STAR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (The STAR TECHNIQUE for Behavioural Interview Questions!)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training website, PassMyInterview.com. And in this next very powerful interview training video, I will teach you how to use a star technique to answer difficult behavioral interview questions. So, during your job interview, you will be asked a series of challenging situational and behavioral interview questions that assess your suitability for the role you have applied for. So, if you want to pass your job interview, make sure you stay tuned because I will help you be the standout candidate. And just very quickly, if you are new to the channel, please make sure you hit that subscribe button because then I can help you pass every job interview you ever attend. And please also give the video a like because that motivates me to create more content for you. Thank you very much. Let's jump straight into the presentation. So, to help you pass your job interview, I will cover the following three things during this tutorial. Number one, I will explain what the star technique is and how you can use it to answer difficult behavioral interview questions. Number two, I will then give you a list of behavioral interview questions that are likely going to come up during your job interview. And then number three, I will give you several example, top scoring answers to those interview questions that use the star technique to help you be the standout candidate. So, to begin with, what is the star technique and how can you use it to answer difficult behavioral interview questions? Well, the star technique stands for situation, task, action and result. Now, the star technique is a method used to answer interview questions that require you to provide evidence of a situation you have previously been in. So, for example, if the interviewer says to you, tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team, you would use the star technique to answer the question correctly. So, in your answer to this interview question, you would, number one, start off and tell the interviewer the situation you were in. Number two, you would then briefly outline the task that needed doing. Number three, you would then give in-depth details about the action you took to complete the task. And then number four, you would finish off and tell the interviewer the results following your actions. Now, very soon, I will give you some example answers to behavioral interview questions where I strongly recommend you use a star technique to structure your response. However, first of all, let me explain the different types of behavioral interview questions you are likely going to encounter during your job interview. Question number one, tell me about a time when you had to solve a difficult problem. Question number two, tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker. Question number three, tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure. Question number four, tell me about a time when you delivered excellent customer service. Question number five, tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. Wow, that really is a difficult interview question to answer. And question number six, tell me about a time when you made a mistake. So you can see that all of those behavioral interview questions require you to give details of a specific situation you have previously been in. Do not make the mistake of telling the interviewer what you would do in those situations, but instead, tell them what you have done. Let me now give you some example answers to difficult behavioral interview questions that utilize the STAR technique. Tell me about a time when you provided excellent customer service. Here we go. In a previous role, I was dealing with an elderly customer on the telephone who was struggling to place an order online. It was my task to reassure the customer, explain the products we had available, and talk her through the purchasing process. Now, 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 customer service. I started out 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 I reassured her every step of the way. Now, although the call took seven minutes in total to complete, the customer felt reassured, and they returned to the company time and time again in the future. The next behavioral interview question that I recommend you use a STAR technique for is, tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker. Now, this question comes up all the time during job interviews. Make sure you prepare an answer to it. Here's my example response. 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 a very fast and diligent worker. Early on during the project, our work styles clashed, which resulted in progress being hindered. I felt it was my responsibility to speak to him to try and reach a compromise for the sake of the project. I sat down with my co-worker, and I explained how I felt our different work styles 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. Now, 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. The next behavioural interview question is, tell me about a time when you had to overcome a difficult problem. Here's my example answer that utilises the STAR technique. Here we go. I was working on a time-sensitive project with five other people, when two of the team members all of a sudden went off sick. This meant we were short-staffed for the remainder of the project, so we needed to find a way to overcome this difficult challenge. 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 should outsource some technical tasks to contractors online. This would, again, save us time and guarantee the project would be finished on time. Now, 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 a STAR technique to answer, usually catch people out. Now, the first question is, tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your boss. Now, most people say, I've never disagreed with my boss, but that is not the best way to answer the question. Let me give you an example answer, a brilliant example answer, that uses a STAR technique of situation, task, action, and result. Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your boss. Here we go. 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. It was my job to explain to my boss why I disagreed with his decision. I explained to him that the customer had been very time-consuming to deal with, and despite my best efforts 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. After I explained my feelings, my boss agreed to refund the customer, which I felt was the best solution for the business. And this next behavioral interview question is another really difficult one to answer correctly, but again, I recommend you use a STAR technique to structure your answer. Now, the question is, tell me about a time when you made a mistake. Now, most people respond with, I've never made a mistake. I'm a perfectionist. But that is not the best way to answer this interview question. Let me now give you my example response that uses a STAR technique. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake. Here we go. When I first started my last job, my manager gave me an important time-sensitive task to complete. Now, it was my responsibility to make sure the task was completed on time as per his instructions. Now, unfortunately, in my hastiness to do a good job, I did not listen to the brief fully and I ended up missing out a part of the task. Now, as soon as I realized I had made the mistake, I informed my manager, I apologized, and I quickly put things right. Now, 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. So, there's a thorough tutorial on how to use a STAR technique when answering difficult behavioral interview questions. Now, if you want to download all of these answers and more brilliant responses that use the STAR technique, make sure you click that link right now in the top right-hand corner of the video. So, head through to my website, PassMyInterview.com, and you can download my full set of Tell Me About A Time interview questions and top-scoring answers. It's a fantastic resource, and you can have it within your inbox, literally within two minutes from now. It's a brilliant resource, and it's guaranteed to help you be the standout candidate at your interview. Finally, don't forget to hit the subscribe button so I can then help you pass every job interview you ever attend. And also, progress throughout your career, please give the video a like, because that motivates me to create more content for you. And also, don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn. I've put my LinkedIn link in the description below the video. It's always great to connect with like-minded professionals such as yourself. Thank you so much for watching, and I wish you all the best for passing your interview. Have a great day.