The STAR technique is a great way to answer competency and skills based questions on an application form.
It stands for:
Start by describing the context, then identify the task involved, outline the actions you took and finish by describing the final result.
Use the button below to continue.
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We are a passionate, innovative company designing websites and content for small to medium sized business in the area. We pride ourselves on developing excellent personal relationships with the organisations we work for to help them turn their ideas into a website they love. Their requirements underpin our design and development, giving them and their customers the best user experience possible when they visit the site.
We started our business in 2010, and since then it has grown to include a team of 10 experts covering all areas from web design to building databases. Our vision is to create exciting solutions that exceed our customers’ expectations.
We are looking to appoint a trainee web developer to work closely with our senior developer and support our creative web and graphics team.
You will be working closely with customers to design and maintain the content of their websites ensuring that it is up to date and functional, making use of the latest technologies where appropriate. You will help the team to deliver projects to tight deadlines and to a very high standard that our customers expect.
Work with the senior developer to liaise with customers to understand their requirements and agree a specification.
From the job description we would expect the applicant to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and attributes:
Have a look at our example question and answer below
In my second year I worked on a project to design a new website for a local voluntary organisation, Shef for Kids, who support young people with mental health issues. They needed to raise their profile and provide up to date information about their services.
The new website needed to be attractive and engaging for young people, providing them with information, news and support in an easy to understand format. Additionally, Shef for Kids had a small budget and limited IT support so I needed to design a website that they could continue to update easily.
As a first step, I evaluated a range of web authoring tools before implementing Wordpress, as it was free, and included an easy to use blogging tool. As I hadn’t used Wordpress before, I worked through training material available on YouTube, to understand the key features and then researched similar websites.
Information was taken from the Shef for Kids booklets, which I adapted and re-wrote into an easy to understand web format, ensuring that it was also mobile friendly.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with staff and young volunteers to understand their needs and how they would prefer to navigate through the site to reach key sections. We also tried out a number of designs and voted on our preferred option.
Once all the sections had been implemented, I set up training for key members of staff so that they could continue to update the content and make use of the blog to provide latest news and events.
The staff and volunteers were really pleased with the design of the website, plus it is so easy to manage. Since it went live three months ago, it has received over 20,000 hits. (288 words).
Situation - In my second year I worked on a project to design a new website for a local voluntary organisation, Shef for Kids, who support young people with mental health issues. They needed to raise their profile and provide up to date information about their services.
Task - The new website needed to be attractive and engaging for young people, providing them with information, news and support in an easy to understand format. Additionally, Shef for Kids had a small budget and limited IT support so I needed to design a website that they could continue to update easily.
Action - As a first step, I evaluated a range of web authoring tools before implementing Wordpress, (as the most suitable platform), as it was free and included an easy to use blogging tool. As I hadn’t used Wordpress before, I worked through training material available on YouTube, to understand the key features and then researched similar websites.
Information was taken from their booklets, which I adapted and re-wrote into an easy to understand web format, ensuring that it was also mobile friendly.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with staff and young volunteers to understand their needs and how they would prefer to navigate through the site to reach key sections. We also tried out a number of designs and voted on our preferred option.
Once all the sections had been implemented, I set up training for key members of staff so that they could continue to update the content and make use of the blog to provide the latest news and events.
Result - The staff and volunteers were really pleased with the design of the website, plus it is so easy to manage. Since it went live three months ago, it has received over 20,000 hits. (299 words).
The answer is a good length - close to the word limit and it answers the question, clearly explaining her role.
It uses the ‘STAR’ structure, by stating the: Situation (the context in which the example took place), the Task (the activity to be undertaken and the objective), the Actions taken to complete the task, and the Results (including clear details of the outcome, with measurable evidence of the applicant’s success, if possible)
There are no spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors.