Interviews often go sideways for one simple reason: your answers don’t land clearly. You might have great experience, but without a tight structure, it can come across as unfocused, overly detailed, or hard to follow.
Below is a simple framework you can practice that helps you sound confident and compelling—whether you’re in a virtual interview, a phone screen, or a panel.
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. The twist: keep it to 60 seconds.
Use this as a repeatable structure:
Pro tip: If you can’t say the Situation in one sentence, it’s too much setup.
Even early-career candidates can sound polished by adding these elements:
If you don’t have numbers, use credible proxies:
A single project can answer multiple questions if you change the angle.
Example prompts to prepare:
Write one STAR story, then rewrite it 2–3 times emphasizing different Actions/Results.
Place a small note near your camera with:
It keeps you concise without sounding scripted.
What interview question makes you ramble the most—and want help turning into a 60-second STAR answer?
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