Utilizing The Star Method In Your Resume & Interviews printable pdf download

Utilizing the STAR Method in Your Resume & Interviews

Your resume is a quick summary of who you are and what you’ve

STAR TECHNIQUE:

done in your career. It identifies and articulates your strengths and

key accomplishments – which in turn will help you communicate

1.) SITUATION:

your value confidently to a new company. It isn’t enough to say

• Define the general context.

you are a leader, an effective communicator, a team-player and so

• Who/What/When

on; you need to show it.

• Mention the problem you had to overcome.

In a traditional resume, you would probably itemize your job de-

2.) TASK:

scription, detailing what was expected of you in each role. How-

• Identify the key objective and issue that you

ever, this approach tells an employer nothing about you as an in-

have addressed.

dividual.

3.) ACTION:

An accomplishment-based resume, on the other hand, gives an

• Describe the action you took or initiated,

employer more accurate information by describing how you made

emphasizing the skills you used to complete

a difference in that role, as opposed to anyone else that might have

the task.

held that position. Moreover, it tells an employer that you are

somebody who gets things done and therefore, would potentially

4.) RESULTS:

bring value to the job or internship.

• Summerize the outcome in business terms.

Remember: It is very important to include

One of the most effective ways for you to communicate your ac-

your results. This is a common mistake.

complishments is by using a brief narrative structure that includes

Your statement will be more effective if you

a targeted beginning, a short explanatory middle, and a strong

can summerize the outcome.

ending that illustrates clearly what you can do for an employer.

Sample Question: Have you ever led a team before?

USING THE STAR METHOD DURING AN INTERVIEW:

SITUATION:

“Yes; a relevant example being at my last company, where I was initially a software developer, in a team of 6

developing a new finance module for our core accounting product. ”

TASK:

“The project was critical as launch dates had been set with a lot of sales and marketing investments riding on the prod-

uct being ready. However the project was behind schedule, when our team leader unfortunately became ill and had to leave. ”

ACTION:

“I had been sports team captain at school, where I loved the challenge and responsibility of leadership. So I vol-

unteered to stand in and used my technical analysis skills to spot a few small mistakes made in the initial coding that were

causing the sporadic errors and slowing us down. I then negotiated with our product director, a small bonus incentive for the

team and budget for two pizza evenings, so we could pull a couple of late night shifts to correct the coding and catch up with

the critical project landmarks. ”

RESULTS:

“Though this took us 1.5% over budget the software was delivered on time with a better than target fault tolerance.

The project was seen as a great success as the additional project cost was minimal compared to the costs of delaying the launch

and the negative affect on our product branding. The team were delighted with the extra bonus and I have now been officially

promoted to team leader as a result. ”

350 HOUGH HALL , PO BOX 117152, GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32611

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT

PHONE: (352) 273-3264

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Utilizing The Star Method In Your Resume & Interviews

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