Best Tip for Interview Success

Have you ever over-prepared for an interview, then said too much or too little? 

Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Here’s our best tip for interview success. It will help you provide a clear, confident response to answer those tricky questions.

The answer is in the STAR – literally!  The acronym stands for:

Situation         |         Task    |         Action     |    Result

This technique is the tip you need to answer your interview questions in a strong and structured way.

Using our example interview question. Here is how you do it:

Example Question: Tell us about a time when you managed a project.

Situation: Set the scene and provide background.

In my role as Office Manager, I was asked to carry out a project to integrate a new communication system into our current day-to-day processes.

Task:  Describe your task

It was my role to oversee the project, set milestones and responsibilities, and evaluate the success of the integration.

Action: What did you do?

I first wrote a plan on paper to set deadlines and important milestones. The plan included tasks, responsibilities, and the actions needed for the successful integration of the communication software.

Tasks set out included communication to staff, training sessions, test sessions, and follow-up drop-in sessions. The responsibilities highlighted the actions needed from other departments such as IT and marketing.

All teams then met to discuss the plan. We also had follow-up meetings after each milestone to ensure that the project was still scheduled to be completed and deal with any issues that may have arisen.

After the software training sessions and the first roll-out, we asked for feedback, we continued to monitor the performance, and then evaluate its success.

Result: What were the outcomes?

The project went really well. We successfully implemented the new software by the deadline, with 100% training roll-out and a 95% positive feedback from staff. We followed up the other 5% with focus groups.

This technique is a proven way to make sure you do not miss anything, while not sharing too much! The STAR acronym is an easy way to remember how to structure your answers in those nerve-wracking interview situations. 

If you would like to learn more about interview tips, CV writing, and other ways to get ahead in your job search, why not join us on one of our FREE short courses. Click here to find out more.

We can also provide tailored advice and guidance. Contact our expert tutors at enquiries.lal@nelsongroup.ac.uk for more information.

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