The STAR technique - How to answer job interview questions in English

Job interviews are stressful,

and job interviews in English are even worse.

How can you be sure to answer the question clearly?

What if you don’t have the vocabulary?

There’s a simple way to structure your responses to questions in job interviews

so that you can be clear and concise,

even in English.

I’m Christina and you’re watching SBFG TV,

the place to boost your English and boost your career.

Today, we’re going to look how you can answer questions like a star

in your next job interview in English. Ya ready?

Interviews almost always include competency-based questions.

The objective of these questions is to learn about your skills that the new job requires.

Competency based questions often start with

“Tell me about a time when…”

or

“Describe a situation where you…”

“Tell me about a time when you had to manage an international team.”

“Describe a situation where you had to manage a conflict with a client”

This may sound simple,

but it can be very easy to give a long, unstructured answer.

Doing a job interview in English can make you lose your bearings

and you risk forgetting key details, or

just ending your response with a weak.

“umm..et voila.”

To avoid this

and to have a greater chance of impressing the recruter,

use the STAR acronym to structure your response.

It really will make you look like an interview star!

Here’s what STAR stands for:

S : Situation.

Give the context for your story.

T: Task.

Say the action you needed to take,

or the solution you needed to find.

A: Activity.

Describe the action you took.

R: Result.

What happened in the end, thanks to your action?

Let’s imagine the recruter says to you:

“Tell me about a time when you had to save a project that was going very badly.”

here's an example response to this question

Notice the STAR structure in this response.

The response is clear and well-structured and it responds exactly

to the recruter’s question.

Just a few tips about using STAR structure in your responses:

—Be specific—

talk about precise projects, figures, and successes.

Don’t give

vague or general answers.

be really specific.

—Keep your answer short.

One or two sentences is sufficient for each part of the answer.

Remember,

recruters are probably interviewing several people,

so it may be difficult for them to concentrate on long answers with

too many details.

—While preparing for the interview,

imagine probable questions and create a stock of answers you can use.

This will help you feel confident and prepared for your job interview in English.

Let’s try it.

I’ll ask a few common interview questions.

Pause the video after each question,

and think about how you would structure your response.

Remember STAR,

S: Situation

T: Task

A: Activity

R: Result

And you?

How would you answer?

Choose a question and share your response in the comments below.

Did this video help you feel more confident about your next job interview in English?

If you want more tips to help you get that next dream job,

subscribe to my YouTube channel right now.

Or even better, go to christinarebuffet.com

and sign up for the newsletter.

Each week, I’ll share exclusive resources and tools to help you boost your English

and boost your career.

I’m Christina, from Speak Better, Feel Great TV.

See ya next time!