How to Master the STAR method - Resume, Interviews & more

It is known that the STAR method is the best tool to answer behavioral-based questions during interviews, however once you master the STAR method you can use it for your resume, interviews, screening questions and more .

An easier way to think of the STAR method, is a way for you to demonstrate the skills that you are required to have, and here is how you can implement it on your resume, interviews, and screen questions:

1. STAR method for your resume:

Your resume is a reflection of your accomplishments, your experience, your knowledge and qualifications. It is the first most important thing to work on, the STAR method is a tool for you to demonstrate the soft/transferrable skills you have (anyone can say that they can do it, what's more important is demonstrating it) and here's how you can do it:

Think about the tasks in previous experiences that helped you demonstrate that skill, and determine an action verb (developed, demonstrated, showed, improved ...)

• Situation - In your current or previous position, you were assigned a certain task.
  
• Task - Explain the task you were given 
  
• Action-  Through doing the task you have demonstrated, or developed certain skills ( the skill should be qualification for the job you are seeking for.)
• Result - Result of the task completed 

Build your sentences to describe your job experiences.

Example : Displayed great customer service skills by assisting, listening, and helping customers to answer their needs vs Assisted, listened and helped customers to answer their needs. 

Usually, hiring managers will use softwares to quick-search for specific keywords in resumes; the keywords are the qualifications/skills on job descriptions, so make sure to implement them on your resume using the STAR method, the skills section is not enough.

Here is a list of action verbs you can use , and a list of other factors to consider for your job search.

2. STAR method for you interviews: 

It is also a tool that could be used not only for behavioral questions (these usually start with tell me about a time when ... , or how would you deal with ...)but also for any other question. Once again interviews are about demonstrating what you have to get the job to the recruiter, and here's how to use the star method for another type of questions

What are your strengths? What are you weaknesses ?

• Situation - Think of a specific situation were:  you demonstrated your strength / faced your weakness.
  
• Task - Think of what was required of you to do, or how you realized your weakness.
• Action - Think of the actions you did which - displayed the strength, helped you overcome the weakness.
• Result - Quantify the results of your actions in regards to the strength/weakness. 

During interviews, recruiters expect you to elaborate on all of your answers, by providing them with details, quantifying results, being concise and straight-forward. 

For your strengths, you should use some of the skills required of you on the job descriptions as they're more relevant to the recruiters. For your weaknesses, please state a REAL weakness, and explain what you are doing to over come it. Recruiters know you are not perfect, and being a perfectionist is not a weakness

3. STAR method for your screening questions on GCjobs

When applying to jobs on GCjobs, as well as other career websites, you are sometimes required to answer screening questions that ask you to demonstrate how you have a specific skill, you need to be as specific as you can, a great way to help you remember all the details you should mention is using the STAR method. As this is the third example, and you have been able to see different examples of the STAR method think how you would answer the following question using it : 

Your question is : "How well do you work within a team ?"

Share your answers with me through email, and get FREE feedback !

If you are applying on GCjobs, copy paste your questions and answer them on word because : 

• You have limited time to write your responses, after that GCjobs will automatically log out and none of your answers will be saved.
• Questions are repeated for different jobs, there's no need to redevelop an answer you have already worked on.