Posted by Jonathan Kidder on February 12, 2019January 28, 2023

Interviewing can sometimes be a stressful experience for applicants. Preparation is key to helping you feel confident in your answers. The best preparation is to use the STAR method. This method is best used with behavioral based interview questions focused on teamwork, problem solving, initiative/leadership, interpersonal skills, and pressure/stress.

The STAR interview method is a structured approach to answering behavioral-based interview questions that helps employers to understand a candidate’s past behavior and how it can predict their future performance. Using the STAR method is important because it helps employers to:

Assess a candidate’s skills and qualifications: By using the STAR method, employers can ask specific and detailed questions that will help them to assess a candidate’s skills, qualifications and how they have applied those skills in previous roles.

Identify a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses: The STAR method allows employers to understand how a candidate has handled different situations in the past, which can help them identify the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

Evaluate a candidate’s potential: The STAR method can help employers to evaluate a candidate’s potential for success in the role and how they would perform in similar situations in the future.

Compare candidates: By using the STAR method, employers can ask the same set of questions to multiple candidates, which makes it easier to compare and evaluate their responses and make a decision.

Make objective decisions: The STAR method helps employers to make objective decisions by providing a structured way to evaluate candidates’ responses and assess their qualifications and experience.

Avoid bias: The STAR method helps employers to avoid bias by providing a consistent way to evaluate candidates’ responses and assess their qualifications and experience, regardless of their background or demographics.

Provide valuable feedback to candidates: The STAR method also provides valuable feedback to candidates by giving them specific feedback on their answers, which can help them improve their interview skills and prepare better for future job opportunities.

What is the STAR Method?

The STAR Method is a guide to help you answer all aspects of what the interviewer wants to know from their question. Ultimately they want to know whether you have a background that will help you do the role and that you have the skills to performs it effectively. Unfortunately for all of us, that means we have to answer interview questions. STAR helps by providing a framework for all the aspects of the interview answer. Simply, what your interviewer wants to know.

Until a better method of identifying the best candidates is discovered, preparing for your interview using the STAR method is your best hope for a successful interview. To help you set yourself up for success in your next interview, we have detailed below are the aspects of the STAR method below.

1. Situation

Describe the specifics of the situation that you want to highlight. Give them the background and as much detail as possible. This will help the interviewers get an idea of what you were dealing with. Set the scene to get them into the mindset you were in when you were dealing with the issue.

2. Task

What is the goal you were trying to achieve? Again, be specific, so the interviewers understand what you were working towards. Tell the story and let them know what the results were to be successful in your mind.

3. Action

Talk your interviewers through the specific actions you took to work towards your goal. While you can let them know what others contributed as well, they are only concerned with the actions that you took. They are interviewing you after all. Sometimes we tend to play down our contributions because it can seem boastful. This is not the time for that! Make sure they know how awesome you are and what you can accomplish if you join their team.

4. Result

This is where you can really play up your effectiveness. Let the interview team know the success of the project. Where possible, include details like the specific amount of money saved or other clearly defined facts that show how much your efforts were important to the bottom line of the company. Ultimately let them know what results you could also provide to their company if they offer you the position.

How to Use STAR to Prepare?

Now that you know what the STAR method is, it’s important that you know exactly how to use it to ace your interview. If you know the STAR method, you may remember to use it during the interview but by following the guidelines below you can stand out.

Review popular interview questions

The first step in prepping for an interview, is to research potential questions you could be asked. Many companies have very similar interview questions, or versions of them that you should be prepared for. Check out this list of 31 Common Interview Questions from The Muse for a great foundation.

Prepare Answer Ideas

The idea isn’t to come up with pre-scripted answers as that will make you sound like a robot! Think about the accomplishments you have made over your career and what you want to highlight in the interview. Detail out those accomplishments using the STAR method so you have a plan to answer fully.

Rehearse

Now that you have everything planned, now you need to practice! Get a friend to ask you those common interview questions and answer using the STAR method. This will help you get comfortable with your answers and get all the kinks out. Then when you are in the stress of the interview setting, you can rely on your instincts to answer based on your practice.

While the STAR method can’t completely relieve your interview jitters, it can ensure you put your best foot forward. Impress your interviewers with your best examples of your awesomeness and land that role!

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Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.