Source: Dumb Little Man
Sally is a recent graduate looking to break into the consulting industry. She has prior internship experience and a stellar academic record. However, every time she’s invited to an interview, she freezes and doesn’t know what to say.
What can Sally do to better prepare for the questions she’ll be asked?
How should she structure her responses to show her prospective employer how truly special she is?If you are anything like Sally, knowing how to land your dream job is essential. That is where the S.T.A.R technique can help with your success.
What is the S.T.A.R technique?
It’s a job interview technique that allows interviewers to gather all the relevant information about a specific capability that the job requires. It stands for:
- Situation
- Task/Target
- Action
- Result
Using this technique, you’ll be able to craft a compelling answer that will highlight your talents and make your potential employer swoon. Let’s go through each section of the technique individually.
Situation
Every great story begins by setting the premise of the tale.
The situation section describes the environment (time, place, context, etc.) of the answer you’re providing. This could be a restaurant you used to work at, an internship you had the previous summer, a prior job you had, etc.
For example, one of my S.T.A.R situations centered on my time as manager of a local restaurant in Phoenix. I would explain the situation by detailing the setting before continuing with my answer. Explaining the situation well for potential employers helps give context to the scenario.
Task/Target
Now that you’ve set the stage, it’s time to explain your task.
Be sure to include metrics in your task to help your potential employer see its value. An example of a well-elaborated task would be when I described the purpose of my senior design project.
As part of our project, our group was tasked with implementing a small-parts bagging machine into a manufacturing production line. This implementation would eliminate 2 part-time workers, which would translate into a yearly savings of $60,000.
By clearly explaining the task and tying metrics to it, I was able to grab the attention of my interviewers and keep them on the edge of their seat.
Action
All great answers center on the action taken by the individual to resolve the problem. This is the section where you get to show the interviewer how awesome you are. The action taken describes what you did, what skills you utilized and what behaviors/characteristics you exhibited to accomplish your goal.
Be sure to highlight the characteristics that line up with the skills your potential employer is looking for. If your interviewer values someone who has great eyes for details, focus on how you exhibited that characteristic in a past scenario.
In the example of the bagging machine implementation, I described how I coordinated with the senior design group to organize weekly problem-solving meetings and how…
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