For many job seekers, the hardest parts of a job interview are the “Tell me a time when…”-style questions. These put your experience in the spotlight and often force you to revisit your most challenging days as a professional. As if job interviews weren’t stressful enough, you need to take everything you’ve done and learned and frame it in the context of this new opportunity, showing why you’re indeed the best person for the position.

In addition to questions designed to test your technical knowledge, interviewers often ask questions that are behavioral. You may have to explain how a conflict with a teammate was resolved, for example, or how you mediated a miscommunication between stakeholders.

Many interviewees try to breeze through these questions and focus on their technical qualifications, which can prove a mistake in the long run. “Most applicants treat an interview like a test; they’re trying to get the top score,” Brian Pulliam, Founder at Refactor Coaching, tells Dice. “The problem with this approach is that everyone is doing the exact same thing, and it discourages you from sharing more about how you’re unique. The irony is that interviewers are desperately seeking ‘standout’ answers, which often include something unique about you.”

The STAR interview method can help you navigate those scenarios. It may take a bit of practice, but once you’re comfortable with a STAR method interview response, it’ll feel like second nature.

What is the STAR interview method?

STAR is an acronym for: situation, task, action, result:

• Situation: Start by explaining the scene. Where were you working, what was going on at the time, and what was the difficult situation you faced at this job?

• Task: What was your role at the time? What were your responsibilities? How did you fit into the structure of the company during this difficult moment?

• Action: Explain the step or steps you took to remedy the problematic situation.

• Result: How was the situation resolved? What role did you play? Why was this important for the company?

Utilizing STAR allows you to frame answers in their fullest context and show how you used your skills to ultimately advance your previous teams’ goals forward.

Sample behavioral interview questions for the STAR method

For better or worse, interviewers often ask many questions that can be tackled via the STAR framework. For example:

●      Give an example of a time when you faced a difficult problem at work.

●      Tell me about a time you had to make an unpopular decision.

●      Discuss a time when you were under a lot of pressure. How did you handle it?

●      Tell me about a major mistake you’ve made.

●      Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. What was the resolution, and how did you get there?

●      How do you handle delivering bad news to others at work?

●      Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone to help you with a task.

●      How did you handle the last major conflict you had with a colleague?

●      How do you motivate others, especially those on other teams?

How to use the STAR method

What’s the best way to leverage the STAR method to show why you’re a unique, invaluable candidate? Our experts offered up some advice:

“The STAR interview method remains an invaluable tool for structuring responses to behavioral questions,” notes Derek Bruce, HR & Operations Director, First Aid at Work Course. “It should be employed with flexibility: effective interviews foster organic dialogue and yield a holistic candidate comprehension beyond rehearsed narratives. Employers value two qualities above others: authenticity and adaptability; consequently, candidates must adeptly showcase these traits using the STAR format.”

In other words, try not to come off as too rehearsed: the interviewer wants a glimpse of the real you. In addition to that, you should choose stories from your past that reflect your ability to quickly adjust to new information and come up with ingenious solutions.

Interview coach Tali Shlafer tells us why the STAR method matters: “While many job seekers may find it to be overly rigid, it’s actually designed to increase fairness in the interview process by allowing employers to compare multiple candidates’ responses with a standardized rubric.”

For example, “imagine if you were a hiring manager interviewing ten candidates for an open position, and you ask the question, ‘Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult coworker,’” Shlafer continues. “Without a standardized way to answer this question, some candidates might list off five examples without giving much detail to any, others may spend a lot of time setting the stage but forget to explain what they actually did in the situation, and others might ramble and give a bunch of side stories. The STAR method gives everyone the same format so that the interviewer can easily compare stories and notes.”

The STAR method is designed to give you a fair shot. In response, consider weighing your answer heavily on the “action” portion of the methodology. Don’t spend a long time laying the groundwork (situation) or explaining your role (task). Instead, focus on how you worked to solve the issue (action) and the positive outcome (result). More than half of your response should focus on how you solved the problem.

This weighting method is especially true in tech. Hiring managers want to know you are capable and calm when there is a massive problem that needs your attention.

“One thing I hear over and over from recruiters is that candidates either forget to use STAR altogether, or they focus far too much on the first half of the method (situation and task), and don’t spend enough time talking about the actions and results,” Shlafer says. “This is like that one friend you have that takes way too long to set up the story, gives too much context, and ends up losing half the people listening. The truth is, your interviewer doesn’t care about the problem you had at hand—they care about how you went about solving it, and the impact you had on the organization.”

STAR method example answers

“What is your biggest weakness?”

“People tend to overthink the famous ‘weakness’ question,” Pulliam adds. “Please avoid the super-cringe ‘I’m a perfectionist and I work too much’ answer, as it doesn’t help you stand out.”

Instead, consider showing how you overuse your strengths to the point where they become weaknesses. For example:

“In my previous role as a cloud engineer at Big Tech Company, we were tasked with implementing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. However, shortly after launch, we encountered major data migration issues. This led to inaccurate customer information, frustrated clients, and strained relationships with the sales team.

“My task was to troubleshoot the data migration issues and ensure a smooth transition to the new system. I had limited technical expertise in the CRM system, and the pressure to resolve the situation quickly was immense. I spent time gathering information and seeking additional information from other stakeholders; once I did that, I proposed a step-by-step plan to fix the data and migration errors, including cleaning and reformatting data. I came up with a unique data transfer process that we quickly adopted as the company’s standard. Thanks to these efforts, we solved the data migration issues within a month, which helped us rebuild trust with our customers and sales team.”

Break down the issues as clearly as possible, and don’t be afraid to mention your team’s contributions: interviewers want to know you can interact well with others to complete projects and overcome issues.

Tim Toterhi, talent coach at Plotline Leadership, agrees with Pulliam’s assessment: “Resist the temptation to offer a clichéd humble brag. If you answer the question with, ‘sometimes I work too hard,’ even a senior-level recruiter may be unable to resist the eye roll.

“Instead, opt for thoughtful honesty. Cite an actual weakness (ideally one that is used infrequently in the role) and then follow up with what exactly you are doing to improve that competency. This demonstrates that you are honest, self-aware, and willing to develop – great traits for any employee.”

“Why should we hire you?”

A solid answer to this question has three parts:

• You can do the job: Briefly review how your abilities match the requirements of the position. And don’t forget to describe your ‘X factor’: The results you’ve produced that go beyond what an average candidate could offer.

• You can do the job within this company’s culture and team setup: Being able to do the job is not enough. Success is often dependent on others, so you’ll need to demonstrate the ability to fit into their organizational and departmental culture.

• You want the job: You must also be able to express a passion for the profession, the company, and this particular role.

Bonus: STARL Method: Learn from your previous interviews to be more effective

“A great exercise is practicing your stories to potential interview questions out loud [and timing yourself],” Shlafer adds. “For example, if your whole story is two minutes in length, then each portion (situation, task, action, result) may take about 30 seconds. See if you can get your Situation and Task down to one sentence each to allow yourself plenty of time to talk about the impact you had. As Einstein put it, ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’”

Conclusion

With the STAR method at your disposal, you’ll be able to navigate any scenario an interviewer may throw your way. We like it for its simplicity and foundational approach to any question.

Whenever you face a behavioral question in the course of an interview, quickly run the STAR acronym through your head, and star talking your way through each step. Before you know it, interviewers will be nodding in approval and you’ll be well on your way to landing the position.