Interview Skills
12 Typical Interview Questions and the STAR Method
Determine Likely Questions
Prepare an elevator pitch that covers who you are, what you have done, what you can do, and what you would like out of the interaction. Lead with professional/academic information, but feel free to add a personal touch.
“Tell Me About Yourself”
“Tell me about yourself” is one of the most common questions you will be asked as an interviewee, and it is often asked early on. So, knowing how to structure your answer will make a great positive impression from the start. Structure your answer using a present-past-future format:
- Present: briefly explain where you are now in terms of your career, whether in terms of training, work, or both. Explain what you do and recount a positive accomplishment.
- Past: indicate how you got where you are, for example, via education and/or past experiences.
- Future: indicate what you’re looking to do next and show how the position you’re applying for aligns with how you envision your future
Here is an example:
Question:
Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and why you are interested in our position?
Answer:
For the past year, I have been working at Infosplit, doing database maintenance. I also have some background in data analysis, both in my part-time role and within school projects.
I have always been good with numbers and interested in big data. For example, during my part-time experience at Infosplit, I made some recommendations to improve the quality of data inputs. This allowed for more robust analytics by the reporting department.
I am a quick learner and excited to be part of the Digital Technologies program to contribute and build my knowledge within your team.
Once you have determined the questions that will most likely be asked, you will be able to prepare your answers to interview questions in advance! That way, when the time comes for the interview,
- You are more likely to provide the information the interviewer is looking for in a way that has the strongest impact.
- You won’t be stuck trying to think of answers on the spot.
- You will feel more confident, and
- You will appear more confident.
Using the STAR framework
The STAR framework is the method to use when responding to behavioural interview questions where the interviewer asks you to recount an occasion where you faced a certain situation and had to take some action (for example, “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a conflict”).
Once you have determined what questions you are likely to be asked, prepare scenarios from your experiences – from work, education, volunteering, etc. – where you demonstrated the skills and knowledge required for the target job. Instead of merely telling the interviewer you have the skills they seek, your answers to these questions give proof of those skills.
S-T-A-R stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result:
When responding to behavioural interview questions, be sure to include all of those elements.
Situation: briefly describe the specific situation you were in. (What was the context? Who was involved? What problem needed to be solved? etc.).
Task: What was your responsibility in the situation? Explain your thought process and the options considered.
Action: Describe the course of action you took, step by step, to showcase and provide evidence of your skills. Explain your rationale for taking the action you did.
Result: What was the positive result generated by your action? Explaining what was accomplished, improved, or learned.
Here is an example of the STAR framework in action being applied to answer the following interview question:
“Sometimes customers can be challenging. Give an example of how you have handled this in the past?”
If you would like additional information on the STAR framework, be sure to read this article by Alison Doyle which details examples of the framework being used to answer interview questions.
Now that you are familiar with the STAR Framework, try ordering the phrases found below to formulate a STAR response to the following interview question:
“Tell me about a time when you had to be strategic in order to meet all of your priorities.”
