STAR method template

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result. It is a four-part way to answer “Tell me about a time” questions in about 90 seconds.

Write your own answer

SSituation: Set the scene in one or two sentences: where you were and what was going on.
TTask: Say what was yours to do, so the listener knows what was at stake.
AAction: Walk through the steps you took, using I, and spend the most time here.
RResult: Say what changed, with a number if you have one, and what you took from it.

Example answer

216 words, about 1 min 26 s

Answer to “Tell me about a time you failed.” Invented story.

About the right length.

Situation

Last spring I led a four-person team in my university's consulting club, working for a regional bakery chain with eight stores. Ten days before the final presentation, I found that our sales forecast counted catering orders twice.

Task

I owned the forecast, and the owner was about to decide on a ninth store based on it, so the number had to be right before we presented.

Action

I told my team the same day and we split the rebuild. I redid the forecast, one teammate checked the old order data against the chain's receipts, and another rewrote the slides. I also emailed the owner before the presentation to say the number would change, instead of letting him find out in the room. Then I set a rule for the team: a second person checks every number in a deck against the source data before it goes out, and I wrote it into our project checklist.

Result

We presented a corrected forecast about a fifth lower that still supported a ninth store, a smaller one. The owner said the early warning made him trust the rest of the deck, and he hired us for a pricing project. What I took from it is to tell people early when a number is wrong, and to build the check into the process.

Where each part goes wrong

Most weak answers fail in the same four places.

Situation
It started when I joined the club in my second year, which I did because…
Name the team, your role and what went wrong, in two sentences.
Task
So I just started fixing it.
Add one line on what was yours to do and who was waiting on it.
Action
We talked it through and everyone worked together.
“I told the team, I redid the forecast, I emailed the owner.”
Result
It all worked out in the end.
Say what changed, then one sentence on what you do differently now.

Say your story out loud to an interviewer

A written answer is not an answered question. Practice yours with an AI interviewer that asks what you did, why, and what you would change.

Practice a behavioral question See an example answer

Questions people ask

What does STAR stand for in an interview?

Situation, Task, Action, Result. You set the scene, say what was yours to do, explain the steps you took, and finish with what happened.

How long should a STAR answer be?

About 90 seconds, and no more than two minutes. At a steady pace that is roughly 225 to 300 words. The builder counts your words and shows the time.

How much of the answer should be the Action?

Close to half. The Situation and Task together should take under half a minute, because the interviewer wants to hear what you did.

Is STAR the right format for the McKinsey PEI?

Use it as the skeleton. The Personal Experience Interview goes deeper into one story and keeps asking what you did, so write the Action in detail and expect follow-ups.

What if I have no work story to tell?

Use any setting where you were responsible for something: a club, a class project, a part-time job or a sports team. The example here is invented. Use your own story.