You can succeed at your next interview by using the STAR structure properly
Your next interview may be competency-based (behavioural). The STAR structure helps both interviewer and interviewee get the best out of the interview.
Most interviewees know this and are aware of the acronym STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Results) but don’t use it well.
Preparing an interview is just like baking a cake – you need the right ingredients, and the right proportions. Make sure your answers are substantial, not half-baked or overdone!
The 4 biggest mistakes in Competency Interviews
1 spending too much time describing the SITUATION – no more than 10% because the interviewer is interested in what you did.
2 omitting the TASK– a clearly defined description of the end result you were looking for – this is the most common fault. Use time, money and resources or any other metric that’s relevant: for example: ” I had a target of getting 100 hits a week at least on the website.” Aim for 5% of your answer.
3 giving too little information on ACTIONs that you took. Relate the actions to the competency statement. Like a good watch your interview descriptions should have a lot moving parts. Therefore, sure your actions are appropriate to the level of the job you are going for. 20 years of experience on reception is not going to count if they are looking for a chief executive. Show that you can box at their weight! So, 75% of your answer should be action-focussed – what you did, how and why you did it.
4 not relating the RESULTS to any meaningful metric. Therefore, relate the results to the TASK. For example:if, in your interview, you had aimed for 100 website hits a week and you achieved 200 then you have reinforced your TASK statement and shown that you can deliver on your promises; this will take 10% of your allotted time.
A handy video to watch:
https://youtu.be/dOELZCy_RJs I have a demonstration video showing STAR in action and how people get it wrong.
Aim to have your examples presented in about three to four minutes. Remember, practice makes perfect.
The interview room is a bad place to discover that your answers were not ready.
Good luck with your interview.
