Star Method Resume
The STAR method is a framework to help interviewees when answering interview questions. In this post we'll do a deep dive on the method and include examples.
When it comes to finding a job, the first step is making sure your resume is up to date - or even potentially creating a new one. According to a recent study, only 2% of sent resumes result in an interview. This highlights the need for a resume statement that can stick out above the rest.
But creating the perfect resume isn’t easy, and can be quite stressful. If you're looking for automated help, you might want to explore some of the best AI resume builders. You want to make sure your resume is concise, accurate, and interesting to a prospective employer. Getting the balance right can be tricky, but by using the STAR method to build your resume, it gets a lot easier!
What is the STAR method? At 4 day week, we’ll answer that question and take you through all the steps you need to create your perfect STAR method resume that will ultimately help you achieve your career goals. Having a formula to fill in takes some of the stress out of creating a resume and you’re safe in the knowledge that it will impress the right people. So, let’s get down to it!
What is a STAR method resume?
The STAR method is a four-part structure to help interviewees as well as interviewers when it comes to answering interview questions. It is helpful for interviewers as they can get a better idea of your skills and knowledge, and how these can be adapted to real-life work situations. They are also beneficial to the interviewee as they provide an easy-to-follow structure to help form answers to interview questions.
As well as being a beneficial framework for answering interview questions, you can also build your resume using the STAR method. This method makes it simpler to fill out the necessary fields in your resume as you have a formula to fall back on. Not only will you save time when creating your resume but you know that you’ll be displaying your skills in a way that is easy for the hiring team to understand.
Another way to think of the STAR method is an accomplishment-based approach—you are showcasing real scenarios that you have faced and how you managed them. These can serve as practical examples for prospective employers to gauge how well you would fit into their company. This is a great time to highlight both achievements and challenges that you have overcome in your roles.
What does STAR stand for?
The STAR method resume acronym stands for:
- Situation – what was the challenge you faced or the situation that you were in?
- Task – what were your responsibilities in this particular task or situation? What were the end goals that you were trying to reach?
- Action – what actions did you carry out to achieve these goals? How did you contribute to the team’s efforts in securing this goal? How did you work with others to achieve what was necessary for the task?
- Result – what was the end result? And, if relevant, how did you communicate any mishaps or incomplete tasks to the client/team?
Would you like a 4 day work week?
How to answer STAR method resume situations
The length of your answers to each part of the STAR framework is completely up to you but make sure it’s as concise as possible. When it comes to your interview, you can give as much flourish and embellishment as you like as you’ll have more time on your hands. However, when you’re creating a resume, you want it to be as to the point as possible whilst still being enjoyable to read.
The main goal is to show your prospective employer that you are able to apply and use your skills to achieve your goals at work. You also want to show that you would be able to do the same in the new role you’re applying for. Make sure that your answers are factual as it’s important to be transparent about your experience. It will be obvious when it comes to the interview stage if you’ve completely fabricated situations and this could hinder your chances of securing the role.
Remember, you want to show that you can bring value to the role you’re applying for and to the company as a whole. These STAR questions are your chance to showcase your communication skills so ensure you’re writing as clearly and concisely as possible. This is also your chance to showcase your talents and skills so make sure you show off as much as possible!
After all, if you’re applying for a data-driven business like one of the FAANG companies, learning how to tell the story behind the cold hard facts and numbers becomes a vital skill to secure the role!
STAR method resume examples
If you’re still a bit stuck on what kinds of STAR method resume examples to use then take a look at these examples for guidance. There are more general ones that you can apply to most roles but try and have a brainstorm about some situations that are specific to you.
The more personal your resume, the better a potential employer can see if you’re going to be a good fit for the role. Let’s take a look at some STAR method resume examples to get you inspired.
Example 1 - Resume
Here’s a concise example for a resume statement:
When I was managing over 70 customer profiles during my role as a Customer Retention Specialist (Situation), I was able to retain over 85% of my customers (Result) through excellent customer service and personalization strategies (Task and Action)
Example 2 - Content Manager role
Situation: When I joined as a content manager, there was no structure in place for submitting, editing, and proofreading work.
Task: I was given the opportunity to create a process that worked for me and my team that was easy to follow and reduced the number of mistakes.
Action: I created a monthly content plan as well as a new process for submitting work.
Result: After working out the initial teething problems, we now have a conducive system in place that works for everyone. This has reduced the number of errors made and rather than missing 10% of deadlines, we now miss less than 2%.
Using facts and figures might not always be possible for every situation but they’re really useful to include as this is evidential proof of your action’s success.
Example 3 - Product Manager role
Situation: I was the product manager for a small tech company when we were offered the chance to pitch our best-selling product to one of the biggest companies in our sector.
Task: The CEO asked me to put together a presentation that we could use in the pitch to the potential client that would help us win.
Action: Due to my extensive knowledge of the product and the technology, I created a comprehensive list of the benefits the product could bring to the client and pre-prepared some prescribed answers to all the possible queries I could think the client might ask.
Then I chose the two colleagues with the most relevant skills and experience to assist me on the project. One colleague turned my product notes into a sales pitch, while I chose the other to use their presentational skills to deliver the pitch.
I made sure we were all in the room when the pitch was taking place so we had all the necessary people there to answer any queries the client might have at the end.
Result: Thanks to the combined efforts of my team and the organization of the project from my side, the presentation was a huge success. We managed to secure the necessary order from the client who was impressed with the overall efforts from everyone on the team.
This is a great STAR method resume example for displaying your ability to work well as a team. It’s just as important to showcase your talents working in a team as well as an individual.
No matter what the role is, working with others is a massive part of your working life. Make sure you diversify your answers to display your ability to work in different situations to really showcase your skills.
When it comes to the length of your answers, this example might be a bit too wordy. You can condense your answers down in the body of your resume but then expand on them in greater detail if you’re asked about them in the interview stage.
STAR method resume top tips
Now you know how to create your perfect STAR method resume, it’s time for some last top tips to keep in the back of your mind.
- Use the active voice rather than passive – hiring teams have to go through a huge number of resumes so you want to make sure yours is as interesting to read as possible. For example, ‘successfully implemented a new operations system’ reads a lot easier than ‘new operations system created and implemented successfully’.
- If you have the time (and patience) try and adapt your resume for each role you apply for. Take a look at the job description and what the employers wants and needs are and make sure you’re highlighting the relevant skills you have for the role.
- Use active and dynamic verbs to describe what you’ve achieved. Most resumes are full of passive words and phrases such as ‘responsible for’ and ‘handled’ but replacing these with verbs such as ‘amplified’, ‘boosted’ and ‘coordinated’ will make your resume more vibrant.
- Before you start writing your resume, make a list of all your achievements from your work and schooling experience. Even if you’re applying for your first job out of education, chances are you have plenty of life experience that can be adapted to the big world of work. If it can fit in the STAR method, it belongs on the resume!
Now you’ve got all the STAR method tools under your belt, it’s time to get writing! Remember, you can use building your resume as a way to prepare for interview questions as well. The STAR method is your golden ticket to a conducive resume and a successful interview experience.
For more helpful guidance on resume building, check out our guides on preparing resumes for remote work and contract work!