STARR Breakthrough

 

The Further Education Sector is in turmoil at the moment.  It's no secret.  It's all over the news and social media.  And like a lot of people, I'm having to go through a restructure that could see me competing against my friends and colleagues to maybe keep my job.  Its horrible.  But yesterday I went for a job interview and I learned something valuable that I wanted to share with people.  (I want to get something positive out of this whole situation).  

("Young Man on a Job Interview" by amtec_photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.)

You may have heard Human Resources (HR) professionals talk about the STAR interview technique.  But, like me, you might not know or fully understand what it meant.  This week I had a chance meeting with a colleague who, by chance, turned out to have formerly been a careers coach.  It took just a few minutes for me to realise my first mistake - it's STARR!  Two R's, not just one.  

S - Situation

T - Task

A - Action 

R - Result

R - Reflection

First, thinking about Situation, I had always thought that it meant, "I was at work and was confronted by a situation that I had to deal with."  Nope!  Situation refers to your situation - where were you working and what was your job title.

Next, thinking about Task, give an example of a task that you were faced with at work that would answer the question.  Straightforward!  

Action - I made so many mistakes here.  In past interviews I would give sweeping statements like, "I conducted a review and discovered..." or "I investigated and found..." and in the process leave out tonnes of information.  You have to go further!  Describe the steps you took in your review.  It's about describing the process of analysis, planning, execution and evaluation!!  

Result - again, this is straightforward.  Describe what were the result of the actions that you took?

Finally - reflection!  This is another place where I made a mistake.  First, I didn't know that this was a part of the process at all.  So for 13 years I've been short on marks for every interview I went for.  But after my coaching session on Monday, I went into an interview on tuesday and made a point of highlighting reflection as part of every question that I answered.  But I made another mistake.  Reflection is all about learning.  So I highlighted what I had learned.  But I didn't say how I would change things as a result of that learning.  

("160725 Reflective Learning" by Engage Visually. Debbie Roberts is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

Reflection is in three parts - What?  So what?  Now what?   I learned this in my MA studies in a module in a module led by @laperryman.  So remember - what did you  learn?  What did it mean at the time?  How would you employ that learning in the role you're applying for?  The role I applied for was a curriculum managers job.  While I explained what I had learned in my role as a lecturer, I didn't describe how that learning would inform my management practice?  How would it impact the way I designed/ran my courses?  How would it impact on the way I related to external partners/employers/my staff?    

At the end of my interview I was unsuccessful in so far as I didn't get the job.  But I have to say a huge thank you to the Director of Curriculum who led the interview panel.  I have waited 13 years for this kind of constructive feedback.  I waited 13 years for a 15 minute conversation that changed everything.  I gained back some of my confidence and I can prepare for and tackle future interviews better so much better informed than ever before!

If anyone out there has other interview advice that they want to share, please add them to the comments below.