The STAR format is a method to answer interview questions. When you are asked situational questions on your interview, it is better to answer them according to the STAR format, because this behavioral technique makes your answer more coherent and comprehensive. Employers like to use the STAR format on interviews due to its higher degree of predictability of applicants’ future performance at work. The acronym STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. To follow the STAR format in your answers means the following:
- Situation: You need to tell about a challenging situation that you had to resolve in your former workplace.
- Task: Tell your recruiters what you tried to achieve in that situations, what tasks you assigned to yourself or your team. When elaborating on this, emphasize what motivations you had to fulfill the assigned tasks.
- Actions: Describe in detail what actions you performed to carry on the tasks. Explain to your recruiters why you decided to undertake these actions and what were the alternatives that you discarded.
- Results: Here you need to elaborate on the results you achieved and whether you managed to resolve the problem you initially faced.
Tell your recruiters also what you learned from your experience.
If you follow the STAR technique while answering the interviewers’ situational questions, you will sound more organized, persuasive, and clever. To learn more about the STAR interview method, please consult our resources.