How to Use the STAR Method for Answering Instructional Design Interview Questions
Answering questions during an instructional design interview can often feel like a bit of an art form. For some folks, confidently answering questions just happens naturally. And for others, it can feel like nothing is coming out of your mouth the way you want it to, and you’re stumbling over your words.
As I’ve shared before, I used to be one of those people who would try to script every single word that I wanted to say for any question I might be asked. But, of course, we all know why that doesn’t work. For starters, you really have no idea what questions you’re going to get asked during an interview. And even when you do try to predict and plan for all the questions, the hiring manager inevitably asks every single question other than the ones for which you prepared. And, of course, when you try to script out everything you’re going to say, you end up sounding like a robot, and that’s no fun!
However, one way to make the process of preparing and answering interview questions a little easier while making sure you’re able to connect your skills and experience to relevant examples is by using the STAR method.
So, in this article, I’ll provide an overview of how you can use the STAR method for answering instructional design interview questions as well as a real-world example.
What is the STAR Method?
So, first, what is the STAR method? Well, the STAR method is simply a technique for responding to interview questions in a straightforward, structured, and concise way. And what’s great about the STAR method is that it gives you a repeatable framework for demonstrating your judgment by sharing relevant examples from your past experiences. Now, that seems pretty simple. But, let’s take a closer look at the STAR method to understand how it works.
The STAR method is an acronym which consists of the four elements you want to include when responding to an interview question:
The Situation: Set the scene and provide context for your example.
The Task: Describe your responsibility and involvement in the situation.
The Action: Explain the specific steps you took to address the problems presented in the situation.
The Result: Share the outcomes of your actions and what you learned.
And the goal of using the STAR method is to structure your response to a question by telling a story that sets the scene and provides context for your example, describes your responsibility and involvement in the situation, explains the specific steps you took to address the problems presented in the situation, and presents the outcomes of your actions and what you learned from the experience.
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When to Use the STAR Method?
Now, before we get into an example to demonstrate how you might respond to a question with the STAR method, let’s talk about when you should use it in the first place. The truth is, you can technically use it for all sorts of questions. But generally, the STAR method is most ideal for questions where the interviewer is explicitly asking you to provide an example or tell a story. And these types of questions are often called “behavioral questions,” and they’re super easy to spot during an interview.
Usually, behavioral questions have telltale openings like:
“Tell me about a time when…”
“Describe a situation where…”
“Give me an example of…”
Example of the STAR Method
So, now that we understand what the STAR method is and when to use it, let’s now take a look at a real-world example so that you can see how you might respond with the STAR method to some common instructional design interview questions.
So, let’s say you get asked this question: “Tell me about a time when you had to optimize a training experience for adult learners. How did it affect your design decisions?”
In this example, you might respond with something like:
“Well, that’s a great question! A few years back when I was working as an instructional designer at Webistia, I was assigned a project to redesign our midyear and end-of-year performance review training for all people leaders. The major problem with the existing training was that it was 30 minutes of voice-over PowerPoint, which didn’t actually do a whole lot to improve how our leaders delivered performance reviews and didn’t align with adult learning theories.
So, after conducting a needs analysis where I interviewed and surveyed several leaders throughout the organization, I discovered that the main issue was that we didn’t have any on-demand and easy-to-access resources to help leaders through the performance review process. They also felt ill-equipped to handle difficult conversations with employees who were low performers.
To address this, I created a blended training solution including a one-stop shop on our internal intranet with a series of performance support resources on the review process with examples of how to properly write a performance review. We also created a short, interactive eLearning course which provided a series of branching scenarios simulating how to deliver constructive feedback to lower-performing employees.
We felt this strategy better aligned with the principles of andragogy, specifically with making the training problem-oriented and providing our leaders with a sense of autonomy over their learning experience (both of which align with Knowles’ Principles of Adult Learning and Merrill’s Principles of Instruction).
As a result of all of that, after we implemented the training, we conducted a follow-up survey with leaders which resulted in a 30% increase in respondents stating that they felt supported and prepared to conduct a performance review. We also saw an 18% increase in our employee engagement survey results, where employees indicated that their performance reviews provided clear direction on what they were doing well and where they needed to improve. So, overall, the training was a success.”
So, in this example, it’s easy to see how that response provides a clear overview of the situation and problem that was presented, the task that was assigned for solving the situation, the actions taken to resolve the problem, and the results of all those efforts. And all of this was done by telling a story with a positive outcome.
Tips for Using the STAR Method
Now, before we wrap up this article, you might find yourself overwhelmed, wondering how in the world you are going to come up with enough examples for the plethora of behavioral questions you might get asked. Well, I’m going to give you a couple of little secrets.
First off, in most interviews, after you get through the introductions and the pleasantries, most hiring managers are only going to have time for maybe three or four behavioral questions (at most). And once you add in whatever questions you might ask—and yes, you should be asking a ton of questions both during and at the end of the interview—the 45 minutes or hour you had scheduled is going to fly by.
And secondly, you only really need a total of four stories to quickly adapt to answer just about any behavioral question:
A story and example of a successful project
A story and example of an unsuccessful project
A story and example of working with a difficult or disagreeable coworker or stakeholder
A story and example of some sort of passion project that you’re super proud of
Among those four stories, you can answer just about any behavioral question that might get thrown at you.
Put Your Instructional Design Interviewing Skills into Practice!
Knowing how to use the STAR method for answering questions during an interview is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly feel prepared and do your best during the interview, you need to practice answering questions! A great way to do that is to use AI to conduct a mock instructional design interview! Check out this video, where @Tim Slade shows you how!
What’s Next?
There’s a lot more to explore when it comes to preparing for an instructional design interview. Keep learning by checking out these additional resources!
The Bottom Line
So, that’s how you can use the STAR method for responding to questions during an instructional design or eLearning development interview.
What other tips do you have when it comes to using the STAR method or responding to questions during an instructional design interview? Share your thoughts, tips, and questions by commenting down below!