Answering interview questions during a job search can feel like the most unnatural, forced experience a person faces when looking for a job. How to answer interview questions is one of the most common questions that comes up during interview coaching.

A client recently emailed with this question:

Hi Jared,

How do I use the STAR method for an upcoming behavioral interview? I was a bit rusty in my last interview, so I want to be more strategic in providing examples during future interviews.

Jane

Here’s how I replied, edited for privacy.

Hi Jane,

The STAR method (situation, task, action, result) is great for interviewing. The CAR method (challenge, action, result) can also be a helpful acronym if you want one less step to think about. Also, I usually coach folks to have each element of the STAR or CAR story rehearsed, but give a bit of variety to the interview by scrambling the story order. Sometimes a story can start from the beginning (the Situation or the Challenge), and sometimes it can start at the end (the Result) and work backwards.

Here’s an example interview answer in case it’s helpful, with the “C” representing the challenge you faced, the “A” giving space to talk about the action or actions you took, and the “R” standing for the result.

This example follows the C-A-R model from beginning to end:

C: “As a publicly traded REIT, we were facing increasing scrutiny under the ABCD administration and needed to ensure regulators that blah blah blah.”
A: “To be sure we got X done within the 60 day window to respond, I convened a group of leaders from XYZ’s four business and together we set out to modernize our risk appetite—which hadn’t been done in at least the previous decade, if ever—and then develop a cross-divisional strategy that made sure (a) leadership was in alignment, and (b) the teams could execute the changes in time.”
R: “The end result? We fulfilled the inquiry with five days to spare, making sure CompanyName fulfilled ABCD compliance, both now and in the foreseeable future.”

And here’s the same story but scrambled. Notice that the story starts with the end result:

R: “One of the most important initiatives I led at CompanyName was the fulfillment and ongoing adherence to a new regulatory mandate that had been brought down by the SEC, but that previous leadership had inadvertently missed.”
A: “We were able to submit our reply to the inquiry five days ahead of time because of a team of four business unit leases I convened. With them in place, I led a cohesive, precise, and relatively quick analysis to (a) be sure leadership was aligned and (b) our teams could fulfill on time.”
C: “The turn around was critical because as a publicly traded REIT, the company had unknowingly been out of compliance for an unknown—but not short—period, and desperately needed to modernize its practices, not to mention its risk appetite for XYZ.”

Hope that helps, and let me know how it goes!

Jared

How do I use the STAR method for my upcoming interview?

A client recently emailed with this question:

Here’s how I replied, edited for privacy.

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