The Brightest S.T.A.R.

The Real Questions Behind 3 Common Interview Questions

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Ever wondered what the interviewer actually wants to know when they ask a simple question like, "Can you tell me about yourself?" I spent several years as an interviewer when I was in leadership providing energy tax services. Even though interviewers often ask basic questions, we are NOT looking for basic answers!

You may have gotten advice in the past to answer interview questions in the S.T.A.R. format (Situation, Task, Action, Result.) This is an excellent acronym to keep in mind as you prepare to tell your success stories during an interview. However, there are some additional elements you will want to include.

I'm going to translate the real question behind 3 common interview questions and provide insight from an interviewer's perspective on how to answer them.

Question #1 Tell Me About Yourself

Real Question: Tell me about your professional journey, how you arrived to this moment, and why you are here interviewing for this position.

Explanation: This is an opportunity to tell a story about your background. Do NOT explain your resume or entire professional history in full detail. Tell the interviewer a brief chronological story about your professional journey and how the events leading up to now have perfectly positioned you for the desired role. You want the interviewer to clearly understand why this role fits well within your career path. You could also use this time to introduce how you can add value to the company. Include details of your journey that are specifically relevant to the role, and also share why you are interested in the company.

Question #2 Walk Me Through Your Resume

Real Question: Tell me about your professional history in chronological order, briefly highlighting details and success stories relevant to this position.

Explanation: You may get the "Tell Me About Yourself" or the "Walk Me Through Your Resume" question, or both! Either way, neither of these questions requires you to explain your entire career history in full detail. (If an interviewer wants to learn more about an area of your resume, they will ask!) This is an opportunity to specifically highlight responsibilities and projects from past positions that are relevant to the desired position. For instance, if you are interviewing for a customer-facing sales role, you could mention the past responsibilities you had in managing external relationships. For each position you walk through, you should A) talk about relevant responsibilities and projects and B) have a results-oriented headline about that role.

Shortened Example: "In my role at XYZ Inc. I worked closely with customers to create custom cloud solutions which resulted in over $10M in efficiencies for my customers over 3 years."

#3 Tell Me About X Project on Your Resume

Real Question: Tell me the following details about X Project: your role on the team, how you showed leadership, any conflicts or challenges you faced, and how you drove the project to a successful conclusion.

Explanation: This is the time to shine brighter than a S.T.A.R! While it is crucial to crisply describe the Situation surrounding the project and the Task assigned to you, the interviewer wants to know more about your Teamwork, Leadership, and Conflicts or Challenges you faced during the project. In other words, your S.T.A.R. needs a little T.L.C! Tell the interviewer about your role on the project, how you acted as a team player, how you showed leadership when a conflict arose, and all of the specific efforts YOU did to drive the project to a successful conclusion. This is the ultimate enhanced Action portion of the S.T.A.R! To blow your interviewer away, connect the story elements to the desired role or the company culture as you describe the projects. And of course, make sure you end the story with a Result - ideally in a numerical format.

Shortened Example: "We were assigned a project by ABC client during busy season and were asked to find a way to reduce COGS. I helped the team work more efficiently by sourcing templates from past projects and sharing them with my colleagues. Because I took the initiative to streamline the project, we were able to submit our findings ahead of schedule and reduce the client's COGS by 3%."

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In summary, an interviewer wants specific examples of how you can do the job, fit well in the company culture, and add value with your unique experiences. Though S.T.A.T.L.C.R. isn't as shiny of an acronym, you will certainly shine brighter by mentioning elements of leadership, teamwork, and challenges in your interview stories.

Be Great,

Jada Davis

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