University of California Berkeley Career Guide - Flipbook - Page 41
Practice, Practice, Practice
STAR/BAR Prep
Behavioral interview questions help interviewers understand how you may behave in certain situations. Interviewers
like behavioral questions because the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. When answering behavioral
interview questions, use the STAR/BAR Method– SITUATION/BACKGROUND, ACTION, and RESULT.
SITUATION/BACKGROUND (OR TASK): What was the specific job or activity you (and/or group) were trying to
accomplish or what problem were you solving? Who was involved? Where and when did this occur?
ACTION: What steps did you (and/or team) take and how did you go about completing them? How did you involve or
manage others during the process?
RESULTS: Did you accomplish the job or activity the way it was originally defined? Was the result an improvement or
change? What lessons did you learn? What might you do differently? Because of your actions did you create, improve,
or maintain good interpersonal relationships? What were the benefits of your actions for the organization or for other
individuals? What core skills did you acquire? What did you learn about yourself?
Use the Space below to create STAR/BAR answers to the following behavioral questions.
Tell me about a time you used your leadership skills to bring about change within a group or project?
Tell me about a time you used creativity and analytical skills to solve a problem.
Career Tip:
Practice STAR/BAR responses with as many behavioral
questions as you have time to prepare for. Use examples
from the previous two pages.
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