Hey dev, are you ready to ace the job interview questions? You’re probably feeling a little nervous and afraid that you’ll get a “blank mind” when the recruiter asks you questions about yourself. But did you know that you can use a simple trick to organise your information and tell stories that convey value and reinforce what’s on your CV? It’s called the Star Method for scheduling interviews, and it’s a technique that helps you structure your answers concisely and clearly, allowing you to validate your competencies and effectively communicate your accomplishments to your interviewer. Let’s dive in!
Why is it essential to use the Star model to pass programming interviews?
The tech industry is one of the most demanding and competitive. Therefore, recruiters need to target their assessments to identify if applicants are capable of everything they have described in their CV. With the Star Method, recruiters ask open-ended questions based on the competencies for the position.By using them, they seek to prove your experience and find out how you have dealt with specific situations in the past, intending to predict your future performance and find out whether your competencies are aligned with the company’s objectives. Your job is to answer these questions with a specific, concise description that conveys how you provided value in solving the problem in your previous job. But as is often the case in interviews, sometimes we get paralysed and stuck. We forget how to answer a question and often leave out vital information because our nerves momentarily erase our memory.At the end of the interview, we remember all our achievements and the vital role in our former position, but the time to say it has passed.Following the Star model and practising it before the interview provides a framework that organises and prioritises our history, forcing us to recall a past work situation where we played an essential role in solving a problem.You know exactly what to answer and the order you need to follow to express yourself clearly, without rambling or brooding while the recruiter waits for your answer.
The Star Method or Star Technique offers a guide for you to show off your skills brilliantly and understandably. You will be a star in your interview!How to use the Star Method to answer your interview orderly?Hacking the Star Method is easy; you have to structure your answers following the four criteria. First, organise your answers as if they were a story and you were the main character. This way, the recruiter will not lose the thread of your presentation.Four pillars of the Star Method to pass programming interviews. Situation, Set the stage for your story. At this stage, you are expected to put the Recruiter in context.
A good example would be:
“The company wanted to close a software sale with a customer, but before that, they needed to make a compelling presentation that would focus on the benefits and leave the technical details aside, as the customers were outsiders.
Tasks
In this step of the Star Method for programming interviews, you have to describe your role in the problem. Explain the task you were responsible for. It is the mission you had to solve. Specify the challenge you were assigned and the expectations they had of you.Following the example above: “As I was the most knowledgeable person about the Software, I was given the task to prepare a presentation and present it in front of customers without programming knowledge.
Actions:
What were the actions you took to solve this problem? Why did you choose one solution and not the other? What motivated you to use a specific action?Here you describe the activities you undertook to get closer to the solution. Continuing with the previous example: “I focused on the benefits of the Software and not on the technical part to put together a compelling and convincing presentation that the customer could easily understand. I sorted out the most essential advantages of the Software and tried to sound as non-technical as possible.
Results
The recruiter wants to know how efficient you were in the past, and one way to show them that the skills you put on your CV are fundamental is to tell them about your achievements.In this final stage, focus on how the story of your problem ended. That is, lead him or her to the positive outcome you achieved.if possible, talk about data and percentages to make the results more tangible. This will make your results look more natural and verifiable. If you don’t have data at hand, just explain the moment of glory: “The clients were delighted with our new Software and didn’t hesitate to close the deal. They understood how our Software brought value to their business. My boss and team complimented me on my extraordinary ability to communicate clearly.
How long should my answers last in a programming interview?
The Star Method is on a mission to keep your answers short, concise and clear. But nurtured with actions that validate your competencies. Therefore, your answers should not be longer than 2 minutes, nor should they be short. If you show little information, the recruiter will think that you are not trying hard enough to answer or that there is little information because you have not been a critical role. On the other hand, taking too long means missing opportunities to answer the following questions.
Conclusion
Attending a job interview can activate our nerves, make us hesitate and erase from our minds all those stories that we can use as a weapon to convince the recruiter that we can bring a lot of value to the company. The Star Method provides a framework to help you prepare your answers and order them to cover as much information as possible. By being well prepared, you will feel more confident, and you will be able to be yourself, which companies also value in addition to your skills and experience.