How to prepare for an interview using the STAR model

As a candidate preparing for an interview, it’s essential that you make time to prepare for potential questions asked by your recruitment consultant. It’s unlikely you would turn up to a major internal presentation or negotiation unprepared, so naturally, we advise you to do that same prep-work to boost your chances at an interview.

 At executive level, we're looking for evidence of impact across the full picture -  communication and interpersonal skills, decision-making under pressure, leadership through complexity, and the ability to influence outcomes. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate the full picture is through the STAR model. 

 What is the STAR model? 

STAR is a structured approach to answering behavioural interview questions. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result - and it works because it forces specificity. Rather than speaking in generalities about what you're good at, it asks you to show it through a real example.

Here's how each element works:

Situation - Describe the context. A specific workplace, project, role or circumstance that is directly relevant to the question being asked. Keep it brief - this is the backdrop, not the story.

Task - What was your individual responsibility within that situation? Be clear and specific about your accountability and the scope of what was being asked of you.

Action - This is where most of the weight sits. Describe exactly what you did - not what the team did, not what happened by default, but the specific decisions and steps you personally took. Focus on your contribution and the judgment you applied.

Result - Close with the outcome. Quantify it where you can - revenue impact, efficiency gains, team performance, stakeholder outcomes. If the situation involved a lesson learned, include that too. Self-awareness is as valuable as the win itself.

How to prepare 

Before your interview, review the position description and identify the key capabilities the role requires. For each one, prepare at least one strong STAR example from your recent experience that demonstrates that capability directly.

The most common mistake is staying too general. Saying "I led a transformation" is a starting point, not an answer. What was the situation? What was your specific mandate? What did you do, and what changed as a result? The detail is what makes an answer memorable - and what gives your interviewer confidence that the experience is real.

Example questions and answers

The following examples show how the STAR model works in practice. 

1. Question: What do you think are the most important leadership traits, and can you give an example of when you demonstrated them?

Situation: Integrity and resilience are the qualities I come back to most. Both were tested during a systems migration project I led at my previous organisation.

Task: I was responsible for moving our e-commerce platform to a new hosting environment, which involved changing suppliers and managing the transition internally and externally.

Action: I was transparent with the outgoing supplier about the reasons for the change, while also building the internal case for an investment that had a higher upfront cost but clear long-term benefit. I presented the cost-benefit analysis to the leadership team and managed the relationship with both agencies through the transition.

Result: The migration was completed on time and the business saw a 12% uplift in average order value in the months that followed. The process reinforced for me the importance of staying agile and being willing to advocate for decisions that aren't immediately popular when the commercial case is sound.

2. Question: Tell me about a time you had to challenge a stakeholder on something you believed strongly in.

Situation: During the lead-up to a product launch, the campaign photography had been produced in-house under creative direction from another team. We were working within a tight budget.

Task: When I reviewed the assets, I was confident the quality wasn't strong enough for the campaign. I was accountable for consumer engagement and brand performance, so the creative had to be right.

Action: I made the call to reshoot with an external supplier and directed the shoot myself. The revised creative was different to what had already been approved internally, which created friction with a colleague who had been closely involved in the original direction. I made the case based on external brand expectations and the risk of launching with creative that didn't meet the standard.

Result: I received sign-off to run the new creative. The campaign launched on time and performed above benchmark. It also led to a clearer brief and approval process between our teams for future launches.

3. Question: Can you give an example of a time you influenced a significant commercial outcome?

Situation: In my previous role, a large part of my remit involved identifying and converting commercial partnership opportunities.

Task: I identified an opportunity to bring a major online brand on as a paid partner through a co-branded content integration on our platform. After an initial meeting to pitch the concept to their CEO, I needed to design, cost and present the full partnership proposal to their marketing team and secure their commitment.

Action: I handled the end-to-end process — developing the editorial concept, building the commercial model, presenting to their team and managing all approvals once the partnership was live. The deal required sustained relationship management across multiple stakeholders over several months.

Result: The partnership was the highest-value commercial deal secured by the business at that point. It remained live for two years and opened the door to a broader relationship with the same organisation.