S.T.A.R

Unit 3: S.T.A.R

What's this?

This is a method/technique which is designed to conduct and participate in interviews, being entirely focused on problem-solving and skills. It is very structured, if done correctly, it will make you look and sound more prepared and fully aware of your own capabilities/skills.

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How does it work?

​Example 1

​1) Share an example of a time when you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve this problem?

Situation: “I was working as a retail manager at a department store during prom season. A customer purchased a dress online and had it delivered to the store. One of my associates accidentally put the dress out on the floor, where another customer immediately purchased it.

Task: I knew I needed to make this right for the customer to meet my own service level standards and to uphold the reputation of the company.

​Example

Action: Before calling the customer to let her know about the mistake, I located the same dress at another store location nearby. I ordered it to be pressed and delivered to her home the morning of prom, along with a gift card to thank her for her understanding.

Result: The customer was so thankful, she wrote us a five-star review on several review sites.”

​Example 2

Describe a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?

• Situation: “In my previous job as an account executive, one of my co-workers quit immediately after signing the biggest client our firm had ever taken on.”

• Task: Although I was already managing a full load of accounts, I was assigned this new client as well. I knew the stakes were high and if we lost this deal, then we wouldn’t hit our quarterly goal.

​Example 2

• Action: I first took some measures to destress. Then I carefully evaluated and restructured my task list to make sure I could manage all my duties. Because of this, I was able to make myself completely available to the client and I also sacrificed some evenings and weekends to take calls until the project was delivered.

• Result: The client was so impressed with my dedication, they immediately signed an annual contract that netted our company $5 million.”

Question samples

• Share an example of a time when you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve this problem?

• Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision? How did you handle it?

• Describe a time when you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?

• Tell me about a mistake you’ve made. How did you handle it?

• Share an example of a time you had to make a difficult decision. What did you do?

Question samples

• Explain a situation where you used data or logic to make a recommendation.

• Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you resolve it?

• Describe a time when you had to deliver bad news. How did you do it?

• Tell me about a time you worked with other departments to complete a project.

• Share an example of a time when you failed. What did you learn from the experience?

Question samples

• Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a specific goal.

• Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone to do something.

• Describe a time when you had a conflict with a colleague. How did you handle it?

• Have you ever had to motivate others? How did you do it?

• Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get everything done.

Activity: Work in groups

1. Create a fictional situation that involves a problem or challenge.

2. Once you have a situation, identify the task that needs to be done to handle it.

3. Next, decide on the action to complete the task and solve the problem.

4. Finally, determine the result of their action. Was the problem solved? What was the outcome of the event?

5. Write a story based on the S.T.A.R scenario. TMake sure to clearly describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result in the story. Share it with the class.