Oregon State University Career Guide - Flipbook - Page 42
The STAR Method
This is a strategy for answering behavior-based questions. Practice this method, and you’ll be prepared for most
interview questions.
S
Situation: State the situation or context.
» Brie昀氀y describe the setting for your example. Who were you working with? What was the task at hand?
“During my role as an intern at Company X, I was responsible for managing all the details for events, and I supervised a
group of 昀椀ve people on the events team.”
T
Task: Identify the task or issue at hand.
» Explain what you needed to address. What was the goal you were working toward or the problem you were trying
to solve?
“After reviewing past reports, I found that event attendance had dropped by 20% over the past few years. I wanted to
make sure that we brought attendance back up.”
A
Action: Explain the action you took.
» Talk through the speci昀椀c steps you took to address the situation. Mention the skills you used. What did you do to
resolve the problem or reach your goal?
“First, I collected feedback from past attendees and vendors by sending out a survey. I used the data I received to design a
new approach for publicizing the event.”
R
Result: Describe the results of your e昀昀orts.
» How did the story end? Explain how your actions contributed to the overall result. Include concrete data, provide
speci昀椀c details and mention what you learned.
“The company used my new plan to promote their next event. By using the tactics I recommended, we raised attendance
by 30% in the 昀椀rst year. I learned that it is important to continually adapt your strategies to increase participation.”
SAMPLE
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
See more sample
interview
questions online.
Practice answers to these common questions as you prep for interviews:
» Why do you think you’d be a good 昀椀t for this position?
» What are your short-range and long-range career objectives? In your answer, don’t indicate that your plan is to only stay in this
particular role for a short period of time.
» Tell us about a time when you collaborated with others to achieve a goal.
» Tell us about a time when you had a disagreement with a team member and how you resolved it.
» Tell us about a time when you had to complete a project with minimal direction.
» Give us an example of a time you had to lead a project or a group of people.
» Tell us about a time when you failed to achieve a goal in a work or educational situation. What did you do?
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OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
