S.T.A.R – A Guide For Your Next Interview
You’re preparing for an interview. You’ve poured over the job description identifying all the ways you’re PERFECT for this job. You’ve worked with our internal team to prep your resume and prepare you for the tough interview questions.
Here’s a little inside knowledge. Many interviewers use a technique known as behavioral interviewing. To learn what that is, contrast these two types of questions:
- How would you approach an unexpected project that has a tight deadline?
2. Tell me about a time you got an unexpected project with a tight deadline. What did you do?
Both questions ask about your ability to work fast under pressure. The first asks what you would do and the second asks what you did do. Anytime you’re asked to describe what you did in a specific past situation (#2), you’ve gotten a behavioral interview question. By focusing on real situations from the past, interviewers know that the abilities we’ve used before will be used again. Behavioral questions are a better way to determine our skills and job fit.
So, what’s the best way to respond to behavioral questions? Use the S.T.A.R. technique!
S.T.A.R.
There are four pieces to a S.T.A.R. response. For each, be remember to be specific.
S – Situation: Briefly describe your background. What issue, problem or opportunity did you face?
T – Task: Describe the specific task or activity you took on to address the situation. What was your job in the situation?
A – Action: Describe how you went about completing the task (your action, not the action taken by your team). What steps did you take to get it done?
R – Result: Describe the outcome. What did you accomplish? What were the results, including the impact on the company, your team, your client, etc.?
The interview process can be scary and overwhelming. But here at Southwest Search, we break down the process to help you grow and understand methods to ensure you are fully equipped to take on any interview!
