Using STAR effectively in your Job
application and interviews.
“What’s STAR?”
STAR is a great tool that can help you
secure the job. While it has been around
for a long time, it still provides an
excellent guide for job applicants. STAR
provides a structure that assists you to
present examples as part of your written
application or in an interview (typically
competency based ones). It allows you
to describe a situation or problem;
highlight the task you had to accomplish;
tell what actions you took to achieve the
task; and show the result – what you
achieved and what you learned.
So, how do you use it? See the example
on the right for an idea of how to use
STAR in your job application. It looks
easy, but there are some tricks to
making your example display your
abilities in the best possible light.
Like any tool, however, STAR is only as
good as you make it. It can be used very
effectively, or it can demonstrate, for
example, that you really don’t have
those excellent writing skills you claim.
Situation
Task
Action
Result
Don’t claim to
have excellent
communication
skills – prove
you do.
Situation:
Our Department was conducting a
consultation to determine people’s
views about a proposed change to
legislation.
Task:
I was responsible for collating, sorting
and summarising the feedback from
several feedback sessions of the
consultation.
Action:
First I ensured I understood exactly
what the aims of the consultation were
and the information my manager was
seeking. I then developed a table for
responses, themes, specific issues and
comments. I could check back if any
issue was queried. I grouped feedback
themes and noted any issues and
comments, such as related legislation. I
was careful to work systematically
through the feedback sheets so no
important information was missed.
When the feedback was collated and
summarised, I presented the results to
my manager and director.
Result:
My manager and director were both
pleased with this work. My department
was able to identify both positive and
negative issues and key concerns, and
work through them in progressing the
new legislation.
1. Start with a strong example
Use an example that is at, or above, the
level of the job you are going for.
Make sure the situation was challenging,
something outside the day-to-day
routine.
Select a task or challenge that you did
well and achieved a good result. You
want to paint yourself in the best light.
Finally, though we shouldn’t have to say
this, make sure it is a real example that
you write about in your job application.
You may be asked to talk about it in an
interview, so you need to be confident
you can do that.
2. Focus on what’s most
important
Keep your discussion of the situation
and task as brief and succinct as you
can – that information is not as important
as what you did to address the problem
and how you achieved a good outcome.
3. Make your role shine
Be very clear about what your role and
responsibility was, and what actions you
personally took. If it was a team effort,
say so, but you still need to say exactly
what you did within the team. Try to
keep it sequential and if challenges
arose, briefly describe them and what
action you took to deal with them.
4. Go for a big finish
Increasingly we are expected to be
outcome-focused, and the outcome is
the good result you, your team, your
unit, your branch and your organisation,
achieved. Think about how you
measured success, in tangible benefits.
If you can show how your action
contributed to the organisation’s goals
and objectives, even better – that helps
you address that difficult capability,
“supports strategic direction”.
5. Write it well
Remember, everything in your job
application displays your
written communication skills. Use plain
English and short sentences, avoid
jargon, and use active rather than
passive verbs (e.g. say ‘I organised a
meeting’, not ‘a meeting was organised
by me’). Keep it succinct, to the point
and interesting for the reader and
proofread carefully. And don’t
underestimate the importance of ‘white
space’ for readability – keep paragraphs
short, put some space between each
paragraph, and have good margins at
the top and bottom and on both sides.
Summary
STAR can be a powerful tool to show
the selection panel how well you meet
the selection criteria, competencies or
capabilities, but it’s up to you to use it
well in your job application. Find a strong
example that displays your abilities, set
it out clearly and succinctly, and show
how it contributed to achieving your
unit’s objectives. A good example in
your job application, that is also well
written, will go a long way towards
getting you an interview, and ultimately
the job!
