STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Basically it’s a label for standard interview questions that relate to how you acted in a given situation.
 

For example, questions like “Tell me about a situation where you had to take the lead,” or, “Can you tell me about a time when you had to deal with a particularly unhappy customer.”
 

The recruiter is looking for you to identify an exact instance, not generalities, so to ace this question, you need the STAR technique. By learning beforehand, you will have the tools in hand for your next job interview, and be confident that you give the answer the interviewer is looking for. It’s something that can be rehearsed in advance, as almost every interview will feature questions like this.
 

So let’s break it down. Situation. Describe the situation you were in. Where, when how and why. For example,
 

“I was seconded to the project team to deal with a technology that was new to the business. There were difficulties in integrating it into our own infrastructure, my job was to address that.”

Task. Describe exactly the part you had to play in the Situation.

“I was tasked with finding a solution to the problem by developing an interface that could translate the two different languages. I had to find a way to make a talk to b in real time, without making a single mistake.”
 

Action. What you did and how you succeeded.
 

“I broke down the two languages of the technologies and looked for common ground. I worked with developers and the vendor engineers to design an interface that could take information from a and translate it real time so that b could understand and process it. I then pulled together a couple of in-house software developers and we designed an interface. We tested it in the lab and again during downtime. We then sent it to QA, then presented to the project management team.”

Result. How your actions saved the day. For example.

“The interface I designed, with the help from the team, was tested, validated, then rolled out to live. It worked perfectly and is still in place now. The result being I solved a problem, saved money and improved internal processes along the way. Once the systems were working, I was recognised for my efforts and promoted to the project team to work with them full time.”
 

In that example, you describe a situation and how you addressed the problem. By tailoring the story you tell to the question, and requirements of the role you’re applying for, you are demonstrating that you can do the job. These kinds of questions are always asked, so it pays to prepare in advance.