STAR Interview Basics

(Photo credit @bogomi)

Let’s dive a bit deeper into how to prepare to answer behavioral questions using the STAR method. 

The STAR Method is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

• Situation: Describe the situation you were in.

• Task: Tell me about the task or goal you were working to accomplish.

• Action: Detail the specific actions/steps YOU took in this scenario.

• Result: Tell me about the results you achieved from this scenario.

It’s really important to remember this structure and to consider how to craft your answers so they contain all of these parts. 

For many candidates I work with, I can easily tell when they did not prepare. They ramble for a bit in telling me the Situation & Task, make a face when they realize halfway through that they are rambling, and then rush through their Action and Results - which are often the most critical parts to share with an interviewer! Does this sound familiar? 

Let me help you prepare for Level 1 of interview questions. Once you master answering these questions, you’ll be ready to move to the next step. 

I’ve put together a great worksheet that you can use to prepare: Level 1: STAR Interview Worksheet. 

• Tab 1 gives you tips on what to include in your answers and provides general timing goals so you know how long your answers should be

• Tab 2 is a fillable worksheet with the top behavioral questions across the top, and spaces for you to fill in 2 versions of an answer to each question. It’s always a good idea to have more than one story prepared to answer each question to give yourself options during an interview. 

⭐ Click here to access the Level 1: STAR Interview Worksheet. ⭐

To interview well, you need to prepare, prepare, prepare!

(Photo credit The Jopwell Collection)

To interview well, you really do need to prepare, prepare, prepare! It’s a mistake to assume that glancing at your resume and the job description for 10-15 minutes before an interview will be enough to help you be a prepared interview candidate. It’s also a mistake to prepare several ‘perfectly written responses’ and expect that you’ll remember them word for word in an interview situation. 

Over the past decade or so, I’ve conducted countless interviews and mock interviews, and provided critical feedback to help candidates improve their responses. I’ve found that there are 3 main stereotypes of interviewees that I’ve encountered – do you recognize yourself in any of them? 

• Type 1: Overly confident in their speaking abilities. Verbal storytelling comes naturally to this candidate, so they tend to over-rely on this ability and don’t do much interview preparation. 

  • Does this sound like you? 

    • “If I prepare too much, I will get bogged down in trying to remember too many things and sound too rehearsed – and I’m pretty confident that I know my own resume and that I can answer just about any question that comes my way.” 

  • Challenge to overcome: 

    • Just because you feel confident and speak well doesn’t mean that you actually come across that way to a practiced interviewer. An interview is an important opportunity to show you can be focused with your answers and your allotted interview time slot. 

    • I find that this type of candidate is most likely to ramble when telling their interview stories and forget to emphasize key points. 

    • This can become a big problem because while the candidate may be highly engaging, I worry about their ability to think ahead on projects and be efficient with their time. It also causes problems in future interview rounds where interviewers are expecting to hear concise responses. 

  • What can you do? 

    • Recognize that preparation will help those who are good at storytelling to become stellar at it, and will not diminish your ability to sound natural. 

• Type 2: Overly confident in their writing abilities. Crafting well-written interview responses is a strength for this type of candidate, however many do not practice translating these statements into the spoken word. And since most interviews require you to speak at some point, you’ll need to become good at this. 

  • Does this sound like you? 

    • “I have written down the perfect responses to a zillion types of interview questions. All of those sentences are floating around in my head, and I feel confident that I will be able to find the right one, remember all of its components, and speak it out loud at the right time.” 

  • Challenge to overcome: 

    • Two challenges - the written word rarely translates perfectly to spoken word. Don’t believe me? Try reading your cover letter out loud to a potential interviewer as your introduction about yourself - trust me, it’ll feel really awkward. 

    • Trying to remember the ‘perfect statement’ slows you down. 

  • What can you do? Recognize that preparation will help those who are good at storytelling to become stellar at it, and will not diminish your ability to sound natural. 

• Type 3: Practiced yet not robotic, feeling confident with defined areas for improvement.  

  • Does this sound like you? 

    • “I am feeling pretty good about any upcoming interview. I’ve practiced my interview responses, both written and spoken, so I know what key skills I want to emphasize. I’ve reviewed the job description and feel confident I know ~80% of the questions that will be asked.” 

  • Challenges to overcome: 

    • Working on how to prepare for the less common ~20% interview questions that will come your way (instead of feeling completely unsure of what’s coming next). 

  • What can you do? 

    • Pat yourself on the back for recognizing that interview prep is important and that you’ve found a successful strategy for balancing preparedness and still sounding like a real person. 

** Using my methods, I’ve had multiple candidates who became Type 3 - and would tell me that they came out of their interview having prepared answers to >80% of the questions asked.** 

Let me help you move successfully from interview rounds to the offer stage. Head over to the Contact Me page and let me know more about your needs.

Tips for managing the communication flow with a tech recruiter

(Photo credit @linkedinsalesnavigator)

If you are in the midst of interviewing for a new job, make sure you understand the process and are owning the communication flow as much as you can. 

• In many job searches but especially in tech, communication with recruiters can be highly variable. Because of the volatility & dynamic nature of tech, hiring can be a messy process with twists and turns that look super confusing from the candidate’s perspective. Some recruiters are very good at keeping candidates informed along the way, and others...are not. 

• What you might see: 

  • A recruiter reaches out, you do a screening call, the recruiter says we’re interested in moving you forward...and then nothing. Nada. Zip. Days or weeks can go by. You get frustrated waiting for them and send a frustrated ‘what’s happening?’ email, slightly singeing that relationship. Or worse, you just wait for them to get back to you, and nothing ever happens. 

• What’s likely happening on their side (a common scenario): 

  • A hiring manager said they need to hire someone with X skills into a new role that never existed before & within 2 weeks. The recruiter found a few A candidates who matched that X profile & did a series of recruiter screen calls. The HM has since changed their mind and wants X + Y skills. Some candidates have X+Y and move forward, or more likely, no candidate has X+Y but it took a few weeks to see that & convince the HM that they need to reset their expectations. So now the recruiter has to go back to A candidates weeks later, apologizing for the delay, & trying to restart the process with them without really being able to explain any of the delay. 

• What can you do?

  • Advocate for yourself by keeping on top of all recruiter communications.

    • During the interview, make sure to ask about next steps and the timeline for those next steps at the end of the call. 

    • After any interview, you should send a follow-up thank you email within 24-48 hours. 

    • Then the wait begins. If the recruiter said s/he would get back to you in 5 days, email them in the AM on Day 6 to check-in. Show them you are abiding by their timelines but also keeping on top of the process. Still no answer? Check out my ‘No-Ask’ email below. 

  • Understand at a basic level how the recruiting process works in tech. 

    • You don’t need to be an expert on recruiting - but when I explain scenarios like this to my clients, they immediately start to understand who the players are in the process and how to work with each stakeholder. Do you know the difference between a recruiter, a sourcer, a recruiting coordinator and a hiring manager? Do you know what unique role each of them play in the recruiting process? If not, stay tuned for a future newsletter to find out more! 

  • Activate your internal advocates. 

    • Many times, you already know someone who works at Company X where you are interviewing. Sometimes they referred you, sometimes it’s simply a 1st or 2nd degree connection you have via an alum or former colleague. They can be great resources to help you understand what’s happening inside the company, whether there’s a major reorg happening that is delaying everything, or simply a small hiccup in the process. 

  • Send my favorite email: ‘The No-Ask, Here’s an Article’ email.

    • You have all been out in the world and on the receiving end of a variety of good & bad networking emails. Those who are really pushy and ‘need’ me to do something for them tend to demonstrate low EQ. This makes me much less likely to help them -- and that is similar for a lot of people. 

    • Instead, send an email where the entire message is: I was thinking about our last conversation on topic T. I’m sure this is a crazy week for you but wanted to share this article/video/podcast/whatever that reminded me of a point you made, or that built upon our discussion. [Insert 1 sentence on why it reminded you.] Thank you for engaging in that discussion with me - I really enjoyed our conversation! I look forward to connecting again sometime soon. Have a great day/week! Thanks, Liz

    • The benefits of this approach: your name appears in their inbox. And it appears with no strings attached - you just want them to have a great day. There’s a subtle nudge about connecting again sometime in the future - but nothing overt. Most emails people receive require a response - so low-lift ones like this often break through the inbox chaos. 

    • Note: Don’t use this email when you need a specific answer (like ‘I haven’t received my call-in details for the next interview.’) Use it when you’re in comms limbo and aren’t sure what else to say. 

---

#random

Vincent Callebaut's stunning twisting tower finally nears completion 

---

WANT A CAREER IN TECH BUT AREN’T SURE WHERE TO START? TAKE A LOOK AT MY COURSE, ‘TECH SEARCH COMPASS’ FOR STEP-BY-STEP SUPPORT