Interviewees should be aware of and recognise STAR questioning.
STAR questioning explained
During interviews, STAR questioning is a behavioural or competency questioning technique used by interviewers to ascertain how someone would react to certain situations. Very often, they are negatively focused, meaning they will test how you respond to negative situations. STAR questioning asks you to describe a specific Situation, Task, Action you took and the Result of that action.
If you are going to do well at interviews, you will need to recognise and be able to respond to such questioning. You can easily prepare for it before an interview, meaning that it should be welcomed by you when such questioning is used. In fact, you should give full answers to any interview question, not just a “yes” or “no”, and using the STAR method is a great way to answer!
Does STAR questioning work?
STAR questioning isn’t rocket science, not for the job seeker answering the questions, nor the interviewer asking the questions. It is also easy to see how someone reacts to these questions and what their role was in the situation described. It tell sone pretty quickly how that person will behave and what their competencies are.
For example, an interviewee may tell how they worked on a project and continually use the word “we” instead of “I”, denoting that they didn’t complete the task alone. This may be important. They could describe how they resolved something and that it exactly matched how the company would have done so – a great sign for the firm!
Get to know STAR questions
Here are some resources to help you get acquainted with and prepared for STAR questioning.
Click to view large version. Source: hashtagcv.com
Here’s a good way to prepare for behavior-based interviews: (source: livecareer.com)
• Identify six to eight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated top behaviors and
skills that employers typically seek. Think in terms of examples that will exploit your top selling points.
• Half your examples should be totally positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals.
• The other half should be situations that started out negatively but either ended positively or you made
the best of the outcome.
• Vary your examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life.
• Use fairly recent examples. If you’re a college student, examples from high school may be too long ago.
Accenture, in fact, specifies that candidates give examples of behaviors demonstrated within the last
year.
• Try to describe examples in story form and/or PAR/SAR/STAR.
• Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially involving course
work, work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning, and customer service.
• Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
• Be sure each story has a beginning, middle, and an end, i.e., be ready to describe the situation,
including the task at hand, your action, and the outcome or result.
• Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not
favorable).
• Be honest. Don’t embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will find out if your
story is built on a weak foundation.
• Be specific. Don’t generalize about several events; give a detailed accounting of one event.
• Vary your examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life.
Following is a list of typical behavior-based questions (source: Lombardi)
1. Describe a situation in which you had to use reference materials to write a research paper. What was
the topic? What journals did you read? (research/written communication)
2. Give me a specific example of a time when a co-worker or classmate criticized your work in front of
others. How did you respond? How has that event shaped the way you communicate with others? (oral
communication.
3. Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or professor on an idea or
concept. How did you proceed? What was the result? (assertiveness)
4. Describe the system you use for keeping track of multiple projects. How do you track your progress so
that you can meet deadlines? How do you stay focused? (commitment to task)
5. Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a challenge your company or
class was facing. What was the challenge? What role did others play? (creativity and imagination)
6. Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer or professor. How did you approach the
problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome? (decision making)
7. Describe a time when you got co-workers or classmates who dislike each other to work together. How
did you accomplish this? What was the outcome? (teamwork)
8. Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What things did you fail to do? What were the
repercussions? What did you learn? (time management)
9. Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker or classmate understand a task.
How did you assist them? What was the result? (flexibility)
10. Describe two specific goals you set for yourself and how successful you were in meeting them. What
factors led to your success in meeting your goals? (goal setting)
