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At a job interview, you’ve already heard the STAR method question! That’s when the recruiter asks you to talk about a situation where you faced a major challenge in your previous corporate job and how you overcame it. Not always easy?
However, it’s not a trap, but rather a powerful tool for highlighting your skills and experience in a concrete way.
Adrien Berberian, consultant at HTI, gives you his 5 tips for answering the STAR method question:
1 – First of all, memorize the acronym itself, as it will help you build your pitch.
STAR: Situation – Task – Action – Reflection.
2 – Be prepared! Before the interview, identify the skills required for the position and
select a situation that highlights these skills.
3 – Be able to describe the experience you had to deal with, explain the context and give precise details. In the “Action” section of your answer, emphasize your personal actions and how you applied your skills to solve the problem.
4 – Don’t forget to explain the results of your actions. Don’t hesitate to give figures or performance measurements to back up your words.
5 – Finally, be authentic! Don’t be afraid to admit that you could have made certain improvements with the skills you’ve acquired since then. Avoid generic answers and be honest about what you’ve learned from the experience.
Recruitment consultants use the STAR method to get to know you better as a person, beyond your CV. It allows them to assess your soft skills, such as your ability to work in a team, your patience, your creativity and much more.
In conclusion, the STAR method is an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and showcase your skills and achievements. Prepare yourself in advance, be authentic and use your examples to demonstrate your value to recruiters.
Any other questions about recruitment methods? Our team is here to help you succeed in your job interviews.
Our thanks to Aleksandra Spiro, consultant HTI – Healthcare & Technology International, for giving us her keys to approach the best profiles abroad and propose the right candidates to our clients.
“So no, I don’t necessarily leave my family and Paris to recruit and travel to meet candidates but I follow a few rules to successfully recruit abroad.
With my diverse background and international experience, and the HTI team, I have gained valuable insights.
Here are the keys that I keep in mind when hiring internationally.
📍 Regulatory matters: It’s important to be aware of the regulations and laws surrounding international hiring in the target country. This includes ensuring compliance with local labor laws, and providing all required benefits such as health insurance and its conditions.
📍 Candidate approach: Every country has its own unique cultural norms and expectations when it comes to the hiring process. It’s important to be mindful of these differences, whether it’s regarding punctuality, communication styles, or formality in the interview process.
📍Work structure: The job titles, responsibilities, and required qualifications can vary greatly between countries. It’s crucial to be aware of the local labor market and compensation policy which are usually aligned with the cost of living for each country.
📍 Cultural considerations: Understanding the cultural local codes is essential when it comes to recruiting employees. For example, some cultures place a higher value on work-life balance, while others may have a more flexible attitude towards work hours.
It is also necessary, as in any recruitment, to know the motivations and expectations of the candidate.
🌍 I ensure that all our international recruits integrate smoothly and successfully into their new work environment.
By keeping these key considerations in mind, we at HTI – Healthcare & Technology International are able to effectively identify and hire top talent from around the world while ensuring compliance and cultural sensitivity.”
It is going to be a busy summer! Here is a sample of our latest opportunities:
A CEO for a French start-up in early stage product development for an inovative AIMD
A COO for a leading institute for preclinical research (Paris)
A Head of Regulatory Affairs to lead and execute the global regulatory strategy for the registration and market approvals of new products and indications for an innovative Belgian company (implantable devices)
A Sales Director France & International for a well established neurosurgical company
A Market Access & Reimbursement Manager EMEA for a young North American company developing novel devices for use in cardiology
A QA Director to manage QA at several product development sites of a medical device company with several novel therapies
And various sales and sales support positions in France for the homecare and hospital markets
It is going to be a busy summer! Here is a sample of our latest opportunities: A CEO for a French start-up in early stage product development for an inovative AIMD A COO for a leading institute for preclinical research... Read MoreThere are a thousand and one ways to describe our profession, our missions. Thank you Claire Van Dongen, Partner & Senior Consultant, for doing so with such sincerity.
Her testimony is proof that, at HTI, we really put people at the heart of innovation.
At HTI we believe that unity is strength! Thus, each consultant works in pairs with a dedicated recruitment officer. Thanks to Agata Lindenthal-Horsch, Senior Consultant, who reminds us here how strategic this collaboration is to guarantee the success of a mission.
Confronted with this challenging sanitary and economic crisis which impacts us all, a number of Life Sciences Managers have shared their experiences with us. During this period, they observed the appearance of several “human factor observations / opportunities” which they will continue to retain and adopt in the future.
The following are some of their observations:
The creation of a strong sense of solidarity, a form of common identity, the opportunity to show a corporate responsible image and even calming certain existing social tensions. One is happy to be part of a company who takes care of their employees, who limits the risks of unemployment and who contributes fully to the fight against the Covid-19 propagation, even if it means, changing company activities: employees acknowledged the widespread goodwill that was put in place within the majority of companies.
Remote work was put in place where possible, even within companies who were not initially favorable. These companies have observed that this is working well, therefore, they will continue to consider remote work in the future. However, limited in general, to 2 days per week (at the discretion of management).
The 1st May celebrated in most countries around the world as “Labour Day”, signified for many this year, “Remote Work Day”. The rapport of confidence between “employer – employee”, is a growing tendency and the notion of flexibility has become key. The family haven of “Home Sweet Home”, has now become a personal and professional universe for a large majority of employees who have had to accustom to this: organizing their day around sharing home and work space.
The appearance of a certain amount of dysfunctions internally: an opportunity to reflect on new role definitions and the distribution of tasks, which in many cases, will continue after the crisis.
The responsibility of Managers. The possibility of reinforcing their role; more impactful faced with an obstacle, capable of measuring risks. The crisis revealed certain leadership characters (a crisis reveals true leaders and also those unsuspected contributors/future leaders).
Increasing digital skills for all employees, which will accelerate and deeply transform traditionally working modes. For example, a certain number of professional trips or one to one meetings, will become unnecessary and this will have an effect in strengthening the links between professionals/partners/clients, where mutual confidence will have to be utmost in order that projects advance at a distance and in a secure environment.
And finally, most likely there will be “critical thinking” on the way we work together and individually. Some will no doubt, question the sense of their work and might well question the relevance of the “normative values” in their work environment.
We must be ready for these exchanges: Are we ready? Are you ready?
Thank you for your reactions and comments. We all learn by advancing and sharing experience is here to stay!
Thank you to the Life Sciences Managers who shared their experiences.
Confronted with this challenging sanitary and economic crisis which impacts us all, a number of Life Sciences Managers have shared their experiences with us. During this period, they observed the appearance of several “human factor observations / opportunities” which they... Read More