The STAR Technique: A Guide to Preparing for Job Interviews, Lecture notes of Communication

Download The STAR Technique: A Guide to Preparing for Job Interviews and more Lecture notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! 54 STAR TECHNIQUE An important part of your interview will involve answering questions posed by the interviewer. Your ability to clearly and concisely respond to questions in an informed manner that relates your background to the questions posed will set you apart from others who stumble over questions. The best way to give a perfect response is to tell a story. The STAR method provides a guided approach to using one of your past successes to respond to the question. The four steps are: 1. S = Situation (Describe the situation: General/Specific) 2. T = Technique (What approach did you use?) 3. A = Action (What action did you take?) 4. R = Result (What was the result of your action?) Keep it positive! Plan to develop a comprehensive list of your many successes, especially those that relate to non-classroom activities such as: • Related Experience • Technical Interests • Leadership Examples • Teaming Activities • Communication Skills • Work Experiences Develop short examples that illustrate your successes in these areas: Situation or Task Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience or any relevant event. Action You Took Describe the action you took and be sure to keep the focus on you. Even if you are discussing a group project or effort, describe what you did—not the efforts of the team. Don’t tell what you might do; tell what you did. Results You Achieved What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Sample Interview Questions 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What interests you about the job/organization? 3. What are your strengths? 4. What are your weaknesses? 5. Do you prefer to work by yourself, or with others? 6. What are your career goals or future plans? 7. What are your salary requirements?