Need help acing my STAR interview questions
Hey! I landed an interview for what’s probably my dream job and I’m amped. However, they told me that the interview will involve STAR-style questions. I didn’t want to seem like I had no idea what they were talking about, so I just pretended like I knew what that meant. So, uh, yeah. I googled it and STAR stands for “situation, task, action, result,” but I don’t really know what that means. The examples I looked at were pretty confusing. I guess I have two questions. First, what is the STAR interview method really? Second, what are some STAR method questions and examples? It’s really helpful for me if I can get some real-world examples so I can sort of picture it better.
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Recruiter here! Just to clarify something, STAR is a method of answering
interview questions. It’s not a type of interview. So, when the hiring manager said to expect STAR-style questions, what they were really saying, “You can expect a lot of questions where the STAR method will help you answer them.”
Here’s what it might look like in an interview for a financial planner position. The HR rep might ask something like, “Tell me about an experience you had in your previous financial planning job where you helped solve a customer’s problem.” Let’s walk through the STAR steps for your answer.
S is for Situation. You might say, “I was the lead planner at a local firm and had a high-net-worth couple come in and complain about their investment performance.”
T, for Task: “It was my responsibility to ensure all of our clients were happy with their investment portfolios, so I knew I had to resolve this problem.”
A, for Action: “I decided to meet with the couple personally and walk through their portfolio with them so they understood why they weren’t seeing as big of a return. It had to do with the market performance at the time, and teaching them what was in going on in the economy was a key part of that.”
R, for Result: “Once I broke down what was going on in both the market and their portfolio, they left happily and remained with our firm for the next three years.”
As you can see, the STAR method allows you tell a story about yourself while communicating precisely what kind of problem-solving skills you have. Good luck!
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Here’s what it might look like in an interview for a financial planner position. The HR rep might ask something like, “Tell me about an experience you had in your previous financial planning job where you helped solve a customer’s problem.” Let’s walk through the STAR steps for your answer.
S is for Situation. You might say, “I was the lead planner at a local firm and had a high-net-worth couple come in and complain about their investment performance.”
T, for Task: “It was my responsibility to ensure all of our clients were happy with their investment portfolios, so I knew I had to resolve this problem.”
A, for Action: “I decided to meet with the couple personally and walk through their portfolio with them so they understood why they weren’t seeing as big of a return. It had to do with the market performance at the time, and teaching them what was in going on in the economy was a key part of that.”
R, for Result: “Once I broke down what was going on in both the market and their portfolio, they left happily and remained with our firm for the next three years.”
As you can see, the STAR method allows you tell a story about yourself while communicating precisely what kind of problem-solving skills you have. Good luck!
STAR answers are a good way to frame your stories and experiences in a way that makes them easy to follow and highlights your skills and strengths. The situation and task parts of it get your interviewer on the same page as you, and the action and results parts of it lay out what you want the interviewer to take away from your story.
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Here are some example questions:
Describe a time you were faced with a challenging technical problem. What steps did you take to tackle the problem? How successful were you in addressing the problem?
Describe a time you experienced a disagreement or conflict while working with a team or group of people on a project. How did you navigate the conflict?
Share an example of a personal goal you set and explain the steps you took to accomplish it.
Walk me through a decision-making process on a major project you’ve completed. What was your thought process? How did your decision making impact the trajectory of the project?
The exact wording may not be the same, but these kinds of themes come up a lot in behavioral interviews. Good luck!
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Describe a time you were faced with a challenging technical problem. What steps did you take to tackle the problem? How successful were you in addressing the problem?
Describe a time you experienced a disagreement or conflict while working with a team or group of people on a project. How did you navigate the conflict?
Share an example of a personal goal you set and explain the steps you took to accomplish it.
Walk me through a decision-making process on a major project you’ve completed. What was your thought process? How did your decision making impact the trajectory of the project?
The exact wording may not be the same, but these kinds of themes come up a lot in behavioral interviews. Good luck!
I'd recommend having a few stories rehearsed and ready to go. These stories should include specific examples of how you successfully handled different situations and should show off the best parts of you. Even if you don't know the exact questions beforehand, it's likely that you'll be able to work these stories in as you answer the questions. As you get more interviews under your belt, you'll be able to build up an inventory of interview questions you've encountered and can practice those past questions to prepare for future interviews!
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