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Succeeding at an interview requires careful preparation. Taking the right approach to interview preparation can make a world of difference. In this video, we go over a popular interview methodology and how to be best prepared.
Sample STAR Questions
- Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
- Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgement and logic in solving a problem.
- Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.
- Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
- What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
- Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.
- Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or coworker.
- Give me an example of a time when you showed initiative and took the lead.
- Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
- Tell me about a time you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
- Give me an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy or decision that you didn't agree with.
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Once you get past the phone stage, depending on the situation,
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you can either have a second phone interview or go straight through
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to the in-person interview.
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Some of the initial preparation for both interview types are similar,
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so we'll prepare for both using the same method.
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Being prepared for the interview makes a world of difference.
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Now that might seem like a silly comment.
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Of course, you're going to prepare for a job interview.
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But the problem is that most people don't know how to prepare for interviews.
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An interview is a sales pitch of yourself.
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You may know all your stuff, but you also need to show that you know it.
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Answering questions in a succinct but detailed manner shows the interviewer
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that you not only know your stuff, but you know how to explain it in detail.
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I'm sure there have been times when you walked out of an interview
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thinking, I had a situation relevant to that question, if I had only remembered it then.
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Those mischances may cost you the job.
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In this video, we're going to go over an interview methodology that is
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very common today, how to best prepare for it, and make sure that when
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you pitch yourself as the best candidate for the job,
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you are covering all your bases.
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One of the most common interview methods used by companies
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worldwide is the STAR method.
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Now you won't see this referenced anywhere in the interview description,
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but preparing for an interview using the star methodology will
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ensure that you are thorough.
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STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result, and is an interview methodology
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that supposedly offers more insight into a candidate's on-the-job ability
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than any other interview techniques.
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In the star method, you respond to behavioral interview questions
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by discussing a specific situation that revolves around a certain task
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and the actions you took with that task to arrive at a set of results.
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Being aware of what type of answer the interviewer is looking for,
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you can craft your responses early on to match up to what the interviewer wants.
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Basically, the interviewer asks you a question, and you follow the STAR method
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to give a brief but detailed answer that satisfies the requirements of the question.
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Let's go over how a STAR method is structured
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and how you can answer questions with it.
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Here's what each acronym in STAR means.
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First up, we have S for Situation.
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When crafting a response, you start by describing the situation
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that you were in that relates to the question or the task that you needed to accomplish.
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When responding to the question, offer a specific situation or event
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and not a generalized description of your work in the past.
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The situation should be detailed enough that the interviewer
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understands that you have the experience dealing with the issue
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that the question raises but not so long that you're just rambling on.
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The situation can be from any area of life that offers that experience.
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It could be a previous job. or a volunteer experience, or any other part of your life.
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Next, you have the Task.
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In your situation described, what was the exact goal you were working towards?
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A is for Action.
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Describe the actions you took to resolve the task at hand.
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Keep the focus on yourself, and provide sufficient detail.
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What specific steps did you take, or how did you contribute to solving the problem?
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Remember, this is about you.
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So don't use phrases like "we did this" or "as part of a group."
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An interview is a sales pitch on you.
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So don't let others creep in.
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For once, it's okay to talk about yourself.
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Finally, we have Result.
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Describe the results of your actions using specific and measurable statements
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that highlight the outcome of the situation.
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Make sure you cover what happened as a result of your actions,
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what you accomplished, and what you learned from that situation
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that you can now apply to similar situations.
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When answering questions, make sure you hit all points of the STAR method,
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and be as specific as you can be.
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Sometimes candidates get stuck on describing the action they took
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and forget to fully elaborate on results.
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When coming up with actions to STAR questions, try to stick to examples
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that paint you in a positive light.
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But also remember that you can show strengths
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by highlighting how you overcame a negative situation.
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Let's look at a sample question and the STAR response to go with it
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to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
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>>Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you had to prioritize your tasks.
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>>Okay, well, in a previous job, I was an iPhone developer for an insurance company.
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And we actually had to go in and redesign an app. >>Tell me about that.
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>>Well, we've actually low-balled some of the timeline estimates and ended up missing quite a few of the initial deadlines.
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There were many features that I wanted implemented,
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but certain core set of features that was absolutely needed.
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The goal was to prioritize the tasks and complete the needed ones
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within the designated timeline date, and if we had time to work on
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the rest, we would, but it wasn't crucial to the project's success.
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I took all the tasks at hand and assigned a priority value between 1 and 3,
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1 being the highest, and I brought more people on the team and assigned the tasks to everyone.
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With the majority of the development and design effort,
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including myself, tasked to the priority 1 items.
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We completed the priority 1 items well within our time limits, and we actually had enough time
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to go back and complete the task 2 and task 3 items.
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The app was rewritten to be much more efficient than the previous one.
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And I learned, actually, a lot more about being an efficient manager
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to a development team and estimate deadlines and prioritize tasks efficiently
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and complete a project.
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>>Now you may be thinking, how in the world am I going to recall
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all that information when I'm on the spot like that at an interview?
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The key is preparation.
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Let's go over how we can do that.
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Sit down and think about your career and experiences.
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Try and recall as many recent situations as you can
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that show favorable behaviors or actions.
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Now these could be anything that show work experience, leadership,
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teamwork, or planning.
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Write down a short description of the story, including bulleted details
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on the facts you want to highlight.
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Structure the story based on the STAR method, with a situation,
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task, actionable items, and results.
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Try and use different examples from all areas of your life.
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Look over different questions, and get an idea of how to match up
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questions to examples in situations.
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This way, when you're asked a question in an interview,
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you'll have lots of examples off the top of your head.
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To give you an idea of the different types of STAR interview questions
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that could come up, I've included a list of questions as an attachment in the Downloads section.
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Definitely check it out.
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STAR interviews are a popular method, but in technology, a key part of the interview
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is testing your technical knowledge.
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STAR-type questions might be more common in initial screening or phone interviews,
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whereas in the actual in-person interview, you're going to have to prove your technical prowess.
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Let's go over how you can best prepare for that.
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