The STAR Framework: Nail Your Interview

Summary

The video introduces the STAR method, a popular framework for behavioral interview responses. Hosted by Not Suskind, a product manager and interview coach, it guides viewers on how to effectively answer questions using the Situation, Task, Action, and Result structure. The video uses a mock scenario of a conflict between a program manager and an engineer to illustrate the method. It emphasizes the importance of providing context, clarifying tasks and goals, detailing actions, and sharing outcomes and learnings. The video advises against rehearsed answers, instead promoting natural conversation tailored to the interview.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The STAR method is a popular framework for answering behavioral interview questions.
• 🗣️ The acronym STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result, which helps structure interview answers.
• 👤 The speaker, Not Suskind, is a product manager and interview coach aiming to help viewers land tech jobs.
• 🏗️ The video uses a mock example of a conflict between a technical program manager and an engineer about scheduling a code refactor.
• 📝 When describing the situation, provide context and detail the challenging circumstances to set the stage for the problem.
• 🎯 Clarify the specific task and your role in it, including any benchmarks or goals that were set.
• 🛠️ In the Action section, explain how you tackled the problem, highlighting relevant skills and the team's contribution.
• 🤝 Emphasize the importance of humility and not overstating your role while being confident in your contributions.
• 🎉 The Result section should detail how the situation was resolved due to your actions and any learnings gained.
• 📑 It's advised to prepare a few examples and tailor them to the interview questions in a natural, conversational tone.
• 🚫 Avoid rehearsing or reading pre-prepared answers as it can sound robotic and inauthentic.

Q & A

What is the STAR method and how is it used in interviews?

The STAR method is a popular interview framework that stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. It helps candidates structure their responses to behavioral interview questions, providing a clear and concise narrative of their experiences and the outcomes of their actions.

Who is the speaker in the video and what is their role?

The speaker is not named 'Suskind', and they are a product manager and interview coach. Their role is to help job seekers land their dream job in the tech industry by providing guidance on interview techniques, such as the STAR method.

Why does the speaker recommend the STAR framework as a starting point for structuring interview answers?

The speaker recommends the STAR framework as a starting point because it helps to organize thoughts and provide a comprehensive response to behavioral questions. It ensures that candidates cover all necessary aspects of a situation, including the context, actions taken, and the outcomes.

What is the example scenario used in the video to illustrate the STAR method?

The example scenario is a conflict between a technical program manager and an engineer regarding whether a code refactor should be scheduled for an upcoming sprint. This scenario is used to demonstrate how to apply the STAR method in a real-world situation.

How should the 'Situation' part of the STAR method be approached according to the video?

In the 'Situation' part, candidates should describe the context of their role and the challenging circumstance they faced. It's important to provide enough detail so that the interviewer understands the problem without assuming shared knowledge or using jargon.

What should be included in the 'Task' section of the STAR method?

The 'Task' section should clarify the specific task at hand and the candidate's role in it. If there were specific benchmarks or goals, such as a sales increase target, these should be mentioned to provide a clear understanding of the objectives.

How should candidates describe their 'Action' in the STAR method?

In the 'Action' section, candidates should explain how they tackled the problem, highlighting relevant skills and the team's contribution. It's important to balance confidence with humility, not overstating one's role while also showcasing leadership and teamwork.

What is the purpose of the 'Result' section in the STAR method?

The 'Result' section is meant to inform the interviewer about how the situation was resolved due to the candidate's actions. It's also an opportunity to share any learnings or lessons gained from the experience, demonstrating personal growth and reflection.

Why does the speaker advise against rehearsing or reading a pre-prepared answer using the STAR method?

The speaker advises against rehearsing or reading a pre-prepared answer to avoid sounding robotic and inauthentic. Instead, candidates should come to the interview with familiar examples and tailor them naturally in a conversational tone, which is more engaging and genuine.

What additional resources does the speaker mention for Amazon's behavioral interview preparation?

The speaker mentions a link to an Amazon behavioral interview prep guide, which is provided in the video description. This guide is meant to help candidates understand Amazon's leadership principles and how to apply them in their interview responses.

How can viewers access more tech interview preparation content from the speaker?

Viewers can access more tech interview preparation content by liking and subscribing to the Exponent channel for weekly videos. They are also encouraged to visit tryexponent.com to get assistance in acing their next interview.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Introduction to the STAR Method

The video introduces the STAR method, a popular interview framework for behavioral questions, such as recounting a time when a complex problem was solved. The presenter, a product manager and interview coach, aims to assist viewers in securing jobs in the tech industry. While frameworks are not recommended for heavy use, the STAR method is suggested as a starting point for structuring interview responses. The method is divided into four components: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The video will use a hypothetical scenario involving a conflict between a technical program manager and an engineer over scheduling a code refactor. The presenter advises on how to describe the situation, emphasizing the context and challenging circumstances, and to avoid using jargon or assuming the interviewer's familiarity with the project.

Keywords

💡STAR Method

The STAR Method is a structured approach to answering behavioral interview questions. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. In the video, it is presented as a framework to help candidates organize their responses effectively. The method is used to guide the viewer through a mock example of a conflict resolution between a technical program manager and an engineer, illustrating how to apply the framework in a real-world scenario.

💡Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are those that ask candidates to describe how they have handled situations in the past, which can predict how they will perform in the future. The video script uses the STAR Method to address such questions, like 'tell me about a time you solved a complex problem,' to help candidates prepare for their tech interviews.

💡Product Manager

A product manager is a professional responsible for the lifecycle of a product from its inception to its retirement. In the script, the speaker identifies as a product manager and interview coach, offering advice on how to use the STAR Method to answer interview questions effectively.

💡Interview Framework

An interview framework is a set of guidelines or a structure used to prepare for and conduct interviews. The STAR Method is introduced in the video as a popular interview framework that helps in structuring responses to behavioral questions, providing a clear and organized way to present one's experiences.

💡Situation

In the context of the STAR Method, 'Situation' refers to the background or context in which a problem or task occurred. The video emphasizes the importance of setting the stage by describing the situation comprehensively, including the role of the interviewee and the challenging circumstances they faced.

💡Task

The 'Task' component of the STAR Method involves clarifying the specific task or objective that needed to be accomplished. The video script advises to mention any specific benchmarks or goals, such as a sales increase target, to provide a clear understanding of the task at hand.

💡Action

Under the 'Action' part of the STAR Method, candidates are encouraged to describe how they tackled the problem, highlighting relevant skills and the team's contribution. The video script uses the example of a conflict between a technical program manager and an engineer to illustrate how to discuss actions taken to resolve a situation.

💡Result

The 'Result' aspect of the STAR Method is about conveying the outcome of the actions taken. In the video, it is emphasized that candidates should communicate how the situation was resolved due to their contribution and share any learnings or lessons from the experience.

💡Rehearsing

Rehearsing refers to the practice of repeating something, such as an interview response, to improve performance. The video advises against rehearsing or reading from a script during an interview, recommending instead to come prepared with examples and tailor responses naturally in the moment.

💡Humility

Humility in the context of the video means being modest about one's contributions to a team effort. It is highlighted as an important quality when discussing one's actions in the 'Action' part of the STAR Method, suggesting that candidates should be confident but also give credit to their team.

💡Amazon Leadership Principles

Amazon Leadership Principles are a set of values that guide decision-making and behavior at Amazon. The video script mentions these principles as an example of company-specific values that candidates might want to align with when discussing their actions in an interview, particularly when applying to Amazon.

Highlights

The STAR method is introduced as a popular interview framework for behavioral questions.

The acronym STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

The video is aimed at helping viewers land their dream job in Tech.

While frameworks are not heavily recommended, STAR serves as a good starting point for structuring answers.

The importance of describing the situation with context and role is emphasized.

Highlighting challenging circumstances and filling in gaps for the interviewer is suggested.

The task section should clarify the specific task and role, including any benchmarks or goals.

In the action part, interviewees should highlight relevant skills and relate them to the job description.

Amazon's leadership principles are mentioned as an example of company-specific values to consider.

The speaker advises against overstatement and encourages humility by crediting the larger team.

The result section should convey how the situation was resolved and any learnings gained.

The STAR method is not meant to be rehearsed but rather tailored to fit the natural flow of an interview.

The video provides a mock example of a conflict between a technical program manager and an engineer.

The video encourages viewers to like and subscribe for weekly Tech interview prep videos.

A link to an Amazon behavioral interview prep guide is promised in the description.

The video concludes with a call to action to visit tryexponent.com for interview help.

The video ends with a reminder of the importance of the STAR method in interview preparation.

Transcripts

in this video we're going to talk about

the star method the star method is a

popular interview framework that helps

you answer behavioral interview

questions like tell me about a time you

solved a complex problem my name is not

suskind and I'm a product manager and

interview coach and I'm here to help you

land your dream job in Tech

while exponent doesn't recommend heavy

use of Frameworks we often find the star

framework is helpful as a starting place

for structuring your interview answers

the star framework is broken down into

situation task action and result

we'll talk more at the end about how to

think about using this framework as well

for this video we'll be using a mock

example of a conflict between a

technical program manager and an

engineer on whether or not a code

refactor should be scheduled for an

upcoming Sprint first describe the

situation including the context of your

role in that situation this is a great

way to set the stage and set up why this

problem is worth talking about don't

just say the basics also highlight the

ways in which this setup led to a

challenging circumstance that you had to

face don't forget to fill in the gaps

with information or knowledge that the

interviewer may not have it's easy to

slip back into using acronyms or

describing the project as if the

interviewer was on your team by the way

if you're enjoying these videos be sure

to like And subscribe for more Tech

interview prep videos every single week

now for the task it usually helps to

clarify what the specific task at hand

was here and your role in it it's also

worth calling out here if you had

specific benchmarks or goals that you

were meant to accomplish say a 50 sales

increase by Q4 now for the action this

is where the meat of your in interview

is tell us how you tackled this problem

be sure to highlight any skills that are

relevant to the job in fact we recommend

browsing through the job description for

your upcoming role to understand what

skills they may be looking for and bring

those out specifically in your interview

for instance Amazon famously adheres to

a set of leadership principles we'll

leave a link in the description below to

our Amazon behavioral interview prep

guide in the action section don't just

talk about yourself talk about the team

as well it's easy to think that you're

supposed to highlight your role in the

entire process but it's also important

to have humility and not overstate your

role be confident while also crediting

your larger team now for the final part

of the interview the result this is also

the most satisfying tell your

interviewer how the situation was

resolved thanks to your help also be

sure to voice any learnings or lessons

you got from the experience now that you

understand the core framework we just

want to say that we don't recommend

rehearsing or reading through a

pre-prepared answer instead we recommend

coming into the interviews with a few

examples and situations that you're

familiar with and then tailoring them to

the interviewer were in a natural

conversational tone running through the

star framework line by line will usually

sound robotic and inauthentic which be

counterproductive to your success in the

interview I hope this video was helpful

in understanding the star method be sure

to like And subscribe to exponent for

new tech interview prep videos every

single week and visit try exponent.com

to help you Ace your next interview

thanks for watching

[Music]