necessary to manage digital threats effectively.

“This is a huge gap when we understand the need for cybersecurity, and companies, especially those in the digital economy, really prioritise cybersecurity and there will be an urgency to set up their own cybersecurity units.

“Every company, depending on size, might need between 20 and 30 people, and if we look at small and medium enterprises as an example, there really is a need,” he said in a Bernama report.

This shortfall was echoed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in late March, who stated that the country requires “25,000 workers in cybersecurity by 2025”.

Worldwide woes

Ahmad Zaidi Said, an incident response specialist with the Global Emergency Response Team at Kaspersky, pointed out that the scarcity of cyber talent is a widespread issue that is not just confined to Malaysia.

He cited a study from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ICS2) that indicated a global workforce gap of four million information security (InfoSec) workers in 2022.

Moreover, a separate study by Kaspersky revealed that 41% of companies “described their cybersecurity teams as somewhat or significantly understaffed”.

“Our survey also showed that the government sector reported the highest demand for InfoSec professionals, followed by telecommunications, media, and the retail and wholesale sectors.

“Achieving a goal of 25,000 cybersecurity professionals in Malaysia is an ambitious goal, yet it is really crucial,” he says.

The chief executive of Nacsa, Dr Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin, believes that the demand for cybersecurity professionals will rise, especially as the Cyber Security Bill 2024 was unanimously passed on April 3 by the Dewan Negara.

“The Bill is anticipated to mandate specific security standards and procedures, highlighting the significance of cybersecurity professionals.

“However, its effectiveness will hinge upon the availability of trained personnel capable of properly implementing and enforcing its requirements.

“The demand for cybersecurity talent is expected to surge significantly as compliance with the cybersecurity baseline becomes mandatory for National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII) entities under the law, necessitating resources within their organisations,” he says.

Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, CEO of CyberSecurity Malaysia, shared that the CSM 2023 Mid-Year Threat Landscape report revealed that the government sector experienced the highest number of data breaches, accounting for 22% of the total breaches affecting various sectors.

The telecommunications sector ranked as the second most impacted, albeit substantially less, at 9%.

“The education and retail sectors are tied at 6% each in terms of Malaysia’s data breach records. Furthermore, the report indicates that in June alone, there were an estimated total of 823,880 breached records, totalling 417.59GB of data, involving six government agencies and 20 private entities,” he says.

Training tomorrow’s talents

As the Bill is set to play a pivotal role in enhancing Malaysia’s cybersecurity framework, Megat Zuhairy stressed that a shift in talent development strategy is needed.

“Prior to this, we tended to focus on developing our talents in institutions of higher learning, but it is no longer sufficient.

“I believe that we need to start even earlier – from primary schools and secondary schools, as they are the generation that has been exposed to digital gadgets from the beginning of their lives,” he says.

To promote cybersecurity awareness among school students, Nacsa plans to unveil the MyCyberHero programme and also recommends promoting cybersecurity-related careers to school students.

Moreover, the agency advocates providing opportunities for professionals already in the workforce to transition into the cybersecurity sector by offering supplementary courses and certifications.

Amirudin emphasises that cybersecurity talents are in high demand due to evolving cyber threats and the increasing pressure for faster results.

“If no new personnel are brought into cybersecurity, Malaysia’s digital landscape will slowly deteriorate,” he says, citing the numerous cyber incidents in the country.

Another aspect to consider is the limited resources and expertise available to develop effective training programmes, which may impede efforts to adequately train cybersecurity professionals.

Philip Victor, a partner and managing director at the technology strategic advisory firm Welchman Keen, highlights the significant challenge of funding, which is essential for cybersecurity talent training and retention.

This challenge is particularly notable when trying to attract Malaysian talents currently working overseas and foreign experts to the country.

“It’s all about the money. You should pay them well. You need that pull factor. Our declining currency is not helping at all. Why would they want to return, or why would foreign experts come?

“The benefits must be great. One suggestion is to offer flexibility and remote work. In the organisation I work with, we are all based in our home countries, and today we can work from anywhere,” he says.

He advises engaging with these individuals to work remotely if that is their preference, adding that good remuneration, development opportunities, and recognition are steps toward making the sector more attractive.

This view is echoed by CSM’s Amirudin, who agrees that offering competitive compensation packages that align with global standards is essential to attract top talent.

“Demand for cybersecurity experts is high globally, making it challenging to attract and retain skilled professionals in Malaysia due to competition from other countries and industries.

“Addressing these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach that involves raising awareness, providing relevant training and education, allocating resources effectively, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and continuously adapting to the evolving cybersecurity landscape,” he says.

Amirudin adds that measures such as simplifying visa and work permit procedures, along with creating more opportunities for professional development, would make the Malaysian cybersecurity landscape more attractive.

Barriers to entry

According to Philip Victor, collaborative efforts with international certification bodies, special pricing schemes, and increasing the availability of local instructors are pivotal to nurturing cybersecurity professionals.

“Work with international certification bodies for certified professionals. Look at special government pricing schemes for government personnel and scholarships for the public and private sectors.

“Create more local certified instructors for these certifications to lower the cost of international trainers, which will lower the overall cost per head for training our local talents.

“If we can get at least one certified instructor from each university, we can have a larger pool of offerings and thus create more professionals in a shorter period of time,” he says.

During his tenure as the head of training and outreach at CyberSecurity Malaysia from 2002 to 2008, Philip Victor stated that the regulatory body collaborated with ISC2 and the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) to offer special pricing and scholarships aimed at creating certified professionals.

Megat Zuhairy highlights ongoing collaborations and initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining talent throughout the country.

“Programmes such as the Nacsa collaboration with the EC-Council, providing RM5mil in scholarships for over 2,000 Malaysians to enrol in certified cybersecurity training, exemplify this approach. Initiatives like the newly established BlackBerry Cybersecurity Center of Excellence aim to enhance local talent through international syllabi and trainers,” he says.

Philip Victor recommends offering government subsidies to offset the high costs associated with obtaining international cybersecurity certifications, or alternatively, incorporating such certifications into university courses.

Additionally, he proposes a transition towards a mandatory six-month on-the-job internship to streamline the process of drawing talent to the local industry.

Ahmad Zaidi stresses that successful collaboration between the public and private sectors, as well as the industry at large, is vital.

“Universities can update their curricula by partnering with cybersecurity players and integrating the latest industry knowledge into their training programmes,” he says, adding that Kaspersky and University Malaya have set up such a partnership.

“In addition, community-based non-profit organisations and societies play a crucial role in promoting cybersecurity awareness, skill development, and networking within the Malaysian cybersecurity community.

“These grassroots initiatives provide valuable platforms for knowledge sharing, hands-on training, and collaborative efforts among cybersecurity professionals, enthusiasts and students.

“Community organisations such as the Malaysia Cybersecurity Community (rawSEC) and SherpaSEC are actively engaged in organising various events and activities that contribute to talent development and foster a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem in the country.

“Moreover, non-profit cybersecurity boot camps like the Malaysia Cybersecurity Camp (MCC) are one of the most effective ways to pique students’ interest in Malaysia,” Ahmad Zaidi says.

He acknowledges that these efforts will not immediately address the current shortage, advising that companies find ways to minimise the impact of the professional shortfall, such as working with managed security services providers in the interim.

Related stories:

Found a mistake in this article?

Report it to us.

Thank you for your report!

Start your UK university journey in Malaysia

Next in tech news.

Trending in Tech

Air pollutant index, highest api readings, select state and location to view the latest api reading.

• Select Location

Source: Department of Environment, Malaysia

Others Also Read

Best viewed on Chrome browsers.

We would love to keep you posted on the latest promotion. Kindly fill the form below

Thank you for downloading.

We hope you enjoy this feature!