Remember the R in STAR – How an often overlooked letter can help boost your leadership presence in interviews

Much has been said about how to ace job interviews using the ‘STAR’ method, so I won’t wear my readers by belabouring job capture savviness tips. 

However, I do want to raise the rank of that final letter – ‘R’ – in ‘STAR’. Which, as far as I can tell from some of the clients who come to me for coaching, often falls by the wayside in interviews. When in fact, that ‘R’ should be treated as a chance to seal your leadership shine!

Let me illustrate this with a response by an interviewee who, albeit following the ‘STAR’ method, omits the ‘R’ altogether.

(The question was ”Give an example of a time you successfully led a team.”)

  • Situation: “At my previous job, I was tasked with leading a cross-departmental team to launch a new project. The team consisted of members with very different backgrounds, priorities and work styles.”
  • Task: “My responsibility was to align team member efforts, manage budget and deadlines, and ensure a successful launch.”
  • Action: “I started by holding a kickoff meeting to establish clear goals and roles for each team member. I set up a shared project timeline and implemented weekly check-ins to address any roadblocks, encouraging collaboration, as well as recognizing individual contributions.”

If you end here, the response is decent, since it reliably states what you did. But it’s sorely incomplete, because it demonstrates neither the outcome your efforts yielded, nor the resonance, nor your greatest takeaways. 

As far as I’m concerned, this is shortchanging your opportunity to shine as a leader. 

So, here’s the response with the added ‘R’ at the end:

  • Result: “As a result, the project launched on schedule and exceeded initial sales projections by 20%. The team feedback was overwhelmingly positive, which showed me that transparent communication and the collaborative environment I fostered were key to success.”

Adding the Result serves to showcase your essential indicators of achievement and confidence, along with your ability to communicate insight and leadership, which is what the interviewers are looking for in a candidate. 

So, if you want to radiate just a little more in your next interview, don’t forget the ‘R’ in ‘STAR’!