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Interviewing for a job can be a stressful and daunting experience for even the most-qualified candidate. It’s completely normal to feel nerves and anxiety in this type of situation, but when those nerves prevent you from giving the best interview possible, it’s not only frustrating but discouraging and can have a negative impact on your confidence. Fortunately, if you struggle to answer basic questions to the best of your ability or with behavioral and competency-based job interview questions, such as What’s your biggest achievement to date? or How do you maintain a good working relationship with your co-workers? during interviews, all hope isn’t lost.
Before you throw in the towel on finding your dream job, remember that everyone has been through a botched job interview at one point or another — in this particular situation you’re not alone, but just because it’s happened once (or maybe more than once) doesn’t mean it has to happen again. And we have the STAR interview method to thank for that. Never heard of it? Not a problem. Below, here’s everything you need to know about the framework for concisely and confidently answering questions so you can nail your next job interview.
What Is the STAR Method?
To use the STAR method, you can respond with the Situation, explain the Task you had in that situation, describe the Actions you took, and close with the Result when you’re asked a question, allowing you to deliver comprehensive, concise answers to any and all questions.
Situation
According to ZipRecruiter, to begin the STAR method, start by describing the context in which your answer occurred (e.g., the job you performed or a challenge you experienced). This could be a work-related experience, a volunteer position, or another relevant experience. Remember, the interviewers were not present, so be as specific as possible to help them understand exactly what you’re talking about.
Task
After you’ve set the scene, it’s time to delve into your personal responsibility. For example, you could say that you were the team leader on a project or that you were up against a tight deadline for a client. Try to avoid industry jargon unless it applies to the role you’re interviewing for.
Action
After you’ve explained the situation and the task at hand, you’ll move to the portion of the STAR format where you’re explaining the actions you took to complete the task or overcome the challenge. Be mindful to use “I” language versus “we” language. For example, “I managed a team of five employees to complete a complicated sales project for a high-value client.” Avoid focusing on what a boss, co-worker, or team did, and highlight what you did.
Result
Finally, you’ll explain the result of the situation, as well as your accomplishments or the lesson you learned from the experience.
What Is an Example of the STAR Method?
Question: Tell me about a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work and how you responded to that pressure.
Situation: In my previous role as a graphic designer, one of my co-workers quit right before our busiest time of year.
Task: I was asked to take on my co-worker’s tasks as well as my own. Additionally, it was right before our redesign launch, which I worked on without assistance from my previous co-worker.
Action: I first let my superiors know that I needed to reprioritize my task list to ensure that I could complete the work on the redesign. Then, I plotted out a calendar and to-do list for the next month, giving myself extra time for last-minute changes to our magazine layout or additions and breaking down the responsibilities into smaller, more manageable pieces. I worked to ensure all aspects I was now responsible for were completed on time.
Result: It was gratifying to meet all of the deadlines. As a result, we were able to launch our well-received resigned layout and ensure our readers were happy.
Why Use the STAR Method?
I’ll let you in on a secret: Nine times out of ten, interviewers are looking for you to effectively summarize how you’ve reacted to certain situations and communicate the skills you have gained. This allows interviewers to determine whether you may have the skills or experiences needed to excel in the job you’re interviewing for. It’s a lot easier said than done, but this framework helps to break it down piece by piece.
And although you can never predict exactly how an interview will go, putting this framework into practice beforehand is definitely a good place to start. Another good place to start? ZipRecruiter is a great platform to find jobs (companies can also post jobs for free) and line up interviews to practice the method. Before you know it, you’ll be a STAR method professional in no time.
This article was created by BlogHer for ZipRecruiter.