Many people dread using the STAR technique to provide specific examples from the past, which has also been complicated by the addition of STARR and STAR+R techniques.
This article provides interview skills help by explaining how to use the STAR technique as well as the STARR / STAR+R variants to provide outstanding interview examples.
What is the STAR technique?
The STAR technique is a way of structuring your interview answers to ensure you provide a full answer. It is used for any questions which require a specific example from the past, which can include technical, competency-based, and behavioural interview questions. It is not used to answer any other type of interview questions.
The STAR technique is a storytelling technique which helps you to communicate your example clearly and concisely, providing the information required with little or no prompting. Imagine listening to someone telling a story in a social setting who doesn’t explain who they were talking about, so you miss part of the story whilst you try to work out if the story was about their partner, child, colleague or pet. Perhaps they leave out part of the end of the story, so you’re left wondering what happened or why they told the story in the first place. The STAR method helps you to structure your answer to include the essential parts of the story and avoids these issues.
STAR is an acronym which stands for Situation and/or Task, Action and Result which are the essential parts of every story.
Situation or Task
In the situation or task, briefly outline the issue, providing the context required for the interviewer to understand why you acted in the way you did. You may not always have both a situation and a task, either is fine. It typically includes details like who, what, where, why, when. It is typically two or three sentences long and needs to be tailored to your interviewer. An internal interviewer may understand the aims and objectives of a particular project, however the name of the project will mean nothing to an interviewer at another company, instead they need you to explain this was a process improvement project, rather than simply naming the project.
A good opening is “Whilst working at…” “In my current role at…” “Last week…”
Action
The action outlines how you resolved the issue you explained in the situation or task. Depending on the question, it may include details like what you did and what you said. This section will form the majority of your answer, most people find the action, the easiest part of the answer to provide.
Result
The result is the most important part of your answer because it shows what you achieved. The best answers will demonstrate that your actions made a substantial impact and provide metrics to back this up. It concludes everything you mentioned in the action, and outlines the wider impact for your customers, the business, your colleagues and yourself. This is typically a few sentences long.
Your whole answer should be clear and concise, typically lasting two or three minutes, let the recruiter prompt you if they would like additional information. Anything which doesn’t fit into one of these areas is irrelevant.
What is STARR or STAR+R?
STARR and STAR+R are variations of the STAR technique. The additional R stands for reflection. After your result, reflect on what you learned and how you will use this knowledge going forwards. This helps interviewers to see how you apply learning to future situations.
Further help and advice
You may also find it helpful to read some of the other articles in this section for further interview skills help, including advice on improving your interview skills.
Do you need professional assistance in improving your interview skills? I provide interview skills help via interview skills coaching sessions where I can teach you how to stand-out STAR, STARR or STAR+R interview examples, by choosing your best examples and teaching you how to deliver your answers as effectively as possible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.
