Your Guiding Star at Interviews. How to use the STAR technique in interviews.
Are you thinking of leaving your job in the New Year and need to brush up on your interview skills? Read on to find out how to use the STAR technique to improve your interview skills
As we come to the end of the year, you may be thinking of moving to a new job or new career in 2022. You might not have been for a job interview in a while, or you might not have come across behavioural interviews before and want to find out more. Or you might want to polish your interview skills. Whatever the reason, if you are thinking of a job change, now is the time to start to prepare for those upcoming interviews. In this article, we will look at a commonly used technique for answering interview questions, called the STAR method.
What is the STAR method when interviewing?
Many job interviews include behavioural questions. A behavioural question can be around the skills required for the job. These sorts of questions are known as competency-based questions. A behavioural interview can also be around the values that are important to the organisation and role. Currently, behavioural interviews are thought to be one of the most reliable ways of interviewing to find out if a person can do a job. The STAR technique can be used as a way of telling a story by providing evidence that you have the required behavioural for the job.
Behavioural questions can be used in face to face interviews, remote interviews and pre-recorded interviews. So it’s great to have some examples prepared using the STAR technique.
What are the four steps in the STAR method?
The STAR technique is a method for answering questions in four steps, The STAR stands for:
Situation: The situation and when it took place.
Task: The task and what the objective or the goal was.
Action: The step by step actions to achieve the goal.
Result: The result or outcome of your actions.
Why is the STAR method used?
The STAR technique is helpful as following a structure will keep you focussed on the answer. Using a structure to your story will prevent you from wandering off track and help to cover all the important points required for an informative answer. It provides the recruiter with an easy to follow story that demonstrates that you have the required attributes for the job.
Which questions need a STAR response?
Behavioural questions such as competency-based or values-based questions ask about a time you demonstrated one of the competencies or values required for a job. Generally, the competency or values are listed in the job description or person specification. It is good practice to work out what skills or competencies they might ask about in the interview by studying the job description or person specification before the interview. You can then prepare some examples. You may also find the organisation’s values on its website. Some organisations have competency frameworks that outline the competencies and behaviours required at different levels in the organisation. For example, the NHS, the Civil Service and The Scottish Government have their own competency frameworks. You may be told beforehand that the interview is competency or values-based but this is not always the case, so prepare examples just in case. I have had clients who have been told their interview is going to be an “informal chat” and it turned into a full-blown competency-based interview - so be prepared and expect the unexpected. In some cases, you will be told what the competencies are that you will be asked about in the interview.
Behavioural interviews generally start with:
“Tell me a time………….”
“Give me an example of when………..”
It is also a useful method for answering Situational questions. “What would you do if………….” as you can provide a similar example of what you actually did as evidence of your behaviours.
What are the four steps in the STAR method?
Let’s look at the four steps of the STAR method and how to answer using this technique in more depth:
Situation
Briefly describe the situation you were in to set the scene for your story. Tell the hiring manager when and where the example that demonstrates the behaviour that is being asked about was. For example, “In my current role as a software engineer for Great Widgets, we had a situation where a client needed a new product to be created very quickly”. Do not assume the interviewer has read your CV, so give some detail about you and the situation.
Task
Describe the task that you were required to do and what your responsibilities were. Always talk about what your role was rather than using “we”. If you talk about “we” did this or that, the interviewer will have no idea what your role was.
Action
Actions are often the part of the answer that people skim over but the actions are the most important part of the story as this is about what you did in the situation. The recruiter will therefore get an idea of your approach to different situations and therefore how you will approach new situations. The idea behind behavioural interviews is that if you have done something before you can do it again in a different environment. Explain your actions in detail and in a step by step approach. Your content will depend on the competency or value being assessed so remember to think about what good looks like for the value or competency and include the keywords that are relevant to the competency. For example, a question on planning and organising may include what you did to pre-plan, meet deadlines, manage resources to complete the task, monitor progress, delegate appropriately and manage multiple deadlines. Behavioural interviews are often marked around positive and negative behavioural indicators so you will do well in an interview if the interviewer can clearly understand your positive behaviours that evidence you have the competency or value.
Result
The result is the outcome of your actions. Keep it positive and it can be helpful to include feedback. FOr example, turnover increased by 20% or your idea was taken on by the organisation and implemented in different departments. Some STAR models include a double R with an R for reflection. Have prepared your reflections on what you learned from the situation and what you may have done differently.
Examples of STAR interview questions
There are many different competencies and values that you may be asked about. Here are some example behaviours and questions:
Teamworking: Tell me about a time when you found it difficult to work in a team?
Leadership: Tell me about a time you led a team to achieve an important outcome for the organisation?
Problem Solving: Give an example of where you have to solve a difficult problem and how you went about it?
Planning and Organisation? Give an example of when you planned an event or project?
Relationships: Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a stakeholder and what happened?
Resilience: Tell me about a time you were under pressure at work. How did you handle it?
Diversity: Give an example of when you stood up for diversity and inclusion?
How to prepare for a behavioural interview using the STAR method
Here are some steps you can take to prepare yourself for a behavioural interview using the STAR technique:
Study the job description, person specification, job advertisement, website and any behavioural frameworks that are available for the job and organisation. Make a list of all the values or competencies that you may be asked about.
For each competency or value think about “what good looks like” and what has to be included in the answer.
From your experience, find specific examples that you can use to demonstrate the values or competencies. You do not have to have several for each competency - think more about good examples that you can use for different behaviours. Good examples might be where you can demonstrate positive behaviours in a team effort, leadership, initiative and service delivery.
Create possible questions around the values or competencies.
Using a STAR format practice giving answers to the questions. Always answer the question and make sure the story has a beginning, middle and end.
Remember to talk about what you did in the first person.
Make sure that the results are positive.
Seek professional interview coaching if you need further help.
I am Diana Dawson, Founder of Working Career. As a Professional Career Coach, Career Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Career Consultant, Executive Coach and Wellbeing at Work Coach, I work with organisations and individuals to help manage their careers.
I am an Accredited Master Coach with the Association for Coaching, a Coaching Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist with nearly 20 years of experience in the field.
I work with professional people from different sectors and backgrounds to cope and flourish at work. I also run Career Workshops and Wellbeing Workshops for organisations.
I can provide one-to-one career coaching in Edinburgh or zoom sessions worldwide. I can provide Career Workshops at your organisation or remotely. Find out more about me here