What is the STAR interview Method? [STAR Interview Questions]

By Snigdha | November 9, 2022 1:28 pm | 4-min read

Are you naturally charismatic and charming, or are you someone who needs to put in a lot of time and effort into preparing for an interview? No matter which category you fall into, it is a good idea to look into the top interview questions. Doing this will prevent you from getting flustered as you face the interviewer.

One of the most popular interview methods is the STAR method interview, and we are going to discuss the method in detail while also listing the typical STAR interview questions with example answers.

What is the STAR method?

The STAR interview method is a technique for answering behavioral interview questions in a structured and organized manner. The STAR format interview is, in fact, based on an acronym that stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Situation: this is an opportunity for you to set the scene and talk about the event, project, or challenge you want to talk about
Task: this is where you describe your responsibility in the situation.
Action: here, you can talk about the steps you took to handle the situation
Result: at this point, you should be ready to share the outcome of your actions.

When you use this answering technique to build a story in a more focused manner, the answer will not just be easy to understand but is also compelling enough to be memorable and make a positive impact. This is a great place to start the conversation and to help the interviewer understand whether you are a good fit for the position.

What are the typical STAR Interview Questions?

As I have mentioned earlier, the STAR method of answering questions is perfect for answering behavioral questions in an interview. The STAR method of answering interview questions is great for the questions that encourage you to offer real-life examples of how you handled a specific situation.

The intent of these questions is to judge whether you are capable of taking the proper chain of actions needed to remedy a similar situation.
These questions typically prove to be problematic to answer for most candidates. This is primarily because the interviewers are looking for a detailed response or a story instead of a simple yes or no.
These questions remain relevant even if you have no experience. The interviewer can ask these behavioral questions in the context of situations like your university projects or other activities.
The behavioral interview questions are easy to spot, and they mostly begin in one of the following ways:

Have you ever…
Describe a situation…
Tell me about a time when…
Give me an example of…
What do you do when…

Answering these behavioral questions extends beyond finding the right example you want to quote. Your answer needs to present a compelling, easy-to-follow narrative without losing focus. The STAR interview method is perfect for drafting the response to these questions.

How to use the STAR interview technique?

Knowing the full form of the acronym is how we begin understanding the concept of this intriguing interviewing technique. The next step in the process is to understand how the STAR interview method works.
Follow the simple steps below to come up with the best STAR interview answer.

Describe the situation
This is the first and the most crucial step of the process, where you will lay the ground or set the scene. It is crucial that you refrain from giving in to the temptation of embellishing the narrative with unnecessary details. For example, if the interviewer asks you about a time when you failed to retain an employee, you don’t have to go into the day when they spilled a drink in the board meeting room.
The idea is to provide a clear background, lay the foundation for the next step in the process, and help the interviewer follow the narrative a little better. You must ensure that everything you say is relevant to your story and the interviewer’s question.
E.g., you could say, “In my earlier content writing role, my employers decided to focus primarily on organic marketing, blogs, social media, etc. They were looking to increase their footfall pretty aggressively.”
Discuss the task
The reason you are telling this story to your interviewer is that you want to tell them about your involvement. This is the perfect opportunity for you to help the interviewer understand where you fit in. In this part of the process, you have the opportunity to provide the specifics of your responsibilities in the specific situation and the goals set for you.
E.g., you could say, “As a content writer, it was my job to create content that would bring in more traffic.”
Explain how you took action
After you have explained your responsibilities to the interviewer, it is time to tell them about all the things you did. Tell them all the steps you took to reach the goals. Be as specific as you can while drafting this part of the answer and refrain from glossing over with an answer like “I worked hard to get traffic…” or “I researched for this….”
Take this opportunity to highlight your contributions with specifics. Make sure that you furnish enough information about exactly what you did.
E.g., you can say, “I created a content calendar that included all forms of content, like blogs, landing pages, social media content, etc. The content was focused entirely on the interests of the targeted customers, which meant more eyeballs, greater conversions, and low bounce rates.”
Present the results
This is your moment to shine and tell people what kind of a difference you made. This is where you share the results of the actions you took. This is the most important part of your answer; unfortunately, many candidates need to realize the big error they are making.
Don’t just tell people what you did. Give the interviewers an insight into the impact of your actions. Emphasize any results that you can quote and quantify wherever you can. Numbers solidify your claims.
You can also focus on the long-term impacts you may have generated with your actions.
E.g., you can say, “As I introduced a stronger structure to the content calendar and made the content consistent, the traffic increased by 20% within a month. By month two, the conversion rates were up by 15%.”

The STAR method interview may seem a little overwhelming to begin with. However, as you become a little more informed and prepare yourself properly, answering behavioral questions becomes a little easier. In fact, you can even treat these questions as great opportunities to establish your competence and candidacy for the open position.