Behavioral Interview Questions: How to Use the Star Code to Answer Any Behavioral Question

Some of the most popular job interview questions used by employers today are behaviorally based interview
questions. They’re easy to design, but hard for most candidates to answer in an organized manner. However, you
can outsmart even the toughest behavioral question using a simple four-part format to frame your answer.
Behavioral Interview Questions and the Star Code
To set up your response in the kind of organized manner that will impress a future employer and their HR team, you
need four pieces:
1. Situation: This is a straightforward explanation of the circumstances leading to your behavior. The situation lets
the interviewer know the problem or challenge you faced.

2. Task: This is a one or two sentence description of what needed to be done to solve the problem. Include
deadlines, budgets, and other limiting or complicating factors.

3. Action: In two or three sentences, you explain exactly what actions you took as a result of the situation and task
you were given to deal with in the target scenario.

4. Result: What happened next? Results answers explain the outcome of the situation, and should be framed in
terms of the actions you took to cause that outcome.
Collectively, these four elements of a proper answer to behaviorally based job interview questions are known as
a STAR response. On one hand, it is named for the initials of the four pieces of the answer, and on the other hand it
is named this way because a STAR-based answer will make you shine during an interview.
This system for answering behavioral job interview questions allows you to hand recruiters the information they’re
looking for on a silver platter. It also helps prevent you from wasting precious interview time rambling through an
answer. With the STAR system, you will be able to quickly respond to any behavioral questions that come your way
in a logical and professional manner.