Applying STAR: Practical Examples

Understanding STAR theory is important, but seeing it in action with concrete examples will help you apply it to your own experiences.

Below, we'll look at an example and give you guidelines for structuring your stories.

Example: Managing advertising agencies

Let's imagine that the job posting requires experience in managing advertising agencies and they ask you about your experience in it. A structured response with STAR could be:

(S) Situation: "In my previous position as Marketing Coordinator, the company decided to hire a new advertising agency to launch a key campaign."

(T) Task: "I was part of the agency's selection team, providing input on the team needed.

Once selected, my main responsibility was to coordinate the weekly work with them, ensuring that schedules and quality deliverables were met."

(A) Action: "To do this, I implemented weekly follow-up meetings, established a clear system for receiving and approving creative pieces, and managed fluid communication between the agency and internal departments.

I was also responsible for verifying compliance of deliverables and authorizing payments." I maintained a good professional relationship with the agency team.

(R) Result: "Thanks to this structured coordination, we were able to successfully execute five massive campaigns, meeting all defined scope and budget metrics."

How to structure your own story using STAR

To apply STAR to your own experiences:

Choose a relevant example: think of a past situation that demonstrates the competency you are being asked about.

Describe the Situation: Give the necessary context in brief.

Define your Task: Explain clearly what your specific role and objective was.

Detail your Actions: Focus on what you did, step by step. Use action verbs (I coordinated, I implemented, I analyzed, I solved).

State the Result: Explain what happened because of your actions. Quantify whenever you can.

Practice telling several of your key stories using this structure so you can refer to them naturally during the interview.

Summary

Seeing STAR in action with concrete examples will help you apply it to your own experiences. A structured example details the Situation, your specific Task, the specific Actions you implemented and the Results achieved.

The Actions should be specific, such as implementing follow-up meetings. The Result should be quantifiable, such as successfully executing five mass campaigns, meeting all defined scope and budget metrics.

To structure your own story, choose a relevant example. Detail your Actions using clear verbs and focus on the "I did". State the Result and quantify the impact whenever possible.