Star stories are an ideal way to describe experiences for interviews.
A star story consists of four parts.
The first part is the situation. In this part, you describe the context of the story, where it takes place, what was going on, who the major participants were.
The second part is the task. The task part of the story is your responsibility within the story. What role were you playing in the situation?
The third part is action. In this part of the story, you outline what you actually did in the situation. What you actually did can be more or less than your responsibility in the situation.
The last part of the story is the result. The result or the outcome describes how the situation changed because of your actions.
A star story does not need to be positive. In cases where you did not live up to your responsibilities, the star story will show the ramifications. In these cases, star stories become learning situations.
Star stories are excellent for interviews. The star story shows you understand your responsibilities in a situation and how your actions reflected those responsibilities. Furthermore, the result shows potential employers what they will gain from your actions in their organization.
Star stories can be used anywhere where you want to learn from your involvement in a situation.