STAR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS!

SITUATION: In a previous role, I was dealing with an elderly customer on the telephone who was struggling to place an order online.

TASK: It was my task to reassure the customer, explain the products we had available, and talk her through the purchasing process.

ACTION: Company policy meant I had just two minutes to deal with each customer. However, because of the nature of this situation, I needed to take longer to provide excellent service.

I started by asking the customer several questions to establish her needs. I then explained the products we had available that I felt would be suitable, and the different pricing options for each one. Finally, I walked the customer through the online ordering process and reassured her every step of the way.

RESULT: Although the call took seven minutes to complete in total, the customer felt reassured and they returned to the company time and time again in the future.

SITUATION: I was working as part of a team in a previous role with a co-worker who had a very different style of working to myself. He was a very slow and methodical worker, whereas I am very fast and diligent. Early on during the project, our workstyles clashed which resulted in progress being hindered.

TASK: I felt it was my responsibility to speak to him to try and reach a compromise for the sake of the project.

ACTION: I sat down with my co-worker and explained how I felt our different workstyles were causing an issue. I asked him what he felt I could do to help the project progress better. He explained that he needed to take his time with some tasks because he was very methodical. I listened to what he had to say before coming up with a plan that we could both work with.

I suggested that I should focus on time-sensitive tasks, to which there were several, and he could concentrate on more technical matters that needed in-depth analysis and a methodical approach. My co-worker agreed to my suggested plan. 

RESULT: By analysing the conflict, and by using a compromised-based approach to dealing with it, we were able to ensure the project was still finished on time and to the right standard.

SITUATION: I was working on a time sensitive project with five other people when two of the team members suddenly went off sick.

TASK: This meant we were short-staffed for the remainder of the project so we needed to find a way overcome this difficult challenge. 

ACTION: We sat down as a team and tried to come up with a new plan of action. I came up with an idea whereby we would all commit an extra hour each every evening after work. This would give us an extra four hours each week on the project. I also suggested that we outsource some technical tasks to contractors online. This would, again, save us time and guarantee the project would be finished on time.

RESULT: We all agreed to this plan, and after we had all committed to the extra hours the project was still completed to specification, and on time.

Now, the next two behavioural interview questions, which again I recommend you use the STAR technique to answer, usually catch people out! The first one is, Tell Me About A Time When You Had A Disagreement With Your Boss. Most people say, “I have never disagreed with my boss!” but that is not the best way to answer it. Let me give you an example answer that uses the STAR technique of Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

SITUATION: In my last role, an irate customer was asking for a refund. I asked my boss permission to give the customer a refund but he refused.

TASK: It was my job to explain to my boss why I disagreed with his decision.

ACTION: I explained to him that the customer had been very time consuming to deal with and despite my best attempts to provide excellent service, they were threatening to leave a negative review online if we did not refund their payment. I explained that the negative review could have a negative impact on the business financially, and I felt the cost of the refund was worth it.

RESULT: After I explained my feelings, my boss agreed to refund the customer which I felt was the best solution for the business.

The next very difficult behavioural interview question that I recommend you use the STAR technique to answer is, tell me about a time when you made a mistake. Most people say… “I’ve never made a mistake, I am perfectionist” but his is not the best way to answer this question. Let me give you my example response that uses the STAR technique.

SITUATION: When I first started my last job, my manager gave me an important, time-sensitive task to complete.

TASK: It was responsibility to make sure the task was completed on time as per his instructions.

ACTION: Unfortunately, in my hastiness to do a good job, I did not listen to the brief fully, and I ended up missing out part of the task. As soon as I realized I had made a mistake, I informed my manager, I apologized, and I quickly put things right.

RESULT: Although I had made a foolish mistake, I learned a lot from the situation, and I made sure moving forward I took thorough notes of all instructions I was given.