<aside> 💡 Welcome to the guide of STAR Answer!

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Follow the STAR method to guide you in answering a behavioral-based interview questions. STAR is an abbreviation of Situation, Task, Action, and Result, a structured manner of responding by discussing comprehensively based on those 4 guidance. Here’s a further explanation of it:

SITUATION

Describe the situation, project or challenge you faced. It is best to talk about specific occurrence rather than your general responsibilities. Share the right amount of relevant detail and information necessary to give the interviewer enough context about the situation. Don’t go into too much details

TASK

Describe the task & responsibilities you were given. You can discuss about the goal of the tasks you were you working toward. Consider just one or two points that best illustrate the task you needed to complete.

ACTION

Describe the key action you take to finish the task. Identify and discuss a few of the most impactful steps you took to find success. What was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project.

RESULT

Describe the result from the action you have taken. What was the outcome you reached through your actions? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Provide examples using metrics or data if applicable. Have specific examples that showcase your expertise, and demonstrate how you’ve taken risks, succeeded, failed and grown in the process.

Ratio of Answer

It’s important that you pay attention to which component needs more time discussing than others. Situation and Task are components that requires the least amount of time spent discussing, our interviewers are more concerned with the actions you took and the results obtained. Focus on the action as it helps indicates your fitness for the role you’re applying for while the result helps indicates the impact you bring to the company with the role you embody.

Example of STAR Answer

“Tell me about a mistake you’ve made. How did you handle it?”

• Situation: “I was working as a store clerk for a company selling electronics, and I was responsible to help customers selecting the most suitable products. I consider myself as a tech geek hence why I love this job. One day, a customer wanted to purchase a laptop and I suggested accordingly to their needs after hearing their concerns and requests. The customer successfully purchased the laptop and requested it to be sent to their home address. Unfortunately, I gave the wrong product to our delivery team.
• Task: I took this very seriously and knew I needed to find a solution quickly as the delivery was already on its way.
• Action: After considering a few different ways to resolve the issue, I admitted my mistake to my manager, informed them of my plan and why I thought it was the best course of action. I made sure I had a plan before escalating the problem. I put this as my priority and put other tasks on hold. I quickly double checked on the product and delivery data before driving to the location our delivery team is heading to. I brought the correct product the customer ordered and rushed to meet our delivery team. I took an extra miles in resolving this problem by proposing a preventative action for future purchases that requires the delivery team to cross check the products before delivering it.