So, what exactly is the S.T.A.R. interview technique? And how can it improve your hiring process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The S.T.A.R. method and behavioural interview questions<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
S.T.A.R. is an acronym that stands for: <\/span>Situation, Task, Action, Result.<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The S.T.A.R. method is a response technique by interviewees to behavioural interview questions. Behavioural interview questions include questions like: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Behavioural interview questions uncover information about a candidate’s past behaviour, and can help the interviewer predict how the candidate would behave with future work situations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s take a look at each step of the S.T.A.R. process in detail and discuss their value to recruiters. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n First, we have the situation. This is the opening of their response for behavioural interview questions. <\/span>For recruiters, this will ultimately allow you to understand and visualise how the candidate will respond to specific situations and scenarios.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you may ask the candidate this: \u201c<\/span>Give me an example of a time <\/span>you were faced with a deadline that you felt you weren\u2019t going to meet?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Their response could be: \u201cWhen I was the product manager at company X I was in charge of running a team of eight product developers. We had to launch a new product by the end of the month. As we were nearing our deadline the office was hit with the flu and several of our developers were on sick leave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, their response points out the what and the who. What their role and situation were, and who was involved.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, will be the task where it outlines the job the candidate had to face. What was the task the candidate had to complete? Who identified the problem and who was responsible?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The candidate should expand on their previous response and highlight how they came to realise they were falling behind on their project. They could respond with, \u201cI realised that we were short-staffed, so the task became to find a quick solution to hitting our deadline, and it was my responsibility to make that happen.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Be aware that some candidates may not be entirely familiar with behavioural interview <\/span>questions and answers. So, they may stray away from certain points. <\/span>Steer them back in by asking them to describe the task at hand and how they came to realise they were in a sticky situation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The action step is how the candidate approached and dealt with the task. It encompasses the steps to improving and\/or fixing the primary situation that was mentioned at the beginning of the S.T.A.R interview question. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding on to the question, you could ask the candidate: \u201cHow did you resolve this situation and what was the process?\u201d You\u2019re essentially asking the candidate, \u2018What did you do to fix the situation and how did you do it?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideally, your candidate should take it step-by-step and run you through their thought process and how they came to a solution. This is also a great opportunity for the candidate to highlight their work-related skills such as time-management, leadership, productivity, teamwork, communication, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The final step is the outcome achieved as a result of the candidate\u2019s actions. Was their goal accomplished? Did they solve the situation and dismantle the task at hand? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This step is arguably the most important. The candidate’s idea of how results were delivered can give you an idea of their attitude in the workplace and how they’ll mesh with your team. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the S.T.A.R interview, the candidate needs to bring their story to an end. Whether you\u2019re expecting a happy ending is entirely dependent on the candidate\u2019s experience and outcome, so be prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n When performed effectively and strategically, the S.T.A.R interview method and behavioural approach can result in achievable outcomes, but if poorly designed and planned, then the outcome may be skewed. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recruiters are led to believe that by starting the interview question with \u2018tell me about a time,\u2019 that\u2019s all there is to behavioural interview questions, but it\u2019s more complicated than that.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In order for this interview method to be effective, <\/span>the behavioural questions need to be integrated with the role requirements, in particular, the behavioural skill set and competency level.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After you, as the recruiter, have a clear idea of the role you’d like to fill, you can start thinking about the requirements, competencies, behaviours and skills required. After that, you can <\/span>form and develop your behavioural interview questions, which would hopefully lead you to a successful candidate placement.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as with any interview methodology, there are pros and cons to the S.T.A.R. interview process. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to conduct a successful S.T.A.R. interview, you’ll need to do some preparation beforehand. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a range of steps that hiring managers should take when preparing for a S.T.A.R. job interview, including reviewing the job description, thoroughly reading the candidate’s application and cover letter and formulating insightful S.T.A.R. interview questions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on to delve into these steps in more detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Job descriptions clearly state the requirements and candidate expectations for the roles you’re filling. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n To successfully prepare for a job interview, you should carefully review the job description in order to get an idea of the type of behaviours and experiences you’d like the candidate to have.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n These components should directly inform the behavioural questions you ask in your S.T.A.R. interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These behavioural questions should be relevant to the job description and provide insight into how the candidate will respond to certain problem-solving situations. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those preparing for a S.T.A.R. interview should also familiarise themselves with the candidate’s application and cover letter. You should be aware of the candidate’s previous jobs, past experiences, soft skills and hard skills. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A successful interviewer will ask relevant questions (pulled from their application and cover letter) about a candidate’s previous work experiences, delving into their last job, specific examples and soft skills. Don’t just ask them to recite their resume! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This will help you gather more insightful information and real-life examples of how your candidate will act in the workplace. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s crucial that you formulate detailed and customised interview questions for each candidate, as these will help you understand exactly how a candidate will react to certain situations in the workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Questions like “what does hard work look like to you?\u201d or \u201cwhat do you know about this company?\u201d don’t help you gain insight as to how a candidate will perform in a specific role. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asking more detailed, behavioural questions will yield better and more thoughtful interview answers and help you gather useful information as to how a candidate will perform in the workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a good idea to think about your ideal interview answers from potential candidates and reverse engineer your interview questions so you’re leading candidates to give you the most helpful and informative responses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what kinds of questions should you be asking? How should your ideal candidates be responding during a S.T.A.R. interview<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, it depends on the qualities you want your potential candidates to possess. Let’s take a look at some of the questions you should ask for specific candidate qualities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Using the S.T.A.R. interview method can be extremely effective if leveraged correctly, ensuring you find quality candidates during the interview process.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it’s important to note that interviewing candidates is only half of the battle when it comes to hiring, you’ve also got to reach and find those quality candidates in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n JobAdder can help you to discover quality candidates through our exclusive integrations with SEEK and LinkedIn and our seamless posting to over 200 job boards. You can also grow, track and search your talent pool in our platform, ensuring you always have quality candidates ready to go. Learn how JobAdder can help your business discover the best talent here<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The S.T.A.R. method is a popular framework for tackling behavioural interview questions \u2013 helping candidates give structured, thoughtful responses that …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":427054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[313,306],"tags":[],"bjm_location":[],"class_list":["post-417617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-and-how-tos-gb","category-recruitment-gb"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417617"},{"taxonomy":"bjm_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bjm_location?post=417617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
S = Situation<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
T = Task<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A = Action<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
R = Result<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Need help building your talent pool? Download our ultimate guide to sourcing talent. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sourcing-talent-ebook-cover.png\")
Effectively using the S.T.A.R. process<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pros:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Cons:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Recruiters: How to prepare for a successful S.T.A.R. interview<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Review your job description<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Re-read the candidate’s application and cover letter<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Preparing insightful interview questions<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The best S.T.A.R. questions to ask in an interview<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
S.T.A.R interview questions about<\/b> time management<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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S.T.A.R interview questions about d<\/b>ecision making<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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S.T.A.R interview questions<\/b> about leadership potential<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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S.T.A.R. interview questions about c<\/b>ommunication<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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S.T.A.R. interview questions about<\/b> teamwork <\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Get more quality candidates for your open positions with JobAdder<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n