The STAR method is the most reliable structure for answering behavioural interview questions and writing selection criteria. It works because it forces you to give a specific story rather than a general claim, and because the panel has a clear scaffold to follow your answer along.
The structure
- Situation: the context. Where, when, who. One or two sentences.
- Task: what you were responsible for in that situation. One sentence.
- Action: what you did, in detail. Three to five sentences. This is the longest part.
- Result: what happened, ideally with a number or a clearly stated outcome. One or two sentences.
A typical STAR answer is 200 to 300 words written, or 90 to 120 seconds spoken. Practise yours to that length.
Worked example: 'Tell me about a time you worked in a team'
Situation: In year 11 I was part of a four-person team running the school's annual charity bake-sale, raising money for the Cancer Council.
Task: I was responsible for the food logistics: ordering ingredients, organising baking volunteers and making sure we had enough product for the lunch break.
Action: I started two weeks out by mapping how many items we sold the year before, then split the menu into categories: cupcakes, brownies, savoury slices and lolly bags. I emailed the year 11 cohort asking for volunteer bakers, with a Google sheet listing the slots and the items needed. I followed up the volunteers 48 hours before the event because the year before, three bakers had pulled out the morning of and we ran low. I also arranged the ingredient drop-off the day before so volunteers were not buying anything on the day.
Result: We raised $1,840 in 90 minutes (up from $1,200 the year before). No volunteer pulled out at the last minute. The school principal cited the bake-sale at the year-end assembly as the best-run charity event of 2025.
That answer is 180 words. The Situation and Task are deliberately short. The Action is the substance. The Result has two numbers.
Worked example: 'Tell me about a time you handled a difficult customer'
Situation: I work casual shifts at a local cafe, and during one Saturday lunch service a customer became frustrated after waiting more than 25 minutes for a coffee that had been missed in the queue.
Task: I was the floor staff member who spotted the wait and noticed the customer becoming upset; the barista was head-down on a queue of orders.
Action: I went to the table, apologised for the wait and asked what they had ordered. Once I had the order I walked it to the barista myself, marked it as priority and asked her to push it ahead by one. While I waited, I went back and offered the customer a complimentary slice from the cake fridge. I brought the coffee out to the table myself once it was ready, around 4 minutes after I had first spoken to them.
Result: The customer's mood shifted noticeably. They stayed for another 30 minutes, ordered a second coffee and a second slice and tipped on the way out. The barista and I debriefed at end of shift; the missed order was due to a paper docket getting blown off the bench by the door. We changed the docket clip the same afternoon.
195 words. Result includes both the customer outcome and the process improvement that came out of it.
Worked example: trades apprenticeship interview
Situation: In November 2025 I spent three weeks labouring on a residential extension job in Erskineville for a small builder.
Task: My main job each day was site clean-up and tool fetching, but on day three I was given the job of cutting and fixing 14 timber noggins between studs in a new wall frame.
Action: I cut my first two noggins half an inch short because I had measured from the wrong edge of the timber. The carpenter noticed when he came to fit them. He showed me how to measure twice, once at the top and once at the bottom of the gap, and to mark with the same end of the tape every time. I went back, cut six new pieces, then continued the rest of the wall.
Result: I finished the wall before lunch, no further mistakes. The carpenter handed me a tape measure to keep at the end of the week. I have not repeated that mistake on any timber cuts since.
160 words. Honest about the mistake, clear about what changed.
Writing selection criteria
Public service applications often have 3 to 5 criteria, each scored separately. The same STAR structure applies; you just write it out and label the parts explicitly.
Example criterion: 'Strong written communication skills.'
Situation: As editor of the school newspaper in year 12 I was responsible for the weekly editorial and the layout for the print edition.
Task: I had to commission, edit and lay out 4 to 6 articles per week to a Tuesday-night deadline. Half the writers were year 9 and 10 students who needed substantial editing.
Action: I built a one-page style guide that I shared with every new writer. I gave each draft 2 rounds of feedback: first round on structure, second round on language. I tracked everything in a shared Google doc so the writers could see exactly what I had changed and why.
Result: Over the year, the number of stories needing more than 2 rounds of edits halved. Two of the year 10 writers won state-level student journalism awards. The school principal cited the newspaper specifically in his end-of-year speech.
250 words, including the criterion line.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the Situation. Starting with the Action leaves the panel guessing what you were responding to. 30 seconds of context is worth it.
- Skipping the Result. The Result is what makes the story matter. 'And then I did X' with no outcome is not a STAR answer.
- Inventing numbers. If you say 'we raised $1,840', you should be able to say where the number came from. Panels will ask.
- 'We' instead of 'I'. STAR is your contribution. Use 'we' for context and 'I' for actions. If every sentence is 'we', the panel cannot tell what you actually did.
- Picking too big an example. A school production with 200 students is hard to STAR in 2 minutes. A study group with 4 friends is easier and just as valuable.
- Memorising answers. Panels can tell. Rehearse the structure, not the words.
How to prepare
Write 6 to 8 STAR stories before any interview. Each story should be 200 to 300 words written, and you should be able to retell it in 90 to 120 seconds. Cover these themes:
- Working in a team
- Handling conflict or a difficult person
- Meeting a tight deadline
- Solving a problem with limited resources
- Demonstrating initiative
- Failing at something and what you learnt
- Leading or persuading others
- Adapting to change
Behavioural interview questions are mostly variations on these eight prompts. Eight prepared stories will cover almost any question you get.
Related
- Cover letter template which leans on STAR for paragraph three
- Resume for school leavers
- LinkedIn for teenagers
The information here is general only and is not employment or legal advice. For advice on your individual situation, talk to your school careers adviser, the university careers hub, or a Workforce Australia provider at workforceaustralia.gov.au.