According to Hansen, interviewers use behavior-based questions to screen potential employees, hence, mastering the skills for the questions are vital to job seekers. Indeed Career Guide (2021) opines that job candidates should use the STAR method when answering behavioral interview questions. The STAR method follows the Situation, Task, Action, and Result format when answering interview questions (Indeed Career Guide, 2021). The following examples of behavior questions I answered using the STAR method in an interview.
Describe a stressful situation at work, and explain how you handled it.
Situation: As the team leader of our class group when doing class projects, we were once tasked with handing in a class project that did not have enough time. Task; It was my duty to ensure that the project was submitted on time. Action: I allowed the other group members to come for group discussions at our home that night. Result: the group was able to submit the work on time.
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Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation.
Situation: one of our group members was uncooperative and always late for group discussions. Task: As the group leader, it was my responsibility to ensure everyone participated fully in the discussions. Action: I talked to the particular member individually and explained to him the importance of the discussions to him. Result: The member changed his attitude and became more active and cooperative in the discussions.
Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was going on, and how did you get through it?
Situation: One time, we were supposed to submit printed copies of a class assignment we had worked on as a group; unfortunately, I forgot to bring the copy to the class on the day it was supposed to be submitted. Task: It was my responsibility to ensure that the group did not lose marks due to late submission. Action: I talked to the professor about the situation and showed him the soft copy of the work on my laptop to convince him that we had actually completed the assignment. Results: Thankfully, the professor understood the situation and allowed us to submit the assignment the next day. We did not miss marks due to lateness.
Tell me about a time you set a goal for yourself. How did you go about ensuring that you would meet your objective?
Situation: As the leader of our group, it was always my goal to ensure that our group always performed well in the assignments. Task: I had to ensure that we did thorough research on the assignments. Action: I always ensured that we had enough time for group discussions. Results: In almost all assignments we did as a group, our group came out on top.
Tell me about your proudest professional/personal accomplishment.
Situation: As the group leader, I always wanted all the members in the group to excel in their exams. Task: I had to ensure that we all did revisions as a group for our examinations. Action: Although the groups were meant for handling class assignments and projects only, I convinced them members that we could work on examination revisions as a group. Result: We all passed our exams.
References
Hansen, K. (2007). Behavioral interviewing strategies for job-seekers. Quintessential Careers , 6 .
Indeed Career Guide (2021). How to Prepare for Behavioral Interview. Indeed Career Guide . https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/how-to-prepare-for-a-behavioral-interview
Indeed Career Guide (2021). How to Use the STAR Interview Response Technique. Indeed Career Guide . https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/how-to-use-the-star-interview-response-technique
