Preparing for the Behavioral Interview

They are called SAR, TAR, STAR and other names but they all mean the same thing. The acronyms stand for a type of behavior interviewing. What is behavioral interviewing? It is a questioning technique used to learn how you will perform on the job based upon your past experience.

SAR stands for Situation, Actions, and Results. TAR means Task, Actions, Results and STAR is Specific Situation or Task, Actions and Results.

To prepare for behavioral interview questions it helps to:

1. Review the position description and highlight the required skills and competencies.

2. Create a four column chart with the following information. Column one should list the skills and competencies required of the open position (easiest part). In column two, write down a Task or Situation that you had either on the job or with an outside activity that specifically relates to these requirements. For example, if the job description states, “Work with outside venues to plan conferences and events”, write down the tasks that you completed that relate to this description. You could write, “Pharmaceutical Sales Meeting in Florida at the Miami Convention Center in 2009.” Write an example or two for each of the required skills or competencies listed.

Column three should be labeled Actions. In this area, write down everything you did to support the task mentioned in the previous column. Using the same example as before, your Actions list can contain information such as working with the Convention Center to secure conference rooms and equipment, making hotel and meal arrangements for 300 pharmaceutical sales representatives, ensuring the materials arrive at least four days prior to the event, arranging for transportation, etc. Your final column should contain measurable accomplishments or Results. As a result of all of your hard work, what happened? Again, using the same example, you would state that 95% of the event participants listed attention to detail as “Excellent” on the evaluation sheet.

This form can serve as a Cheat Sheet for preparing for your interview and you should review and revise it as necessary. What is important about this sheet is that it states the actions and results of your activities. It doesn’t (and should never) answer how you would do something. Rather it answers what you actually did.

The next time we meet, I will share some behavioral interviewing questions that may be asked on an interview. If you complete this worksheet, you will be better able to answer those inevitable questions with certainty and confidence.