30 STAR Interview Questions to Prepare for Your Next Job Interview

By Andrew Hendricks | Updated March 22, 2024

Interviews can often feel like stepping into the unknown, but there's one technique that can light the way: the STAR interview method. Understanding this method and preparing accordingly can dramatically improve your performance in behavioral interviews. Here's a deep dive into the STAR interview method, the importance of preparing for it, 30 common STAR interview questions to practice, and some tips for delivering compelling answers.

What is the STAR Interview Method?

The STAR interview method is a structured approach to answering behavioural interview questions. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Here's how to use it effectively: Situation: Describe the context or scenario you were in. Task: Explain the specific goal or challenge you faced. Action: Detail the steps you took to address the situation. Result: Share the outcome of your actions and any lessons learned.

Why is Preparing STAR Stories Important?

Preparing STAR stories ahead of time is essential for recalling relevant examples quickly during the interview. This preparation helps you answer behavioral questions effectively, demonstrating your skills in a convincing and memorable way.

Understanding an interviewer's motives can ease the process. When asked about conflict resolution, knowing interviewers avoid trick questions helps you answer confidently. Share genuine examples of resolving conflicts, showcasing your adaptability and problem-solving skills. This approach makes the interview smoother and highlights your potential as a competent employee. Practicing with resources like Starmethod.org can boost your confidence and prepare you for anything an interview throws your way.

30 Common STAR Interview Questions Examples

Though they're not always framed in the form of a question, the following 30 examples of interview questions are representative of nearly every type of question interviewees often describe as ones that "stumped" them. "Tell me about" or "Describe a time when" may seem like an irrelevant question if such a situation never occurred, but "that's not applicable to me" is rarely a good answer, so treat these like the make-or-break questions they often are.

1. Challenging Situation at Work: Reflect on a time when you faced a significant challenge and how you managed it.
2. Achieving a Goal: Discuss setting a professional goal and the steps taken to achieve it.
3. Difficult Decision: Share an instance where you had to make a tough decision and your thought process.
4. Learning from Mistakes: Talk about a mistake and the valuable lessons learned.
5. Working with Difficult Colleagues: Describe how you managed to work with a challenging colleague.
6. Leadership: Provide an example showcasing your leadership abilities.
7. Going Above and Beyond: Recall a time when you exceeded work expectations.
8. Persuasion: Share how you persuaded someone to see things your way.
9. Adapting to Change: Discuss a time when you successfully adapted to change in the workplace.
10. Handling Pressure: Reflect on managing multiple responsibilities under tight deadlines.
11. Proactive Problem-Solving: Describe identifying and solving a problem proactively.
12. Learning from Failure: Share an instance of failure and the lessons learned.
13. Delivering Difficult News: Talk about a time when you had to deliver bad news and how you handled it.
14. Working with Limited Resources: Discuss managing a project with limited resources or budget.
15. Making Unpopular Decisions: What was a time when you made an unpopular decision and what was the outcome?
16. Motivating Others: Reflect on a situation where you motivated others towards a common goal.
17. Resolving Customer Complaints: Describe handling a challenging customer complaint.
18. Cross-functional Collaboration: Discuss collaborating across different functions to complete a project.
19. Dealing with Ambiguity: Share how you dealt with an ambiguous situation at work.
20. Taking Initiative: Reflect on a time when taking initiative led to a positive outcome.
21. Detail-oriented Tasks: Discuss a task that required a high level of attention to detail.
22. Building New Relationships: Share how you built a relationship with a new client or colleague.
23. Data-driven Decision Making: Talk about using data analysis to inform a decision.
24. Giving Difficult Feedback: Describe a time when you had to give tough feedback.
25. Creative Problem Solving: Share an instance where creativity was key to solving a problem.
26. Pivoting Strategy Quickly: Discuss a time when a quick strategy pivot was necessary.
27. Sacrificing Short-term Goals: Reflect on sacrificing short-term objectives for long-term success.
28. Navigating Office Politics: Talk about your experience with office politics and how you navigated them.
29. Pride in Work Ethic: Share a moment you were particularly proud of your work ethic.
30. Thinking on Your Feet: How many windows are there in Manhattan?*

*If such a question makes you nearly have a panic attack, relax! They don't even know the right answer, if there even is an exact correct one. These types of questions exist to see how you approach a seemingly unsolveable or overwhelming problem. Whether you base your answer on the estimate of skyscrapers and buildings to estimate number of floors with a number of floors having X or Y number of windows or you estimate square footage and give a number of windows likely to be in any square mile—that you did not panic and provided a coherent strategy to arrive at a conclusion you qualify as a rough estimate with many assumptions is the golden way to respond. And it required no knowledge of New York City or average windows per capita, let alone an ability to do math beyond a middle school level. Don't let these types of questions stump you, use them as an opportunity to shine. Because you're prepared for them!