Video: How you can use the S.T.A.R method on your CV & Job Interviews

The original article article on how to use the S.T.A.R method on your CV and Job Interviews was first shared on  www.fecareers.co.uk  Here is the original S.T.A.R job tip 

I shot my very first video (after 8 years behind the camera and over 600 videos!). It felt pretty weird being infront of the camera, but I wanted to shoot a job tip on the S.T.A.R method. At the end of last year we shot some fantastic tips with Bharvi Patel at Protocol on her winning formula to finding a new job (where she mentions S.T.A.R) and Roger Levett from Reed about the power of anecdotes to help the interviewer visualise you in their job role.

S.T.A.R - what does it stand for?

Situation

Task 

Action 

Result

S.T.A.R is a competency based interview technique that is used by HR and Recruitment professionals. The idea is that what you have done in the past, is a good reflection of what you can do in the future. With the sector going through so much change, everybody counts and must be able to make a difference. The S.T.A.R method is used to quantify why you are more suitable for a job role compared to another candidate, so if you are aware of this, you can quickly provide the information on your CV and initial job application to help you progress to the interview stage. Also by thinking about S.T.A.R and what information HR and Recruiters are looking for, you can add this to your CV and also help you to steer some of the job interview questions towards the information you add on your CV.

Please click here to view my very first video on what is the S.T.A.R method and how you can use this method in your CV to help progress your job applications:

Most people discuss how to use S.T.A.R in an interview only, but I think being aware of S.T.A.R and using the methodology in your CV's and applications is a really powerful way of helping you stand out in the job application process. HR and Recruitment professionals are usually trained in S.T.A.R, so if you know what info they are looking for it can only help you in your application to quickly and succinctly provide the information that they are looking for to show why you are the ideal candidate for their job role.

 I then thought it would be a good idea to give an example of how you could then use the S.T.A.R method to explain your achievements and job role in a job interview scenario:

So S.T.A.R is:

Situation: What was the Challenge, briefly set the scene

Task: What was your objective

Action: How did you complete the project / challenge? 

Result: What was the outcome. It's powerful to use £'s and %'s Eg Saved 10%, generated £100,000

It is vitally important that your S.T.A.R examples are real and quantifiable. The bright shining STAR quickly fades if you are talking a load of old rubbish! Please believe me, honesty is the best policy. 

I always used to recommend that before a job interview, that you have a good think about three achievements or projects that you were particularly proud of in each of your job roles. If you think them through and re-familiarise yourself with what you achieved before the interview, you can quickly give examples (rather than saying a lot of urghmmm, erhhh's whilst you rack your brains... I get it, I can't remember what I did last week, let alone a year ago.. but the urghmms and erhh's don't give the most positive example). If you think of three projects or achievements in your past two to three jobs, you can easily and quickly give examples if they ask for more than one. This is a really easy way to look amazing and quantify what you have achieved. The long and the short of it is, that results matter to organisations and that you are able to quantify your results looks really positive and professional.

One thing I would recommend is check out the interviewers body language, if they are getting into the story, then great: go for it. If they are looking like they would rather be elsewhere... cut it much shorter. I once did the mistake early in my Recruitment career of asking someone, 'so tell me about yourself'... 45 minutes later they started to come up for breath and I was bored half to death and never asked this interview question again!

S.T.A.R is a technique used by HR professionals and Recruiters to gain the information that they need to quantify why you are a good fit for their job role, why they chose you over another candidate. So now you are aware of the technique, you can give your target audience what they are looking for.

I hope you found the videos and this tip helpful and good luck in your job applications.

Gavin O'Meara is the CEO and Head of Digital at www.fecareers.co.uk and www.fenews.co.uk 

FE Careers has been established since 2003 and is the largest specialist job advertising site in Further Education, Work Based Learning and Employability sectors (with 1356 job adverts live at the time of writing).