The STAR technique is the best way to showcase your experiences, whether that is in an application form, covering letter or during an interview. It's an easy to remember simple framework for you to use.
Why use the STAR technique?
The STAR technique is a simple framework to effectively showcase your experiences when making job applications, writing cover letters and during interviews.
Applying this structure to your examples will allow you to clearly demonstrate the behaviours, and competencies required for the role. It’s likely at this stage that you won’t have much professional experience, so STAR allows you to draw on academic projects, part-time jobs, volunteering, or extracurriculars to demonstrate skills the employer is looking for.
Questions that require you to use the STAR technique will generally start with:
“Tell me about a time when…”
“Give me an example of…”
“Describe a situation where you…”
What does STAR stand for?
Situation
Describe the situation and when it took place
Task
Explain the task and what was the goal
Action
Provide details about the action you took to attain this
Result
Conclude with the result of your action
Reflection and relate
How have you developed from this experience? Demonstrate you understand how the skills relate to the role you’re applying for
Here's an example where the applicant hasn’t used the framework:
Question:
"Tell me about a time when you have worked under pressure, juggling multiple deadlines "
Unstructured answer:
"In my final year at university, I had three major deadlines in the same week—a group presentation, a lab report, and a research essay. I created a schedule, broke tasks into smaller steps, and coordinated with my group to stay on track. It was intense, but I managed to submit everything on time and learned a lot about prioritising and staying calm under pressure."
Here's the same question using the STAR technique
Situation
In my final year at university, I faced a week with three major deadlines: a group presentation, a lab report, and a research essay.
Task
I needed to complete all three to a high standard and submit them on time, despite the pressure and competing priorities.
Action
I started by listing all the tasks and estimating how long each would take.
I then created a daily schedule, blocking out time for focused work on each assignment.
For the group presentation, I took the initiative to set up a shared document and scheduled virtual meetings to keep everyone together. I delegated tasks based on each member’s strengths and kept track of our progress.
For the individual assignments, I used the Pomodoro technique to stay focused and avoid burnout. I also built in buffer time in case anything took longer than expected.
Result
I submitted all three pieces of work on time. Our group presentation received positive feedback, and I achieved strong marks across the board.
Reflection/relate
The experience helped me develop better planning habits and taught me how to stay productive under pressure.
You can see from those two examples; a well-crafted STAR response tells a story with a clear outcome. Not only will this make it much easier for the assessor to score you highly, but your answers will also be much more engaging and memorable.
I was asked four other questions and I answered them based on the logic of the STAR technique even though I hadn't prepared for them.
The STAR approach helped me organise my responses more effectively. Even when asked unexpected questions, I could still provide targeted answers by thinking about the four guidelines.