Interview Resources (ft. Behavioral & STAR)

Author(s): Brandy A. B. Perkl, Ph.D.

Originally posted: March 22, 2021

These materials keep moving and disappearing from their original websites, so I'm corralling them here for my students.

I love these notes on Behavior-Based Interview Questions, pulled from https://apps.carleton.edu/career/students/application/interviewing/questions/ on March 22, 2021:

"Behavior-Based Interview Questions

Many interviews include at least a few behavioral-based questions. These types of questions often start with, "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example of..." The theory is that past behavior is a predictor of future behavior.

Answer these questions using the STAR technique.

SITUATION - Briefly describe the situation. Set the state and describe the circumstances.

TASK - Describe the task you were called upon to accomplish.

ACTION - Describe the actions you took to accomplish this task.

RESULT - Describe the result. Be prepared to provide examples of occasions when results were not as expected. The skilled interviewer will probe your skill in handling failure and success. Be prepared for questions asking for more detail than you've already given. Always choose an example which has a positive outcome."

And here's an incredible resource put out by LinkedIn Talent Solutions a little bit back on this same concept: Guide to Screening Candidates: 30 Essential Behavioral Interview Questions

Reminder: UArizona students you can use our Career Services to schedule practice interviews! Which is SO helpful and such a good idea. Interviewing is a skill, but it's one we usually only practice in way too high stakes environments.