STARR technique
Use STARR to help you to write about your skills and competencies in an application, or to structure your answers in an interview.
On
What does STARR stand for?
Situation
Provide some brief details about the situation so that the reader can understand the context of the example
Task
What was the objective or purpose?
Action
What did you do and how? Summarise your actions in four or five individual steps, if possible.
Result
What was the outcome? Were the objectives met?
Reflect
What did you learn or gain? What would you do differently next time?
Consider the skill or competency you want to write or talk about. Then, use a recent example from your education, work experience, voluntary work or activities in your spare time.
Example
"Describe a situation where you have demonstrated leadership ability":
| S | Situation Whilst working as part of the stock replenishment team at Tesco, I volunteered to do a night shift to help prepare our store for a VIP visit. |
| T | Task Along with a team of 6 others we were assigned the task of improving the presentation of the aisles. |
| A | Action As the work was repetitive, and we were lacking sleep, I noticed many of my colleagues were not fully motivated. As the person with the most experience, I used my initiative to split the group into 3 teams and gave specific goals to each team. I spoke to the store manager to ask if I could offer an incentive to my colleagues, which he agreed to. |
| R | Result By giving clear instructions and encouragement, along with an incentive for completing the task, we finished the job in good spirits, gaining praise from senior managers and a successful visit. |
| R | Reflect I gained confidence in my ability to delegate to others. Giving SMART targets to the sub-teams helped to get the job done. |