The STAR method: how to answer competency questions

Most application forms and interviews ask competency questions: "Tell us about a time you worked in a team", "Describe a problem you solved", "Give an example of when you showed leadership". The employer isn't really interested in the story itself. They want evidence that you've done the thing before, because what you did in the past is the best guide to what you'll do in the job.

The STAR method is the simplest way to give them that evidence. It's a four-part structure that keeps your answer focused, makes it easy to follow, and stops you rambling or leaving out the bit that matters most.

What STAR stands for

• Situation: where you were and what was going on. One or two sentences of context, no more.
• Task: what you needed to achieve, or the problem you were responsible for.
• Action: what you did, step by step. This is the heart of the answer.
• Result: how it turned out, ideally with a number, and what you learned.

As a rough guide, spend about 10% on the Situation, 10% on the Task, 60% on the Action and 20% on the Result. Most weak answers get this the wrong way round, with a long story and a one-line ending.

A worked example

How to make your Action stand out

The Action is where you win or lose the marks, so it's worth getting right.

• Say "I", not "we". The assessor is marking you, not your team. "We decided to" tells them nothing about your part. "I suggested" does.
• Show your thinking. A short "because" makes a big difference: "I split the work by skill, because two of us were stronger on design".
• Pick two or three actions, not ten. A handful of clear steps reads better than a long list.
• Use plain verbs. Organised, persuaded, rebuilt, checked, asked, tested. You don't need fancy words.

Getting the Result right

A good result is specific. "It went well" is weak; "we cut waiting times from 20 minutes to 8" is strong. If you don't have a number, describe what changed: what someone said, what happened next, what the team did differently afterwards.

It's fine if things didn't go perfectly. Some of the best answers end with what you'd do differently next time, which shows self-awareness. That's especially true for questions about mistakes or failure (see our guide to answering "tell me about a time you failed").

STAR for written applications vs interviews

On an application form, you usually have a word limit, often 150, 250 or 300 words. Cut the Situation down hard and make every sentence earn its place. Our guide to cutting an answer to a word limit has a step-by-step method.

In an interview, aim for about two minutes per answer. Talk through the same structure, but leave room for follow-up questions. Interviewers often ask "what would you do differently?" or "what was the hardest part?", so have an answer ready.

Where to find your examples

You don't need a dramatic story. Good STAR examples come from part-time jobs, university projects, societies, volunteering, sport, caring responsibilities and everyday work. A shift where the till system crashed is a perfectly good example of problem-solving under pressure.

The hard part is remembering them when you need them. Keep a running list of things you've done, with a line or two on each, so you're not trying to remember everything at midnight before a deadline.

Reuse your answers, don't rewrite them

Competency questions repeat. Once you've written a good teamwork answer, you'll be asked for one again and again, worded slightly differently each time. Save every answer you write, tagged with what it shows off, and you can adapt one in minutes instead of starting from a blank page.