As a high school student, chances are you already have or are thinking about getting your first job. You may even be wondering what jobs are available for you after you graduate. The job search and application process can be tough, but what happens when you get called for an interview? Will you be ready?
Interviewing is a fundamental part in securing the job you want. Students from Phoenix Coding Academy recently had the chance to participate in an Elevate Your Network event focused on STAR interviewing. In case you missed it, here is a recap of what students learned!
STAR interviewing is sometimes referred to as Behavioral interviewing. Behavioral interviewing focuses on questions that dive into your past behaviors. Candidates develop stories to illustrate that they have the necessary skills for the position and or employer. An example of a behavioral interview question is: “Give me an example of a time you faced conflict while working on a team. What did you do and how did you handle it?”
By using this method, you can develop a STAR interviewing story and demonstrate to the interviewer the five behaviors that employers are looking for.
- Achievement/Results Orientation – Were you able to solve the situation? If you couldn’t solve the situation how hard did you try?
- Initiative – Are you someone who likes to jump in right away or do you like to wait and observe?
- Impact and Influence – What impact do you have within your organization, your community, or with your customers and coworkers?
- Customer Service Orientation – How do you interact with customers?
- Interpersonal Understanding – How do you react to and interact with your coworkers/team?
If you have never had a job, you can relate these questions to any group project or task assigned to you in school or in your volunteer experience.
What is the STAR Interviewing Method?
Situation or Task – Describe the situation. Make sure you are specific and can provide enough detail for the interviewer to understand.
Action You Took – Describe the action that you took to solve the situation or task. Make sure the focus stays on you. When describing a team project make sure that you focus on what you did.
Results you Achieved – Describe what happened. Talk about how the situation or task ended, what were you able to accomplish, and what you learned from this situation.
What is the Goal of STAR Interviewing?
So, you now know how to formulate your response to a behavioral interview question. But what is the goal of your response? It is important to note that with your response, your goal is to showcase your work ethic, what you have done in the past, and how you are fit for the company or the role. This shows the employer the type of employee you will be and the assets you will provide.
Remember STAR interviewing is great for job interviewing but it is also great for trade school applications, college interviews, apprenticeships, internships, and so much more! Make sure you use this method in your next interview and let us know how it went! If you have any other questions, feel free to comment below!
Thank you to Regina Twomey from APS for your time and all the knowledge that you provided to help our students succeed!
Thank you to Zovio, our Elevate Your Network Sponsor!