Have you heard of the STAR interview technique?

It’s when an
interviewer asks you a behavioral question (which usually begins, “Tell
me about a time when you…”), and you respond by laying out the
Situation, the Task you received, the Action you took, and then the
Result you achieved. It’s an excellent method for MBA hopefuls to
leverage in adcom or alumni interviews. But did you know you can use
the STAR method for MBA essay writing as well?

We’ve found that it’s a helpful way to organize essays, short-answer

responses, and even resume bullet points. For example, let’s take an
essay that asks you to describe your greatest professional achievement
— in only 300 words. When you use the STAR method for MBA essay
writing, it helps you pare down all of the information you could
possibly include.

You’ll want to set up the Situation for your reader as succinctly and

clearly as possible. Leave out industry jargon, acronyms, and “inside
baseball” details that will bore the adcom. Remember, they want to
learn about what YOU did — not the intricate complexities of your
company or client’s issue.

Next, pinpoint the Task for which you were responsible. Sure,

business schools are looking for team players. But if they’ve asked you
to describe your most impressive accomplishment, they want to
understand what your marching orders were.

The Action section is where you should expand a bit more and use

this chance to shine.  Explain what you did specifically, and ideally,
show how you went above and beyond in your role. Then, you can
wrap up by revealing what Results you achieved. Keep in mind that
both qualitative and quantitative outcomes are important to include, if
possible.

After you’ve got your S, T, A, and R information covered in your essay,

read through it again. Ensure the emphasis is on the Actions you took
and the Results you achieved. We know it’s hard to condense what
may sometimes be a years-long project into only a few sentences at the
beginning. But it’s better to keep the focus on why YOU will be a
welcome addition to any MBA program.

Your final task of the STAR method for MBA essay writing is to ensure
that you’re within the word count limit. Also, make sure that you’ve
told the story of your achievement in a compelling, memorable way.

Finally, if you’re currently writing your essays, be sure to seek out the
several essay-centric episodes of our B-Schooled podcast. Subscribe
now (on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or TuneIn), so new
episodes will be waiting for you every Wednesday morning.

And when writing your essays, remember:

The Situation
This is the set-up of the story, giving TIME, PLACE and CONTEXT. It could be a general
setting, but it might also include the broader challenge or conflict that you or your organization
faced.
 For example an applicant might write: “Last year, I volunteered to chair a fundraising committee
for cancer research at my company, where we were challenged to meet a fundraising goal of
$10,000.”
 This answers the question: What was the situation that I (or my team) faced *before* I started
taking action? 
The Task 
This is your role in the story. It often takes the form of a GOAL, an OBJECTIVE STATEMENT,
or an IMPORTANT DECISION to be resolved. It’s important to highlight your collaboration
with others, but remember that for purposes of the essay, you are the star of your own story.
For example: “My main functions were to assign specific jobs to committee members, check on
their progress, and help establish and meet deadlines for obtaining donations.”
This answers the question: What specific challenge did I face, given the aforementioned
situation? 
The Action 
Here’s the heart of the story: admissions officers want to know how you work in action. Offer
the highlights and don’t get bogged down in too much detail. This could be in a team context, but
remember to show how your actions made a contribution.
For example: “I motivated the team by having them meet recovering cancer patients. I assigned
tasks and checked in regularly, and successfully mediated team disputes. I led the team to visit
20 local businesses and ensured that deadlines were met.” 
This answers the question: What actions did I take to resolve the situation and advance toward
my (our) goal? 
The Result
It’s very important to show that there were indeed concrete results and that your actions made a
difference. Specific details count here, and you should quantify your results.
For example: “My team convinced 25 businesses and 18 individuals to make donations, directly
helping to raise $15,000 for the organization and exceeding our fundraising goal by 50%.”
This answers the question: What was the impact of my actions, and what was the final resolution
of the dilemma outlined at the beginning of the story?
If this is ambiguous, muddled or uncertain, then you may want to go back and re-frame the
situation or pick another story to tell altogether. On the other hand, a positive outcome and happy
ending will make your story more powerful and establish you as its star.
It is always useful to read other people’s work to get a sense of what good essays are. To assist
you, TopAdmit provides you some college admissions essay samples written by counselors and
editors hailing from prestigious schools including Harvard. This page contains personal
statement samples, statement of purpose samples, and application essay samples for college. But
please remember, these are for your reference only; it is not to your benefit to copy their style or
concepts. It not only violates academic ethics and could lead to an automatic rejection by the
admissions committee — the point of our service is to help you construct a unique essay — not
one similar to other essays.

Until next time,

The team at Stacy Blackman Consulting

***
If you enjoyed this article, please sign up for the SBC newsletter,
where you’ll receive our expert advice on all aspects of the MBA
application process delivered straight to your inbox each week.