Press STAR to Nail Your Next Job Interview

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We spend a lot of time dispensing job interview tips on the WorkInSports Podcast because interviews are a fact of life when searching for a new job. A lot of preparation goes into landing an interview, including tailoring your resume to fit the position (which we can help with!) and crafting the perfect cover letter (we can help there too!). Once you’re invited to interview, the effort shifts to researching the company and preparing to make the right impression. Michael from Tukwila, Washington, has a question about doing so:

“Brian, I love your excitement about job interviewing. You really get into the spirit of the moment, the research, the different environments, and how to handle them. It’s all great, but I am still not good at answering the questions given to me and am better with a structured response plan. Do you have any ideas to help me?”

Job Interview Tips

People get nervous heading into job interviews, and it’s easy to understand why. You can spend as much time as you want polishing a resume and cover letter because you do those steps by yourself. However, once you are in an interview, you must think on your feet and build a rapport with those judging whether you are a fit for their company.

Our interview cheat sheet can help you prepare for the types of questions you may hear in a job interview, but remember to sound natural instead of overly scripted. One strategy that can help focus your responses while still sounding genuine is the STAR Interview Method.

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About the STAR Interview Method

If you’ve been selected for an interview, the broad strokes you painted of your qualifications have already interested the hiring manager. Once the interview comes, the hiring manager is looking for specific examples about how you react to pressure, work collaboratively, or act decisively. The STAR interview method addresses these behavioral questions head-on by incorporating the following into your answers:

•    Situation: What was the particular instance or situation in your career history that applies to the question?
•    Task: What goal were you trying to achieve in that situation?
•    Action: What steps did you take to complete the task?
•    Result: How did it all work out? What did you accomplish?

The STAR interview method’s strength is in how directly it answers questions designed to weigh your candidacy. Following this strategy provides a structured and concise response without rambling or missing key details. A good way to practice this method is to ask yourself a behavioral question, then write out a reply covering all four categories of the STAR interview method.

Catch the full episode for examples of applying this interview technique, and be sure to subscribe to the WorkInSports Podcast for more sports career advice. Also, subscribe to our YouTube Channel for additional content. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention again that we are now on TikTok and we would love you to follow us there!