Business English - Mastering Behavioral Interview Questions (STAR Method)

Activity 1: Let's Get Started! (Warm-up)

Think about this: Sometimes in a job interview, they ask you to tell a story about a time you did something, like 'Tell me about a time you solved a problem.' Why do you think interviewers ask these kinds of questions? How can you tell a good story about your past work or school experiences?

Activity 2: New Words (Vocabulary)

Here are some new English words. These words will help us talk about special interview questions and how to answer them.

Story (Behavioral Question type): An interview question that asks you to tell about a real event from your past to show a skill.

Example: The interviewer asked for a story about a time I worked in a team.

STAR (Method): A way to answer story questions using 4 clear steps: S, T, A, R.

Example: Use STAR to help you tell your story clearly in an interview.

Situation (S in STAR): The first part of your STAR story: the background, place, time, or problem you faced.

Example: First, when you tell your story, explain the situation clearly.

Task (T in STAR): The second part of STAR: what you needed to do or what your goal was in that specific situation.

Example: Next, tell them what your task was, or what you had to achieve.

Action (A in STAR): The third part of STAR: the specific things you did to complete the task or solve the problem.

Example: Then, describe your action – what steps did you take?

Result (R in STAR): The last part of STAR: what happened in the end because of your action, and what you learned.

Example: Finally, share the positive result of your story and what you learned from it.

Activity 3 (Reading)

Let's read about Lena. She is in a job interview and uses a special way to answer a "story" question.

Lena has a job interview today. The interviewer smiles and asks Lena to tell a story about a time she worked as part of a team to finish something difficult. Lena takes a moment to think. She remembers her teacher told her about using STAR to answer these kinds of questions. This method helps to make the story clear and easy to understand for the interviewer.

So, Lena starts her answer using the STAR steps. For 'S', the Situation, she says, "In my last school project, our team of three students had a big presentation to create in only one week." For 'T', the Task, she explains, "My main job was to research all the important information and also to help design the presentation slides so they looked professional and clear." Then, for 'A', the Action, Lena continues, "I talked a lot with my teammates to share ideas. I spent many hours finding good information from reliable books and websites. After that, I made clear and simple slides for our talk." Finally, for 'R', the Result, Lena smiles and says, "Our presentation was very good! We all received a good grade for it, and our teacher told us we worked very well together as a team." Using STAR helped Lena tell a full and clear story about her teamwork. The interviewer listened carefully and seemed very pleased with her detailed answer. Lena felt more confident.

Think about the story:

What kind of story did the interviewer ask Lena to tell?
What does each letter in STAR mean? Can you find the Situation, Task, Action, and Result in Lena's story?
How did using STAR help Lena in her interview?

Activity 4: Role Play

Read this dialogue with a partner. One person is Alex (who is preparing for an interview), and the other is Sara (his friend who is giving advice).

Alex: Sara, I have a job interview next week. They said they will ask me to tell a story about my past work experiences.

Sara: Oh, you mean behavioral questions! Yes, many companies ask those. They want to understand how you acted in real situations from your past.

Alex: Exactly! I'm a bit worried about them. How do I answer those questions well? I'm not sure how to tell a good, clear story.

Sara: Don't worry too much! You can use the STAR method. It's a great way that helps make your story organized and very easy for the interviewer to follow.

Alex: The STAR method? What does the 'S' in STAR stand for? How do I begin my story using it?

Sara: 'S' is for Situation – that's when you first tell them about the background or the problem. Then 'T' is for Task – you explain what your specific job or responsibility was in that situation.

Alex: Okay, so first the Situation, then the Task. That makes sense. What about the 'A' in STAR?

Sara: 'A' is for Action – here you describe the specific steps or actions you took yourself to handle the task or solve the problem.

Alex: And the last letter, 'R'? What does that mean for my story?

Sara: 'R' is for Result – you explain what happened in the end because of your actions, like what the good outcome was. So, it's like a mini-story with those four clear parts. Practice some examples, and you'll do great!

After reading, discuss: Think of a small problem you helped solve at school or at home. Using STAR, what was the Situation (the S part) of that problem?

Activity 5: Let's Practice

Objective: Practice using the new vocabulary about answering interview questions using the STAR method.

Scenario: Maria (the learner) is telling her friend, Tom, about an interview question she was asked and how she answered it using a special method.

Tom: How was your interview yesterday, Maria? Did they ask any tricky questions you found hard to answer?

Maria: It was okay! They asked me to tell a about a time I had to solve a difficult problem at my last job.

Tom: Oh, those kinds of questions where you have to give an example! How did you make sure your answer was clear and complete?

Maria: Well, I tried to use the method that my teacher told me about. It's a special way with four steps to tell a good story.

Tom: That sounds very helpful! What was the first step of that method? What did you talk about first to begin your story?

Maria: First, I explained the of my story, so the interviewer understood the background and the problem we faced at work.

Tom: That makes sense, to give some context. Then what did you explain? The part you were specifically supposed to do to help?

Maria: Exactly! Then I clearly told them what my was in that situation, meaning what I needed to achieve to fix the problem.

Tom: And after that, did you describe the specific things or steps you actually did yourself to make things better?

Maria: Yes, then I talked about the I took, all the steps and how I worked with my team to help solve the issue.

Tom: And the last part of your story? Did you tell them how it all finished and what happened because of what you did?

Maria: I did. I finished by explaining the positive , which was that we solved the problem successfully and our manager was very pleased!

Try to fill in the blanks with appropriate words or phrases from this lesson!