The STAR method: how to answer behavioural interview questions

What a behavioural question is really asking

A behavioural question asks about something you have already done, on the idea that how you handled a situation before is the best guide to how you will handle it again. You can spot one by its opening words:

• "Tell me about a time when..."
• "Give us an example of..."
• "Describe a situation where..."

Behind each one is a quality the interviewer is scoring: working with others, handling conflict, solving problems, coping with pressure, learning from a mistake, or influencing people you do not manage. Before you answer, work out which quality they are after, then choose the example that shows it best. A vivid example that is beside the point will not score.

A hypothetical answer, such as "I would talk to them first", is the most common miss. The question asks what you did. Our guide to job interview questions in New Zealand covers the other kinds of question you are likely to meet.

Situation, task, action, result, with a worked answer

Each part has a job to do, and the proportions matter more than most people expect:

Here is an answer to "Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult customer":

Notice where the time goes. The situation takes one sentence, and most of the answer is what the speaker did, in the order they did it. It ends with two results: the customer came back, and the cause was fixed.

Building six stories that cover most questions

You do not need a story for every possible question. Six well-chosen ones, each flexible enough to answer several questions, will cover most interviews:

1. A success you are proud of, for questions about achievements and your best work.
2. A problem you solved or a process you improved, for problem-solving and initiative.
3. A disagreement or a difficult person, for conflict, teamwork and communication.
4. A mistake or a failure, for honesty and learning. Choose a real one, and spend the time on what you changed afterwards.
5. A time under pressure, for competing deadlines, workload and prioritising.
6. A time you influenced or led without authority, for leadership and persuasion.

Write each one down in STAR order, then say it out loud and time it. Aim for about two minutes, and practise cutting it to one. A wins journal makes this far easier, because the details and the numbers are already written down from when they happened. In jobtracker.co.nz, the interview question bank in Tools has a STAR stories section, and an answer you draft there is saved against the question. When that question is among a job's likely questions, the Interview prep pack shows your answer beside it.

When you have little work history

If you are a student, a graduate or coming back after time away, the method works exactly the same way. The example just comes from somewhere else:

• a group project at school or university, especially one where something went wrong
• a part-time, casual or holiday job
• volunteering, a club, a sports team or a church or community group
• caring for a family member, or running a household on a tight budget.

Interviewers hiring for entry-level roles expect examples like these. What they are checking is the same: did you understand the problem, take sensible steps yourself, and get a result? A small result stated plainly, such as "the group handed it in on time and we got a B plus", is better than a large one you cannot explain.

Common mistakes: too long, too much "we", no result

Most weak STAR answers fail in one of a few predictable ways:

• Too long. A four-minute answer loses the panel, usually because the situation is over-explained. If the background needs three sentences, it is probably the wrong example.
• Too much "we". Teamwork matters, but the interviewer is hiring you. Say "we" for what the team did and "I" for what you did, and make sure most of the action is yours.
• No result. Many answers stop at the action. Always finish with what changed, and if the result was mixed, say what you learned.
• The same story every time. Using your best example for three questions suggests you have only one.
• Blaming others. A conflict story that makes a colleague the villain tells the panel how you might one day talk about their team.

Expect a follow-up such as "What would you do differently?" and have one honest improvement ready. After each interview, write down the questions you were asked and which answers felt weak, while you still remember them. The debrief on each job in jobtracker.co.nz asks exactly that (what they asked, and what wobbled), so your next interview starts from a better set of stories. You can see a job's prep pack and debrief in the demo, which needs no account.

Walk in with your stories ready