STAR Worksheet (.pdf)
Electronic job boards and Internet career sites allow employers to cast a wide net for potential job candidates. Often hundreds of applicants vie for a single position. Organizations use the Web to help them screen potential candidates and only the most qualified have an opportunity for a face-to-face interview. Consequently, preparing for and performing well in an interview is even more critical to career success. In addition, companies are moving away from resume-driven job interviewing and turning to behavioral based interviews. Students on your campus need information, strategies and practice to negotiate the rigors of behavior based interviewing. Offering job interviewing workshops is an excellent way to market your car eer center and deliver a much needed service.
Behavioral interviews seek to find out how a person has performed in the past, believing that past behavior strongly predicts future behavior. Behavior-based interview questions press the interviewee to give specific examples of how he/she has handled different situations. Successfully navigating behavior-based interviews requires that the job candidate understand not only the reasoning behind behavior based questions but have a format to effectively handle the questions and provide good answers. Students who attend interviewing workshops can expect to walk away with information, strategies, resources and practice. Should you choose to offer a Behavioral Interviewing or Interviewing Workshop, here are some resources and an activity.
- A very comprehensive interviewing package is available at Hamline University. The six page guide stresses the parts of an interview, a super STAR strategy outline, an interview preparation checklist, and dozens of interview questions. The material in the guide can help you structure your workshop.
- Much of the workshop could revolve around an activity to help students answer behavioral based interview questions. This technique is often called PAR or STAR. So after you discuss behavior based interviewing in general, you could give participants an opportunity to try answering questions. Attached to this email is the STAR student worksheet. Pass out the worksheet. Review the example, and then answer one of the questions as a group. Finally, have students answer 2 or 3 additional behavior based questions you choose from the many resources provided, using the STAR system.
- Ask students to find partners and practice answering and asking questions with a workshop partner. Then bring students back together to debrief this activity.
Design some nifty flyers for your workshop-find a catchy title as an attention getter. ...It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Hiring Interview or Interview to the Top... Create a special section on your website with links and resources for behavioral interviewing, and involve faculty by offering Career Journey Road Map booklets, you received from our office, and suggest they try the interviewing activity found on page 33. Because over 70% of Fortune 500 companies are using behavioral based interviews students on your campus, who participate in interviewing workshops, will have access to an important 21st century tool for success.
See the Student Worksheet for this Activity.