By Hannah Morgan | Career Sherpa | July 5, 2021
If you’ve ever found yourself giving a long-winded, rambling interview answer, then you will absolutely benefit from learning the STAR interview method.
It’s been around for years and it’s one of the best tricks to effectively deliver a concise and compelling interview answer.
In this article, you’ll learn how you can prepare in advance for almost any interview question and deliver STAR interview answers that truly showcase your skills and abilities.
What Is The STAR Method?
The STAR interview method is a fool-proof way to answer behavioral interview questions. Not only will it help you deliver a concise, memorable interview answer. It’s also easy for any interviewer, new or experienced, to follow.
Have you ever been asked:
- Tell me about a time you had to…
- Give me an example of how you…
- Describe how you have…
- What have you done when…
If you dread being asked one of these types of questions, you aren’t alone. Some of these questions may have forced you to recall situations on the spot and then you ramble through your answer. The answer you gave may have been a top-of-mind response and probably not your best example. This happens to all of us. But it doesn’t have to. You can prepare answers for these questions in advance.
Why do recruiters and hiring managers ask STAR interview questions?
Because they want to hear how you’ve solved problems or fixed things in the past. There’s a saying that your past performance is an indicator of future behavior. While this may not be 100% true, it is one of the best resources an interviewer has. During your answer, the interviewer is listening for the steps you took and whether you were successful or what you learned from that experience.
STAR is an acronym that describes how to structure interview answers.
