What is the STAR Method?
By Jamison Barry
As a jobseeker you may have come across the term ‘STAR Method’ when asked to respond to a position’s selection criteria. For those of you who may not know, the STAR Method is a common way of structuring responses to selection criteria by linking your experience to the position you are applying for.
The STAR Method is a simple and effective way of demonstrating your skills and experience in response to Key Selection Criteria when applying for a job. However, the STAR Method can be restrictive, especially if you are required to respond to multiple Key Selection Criteria within a small word limit.
Let’s now look at what the STAR Method is and how to use it:
The Breakdown
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Your responses under each letter of the STAR Method should cover the following:
Situation. A description of the work situation that you encountered in your role.
Task. A description of the task that was required to resolve the situation.
Action. A description of the actions that allowed you to complete the task.
Result. A description of the result of your actions in resolving the situation.
Let’s apply this to a question now:
Using the STAR Method, address the following Key Selection Criteria: High Organisational Skills.
Situation: As an Event Manager I have developed outstanding skills in launching events such as seminars, conferences and media panels at a range of venues. In this role I was responsible for booking venues, hiring staff for stage preparations, catering and also liaising with media outlets to secure attendance numbers.
Task: In order to meet event deadlines I firstly had to identify the key aspects of the event that needed organising. This included identifying an appropriate venue and guest speakers and marketing the event in various media outlets and mediums. This all had to be arranged within budget and to deadlines to ensure everything was prepared prior to the launch of the event.
Action: Prior to one such event, we had a guest speaker unexpectedly drop out due to an emergency. With only a week until the event, I had to find a new guest speaker. Thankfully, I had developed a dossier of suitable candidates in my original search for guest speakers and was able to swiftly contact and secure a new guest speaker and help prepare them for the event without having to cancel it. We were also able to quickly notify media outlets of the change to ensure the event’s marketing information was accurate.
Result: As a result of my organisational skills in having contingency speakers available and being able to swiftly replace one from an emergency, we were able to launch the event and host a seminar at the local community centre without further disruption. I was thereafter commended by the hosts of the event and later my boss for ensuring its smooth operation.
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