Feel Less Anxious & More Capable During Recruitment

S.T.A.R’s is your power strategy

To supercharge your resume and land your next job interview, follow the S.T.A.R Method: Situation, Task, Action, Results. It’s the perfect strategy for behavioural interviewing techniques helping you prepare and structure your resume and be more organised, specific, reflective, and concise in your answers. The bonus is that you will feel less anxious and more capable during the recruitment process. Job interviews that use behavioural questions assume that your past behaviour is one of the best predictors for your future performance.

Are you ready to answer those “Tell me about a time when…” interview questions?

Most job seeker resumes are a dull, dry, recitation of facts. Employers on the other hand are seeking a different kind of insight as they search for experience, skills, and talents that can benefit their company. Do you want to craft a stellar narrative for your resume that will make recruitment managers sit up and take notice? The secret to putting a smile on any hiring managers face is to build a well-structured story about your past work experience and be ready to answer the “Tell me about a time when…” questions when you land that interview.

Let’s take a closer look at the STAR Method

To answer behavioural interview questions successfully, you need to pin point the skills you bring to the job and your accomplishments, then back up your claims with real examples from your past experience. This means being as specific and relevant as possible and prepared to provide examples of occasions when results turned out differently than you had expected. Demonstrating your claims with specific actions and results is where the STAR Method will help you shine.

Situation: Think of a situation–at work, as a volunteer, in your community–where you had a positive outcome.

Task: Describe the tasks–activity, duties, responsibilities–you were involved in.

Action: Specify actions you took in the situation to complete the tasks and achieve your results.

Results: Detail results or outcomes that followed due to your actions.

Start preparing your “STAR  Stories”

Here are some focus areas and example questions you can use to prepare “STAR  Stories” that demonstrate your skills, experience, and personal qualities:

Communication: Tell me about a time you were able to adapt you communication style to different people.

Initiative: Tell me about a time that you acted rather than reacted at work.

Leadership: Describe an experience where you used your leadership skills.

Overcoming challenges: Give me an example of a time you overcame a challenging situation in a team.

Problem solving: Tell me about a time when you solved a significant problem at your work.

Time management: Tell me about a time when you had to organise and plan a large event.

What next?

Get in touch with Dr Allison Creed at Creed Coaching to book your introductory session. I will help you recognise your strengths and guide you in showcasing your expertise and preparing your unique stories to not only land the job you want but thrive in your career.