3.2 A good example of using STAR
Target Jobs provides a useful example in its article on tackling teamwork interview questions (Palazon, 2023):
Tell us about a time when you worked in a team to solve a problem
My university rugby team was preparing for a championship game, but the week before the game our grounds flooded. I suggested trying to find other venues for our remaining training sessions before the big game. I helped to collate a list of venues that we could contact and divided the list among the team so that we could quickly contact as many of the venues as possible.
I personally phoned around different leisure centres and local rugby teams to see if someone could rent or donate their grounds to us. One of the rugby teams was willing to help and rented us their pitch for a small fee. We were then able to fully prepare for the championship game.
This sets the context clearly and explains what the interviewee did in that situation, providing a positive result. If the result wasn’t so positive, you could talk about what you learned from the situation and what you would do differently next time.
In fact, some commentators have suggested adding an additional R to the end of STAR–R, where the second R stands for reflection. Showing the employer what you’ve learned from a situation will further enhance their view of your future potential.
Next you will look at another possible stage of the interview process, and consider how best to demonstrate your teamwork skills in a group assessment activity.