Are you able to turn out to be the standout candidate in any job interview? Think about going into an interview and fascinating your interviewers with a compelling private story that showcases your distinctive background and ability units. The key to standing out is by being a terrific storyteller! It doesn’t matter what stage of storytelling it’s possible you’ll be at, this weblog will information you thru competency-based interviewing and find out how to use the STAR Technique — which stands for State of affairs, Process, Motion, and Outcome. Learn to grasp this job interview tip and reply questions with readability and influence. Get able to elevate your storytelling abilities and go away an enduring impression.
Competency-based (behavioral) interviews are carried out to assist a hiring staff acquire insights into your abilities, information, and previous experiences. Questions will usually be centered round the way you deal with particular conditions, the way you carry out in a staff setting, and methods you problem-solve.
Some examples of questions:
- Inform me a couple of challenge, program, or initiative that you simply labored on from begin to end.
- Inform me a couple of time you needed to full a job inside a decent deadline. Describe the state of affairs and clarify the way you dealt with it.
- Inform me a couple of time you may have handled a troublesome buyer or staff member. How did you deal with the state of affairs?
How do you sort out most of these questions? The reply is to make use of the STAR Technique. This structured strategy helps you craft responses that successfully spotlight your abilities and experiences with confidence. Interviewers are actively listening for clear, particular, and concise solutions that spotlight your skills and potential. Let’s dive into this superb job interview tip.
What actually makes a candidate stand out is their skill to be a terrific storyteller. By successfully sharing who you’re and offering particular examples, you’ll display your previous experiences, which is able to assist you create a robust reference to the interviewer. These examples of the way you’ve constructed your abilities and achievements ought to translate to the position you’re making use of for, and showcase the influence you’ve made. Let’s delve additional into it:
- State of affairs: Describe the state of affairs you had been in, together with your position and firm. Spend 10% of your time answering this.
- Process: Clarify the duty you had been chargeable for to resolve a specific state of affairs. Spend 10% of your time answering this.
- Motion: Describe methods you achieved the duty you had been chargeable for, spotlight any key abilities or belongings which can be related to the position, and supply particular examples to offer the interviewer extra insights into your work efficiency. That is the place you wish to spend most of your time (60%)!
- Outcome: Share the general consequence and influence of your actions. You need to spend 20% of your time answering this, together with how your consequence correlates to staff and/or firm objectives, highlighting any quantifiable outcomes, and classes you discovered alongside the best way.
Now, let’s put the STAR Technique into motion! To higher perceive how the STAR Technique works, I interviewed Alejandro Irizarry, an incoming Software program Engineer at Salesforce, former intern, and Tech Launchpad Scholar. When requested the query, “Inform me a couple of challenge you’re pleased with, and what was the end result?” Alejandro shared the next, which he broke down utilizing the STAR Technique:
- State of affairs: Throughout my internship at Salesforce, I labored with the Consumer Expertise staff for the Movement Builder platform, which is a instrument that helps customers visually create workflows. One problem customers confronted was the reliance on mouse interactions which slowed productiveness, particularly for superior customers who most well-liked keyboard navigation.
- Process: My job was to enhance effectivity and person expertise by designing and implementing keyboard shortcuts for generally used actions inside Movement Builder canvas.
- Motion: To sort out this, I first collaborated with the UX Designer and Product Supervisor to prioritize the actions most continuously carried out by customers, primarily based on knowledge and person suggestions. I designed and carried out shortcuts utilizing TypeScript and Salesforce’s Lightning framework, guaranteeing consistency with present UI patterns. I mentioned all adjustments with different software program engineers to be able to sort out any bugs, challenges, and selections that needed to be made earlier than deploying the brand new shortcuts.
- Outcome: In response to inside testing, the keyboard shortcuts improved person effectivity by 30%, and had been praised by stakeholders. The function is now included within the Spring 2025 launch of Flows and is rapidly turning into a favourite amongst customers, as mirrored in buyer suggestions.
Primarily based on how Alejandro ready for the profitable interview that landed him the position at Salesforce, he shares a useful tip, “put together STAR tales that spotlight your teamwork, innovation, and technical/non-technical tasks. Present enthusiasm by asking considerate questions concerning the position, staff, and even about any upcoming AI tasks within the works. This demonstrates your real curiosity in becoming a member of our trailblazer neighborhood right here at Salesforce.”
Further methods to organize:
Now that you’ve got a greater understanding of the STAR Technique and how one can put it into follow, listed here are some extra job interview suggestions as you put together to your interview:
- Overview the job description and tailor your solutions to focus on transferable and related abilities/experiences
- Apply answering questions out loud — to your self or to a good friend/member of the family
- Personal the work that you simply did by utilizing “I” statements to share what you had been particularly chargeable for and the way you contributed to the staff’s total success
- Do your analysis on the corporate and program. Determine why you wish to particularly work right here.
Lastly, Alejandro mentioned it greatest: “Bear in mind to be your self, as a result of right here at Salesforce, we love seeing your distinctive facet shine — it’s your individuality and authenticity that makes you stand out and convey worth to our Ohana!”
Able to interview?
Now that you’re feeling interview-ready, study extra about Salesforce’s college recruiting program— Futureforce and apply for open roles, you’ve received this!
