Alternatives to the STAR method for answering behavioral interview questions

STAR SOAR SWOT What?

Which one of these three acronyms is not like the other? SWOT. SWOT is a method of analysis used by businesses. STAR and SOAR are both different ways to organize the answers to behavioral interview questions.

If you start trying to learn how to answer behavioral interview questions, you’ll notice quickly that there are quite a few different acronyms floating around relating to the format for the answers. It’s confusing to know which one is the right format to use because they’re all templates to answer behavioral questions. Which one is the best?

I want to explain the idea behind these structures/acronyms so you can make your own decision.

On the most basic level all the formats are trying to make it easier for you to answer behavioral questions. And hey, that’s great, because it does make it easier to remember what to include in your story if you have an acronym.

But why does one person say to use STAR and one person say to use SOAR, etc.? If I don’t listen to the right person, will I fail my interview?

I understand the anxiety you’re feeling, because the people writing about this topic don’t make it easy. When someone says to use STAR, for instance, they usually say “this is the structure you need to use to answer these questions.” They don’t say “this is one of many possible structures you can use if you want to.” It’s always presented as if this were the best and only option. But the truth is, you have quite a few choices.

But if I use the wrong one, will my answer be wrong? No, and this is why: these structures are essentially the same.

SOAR versus STAR versus PAR

S – Situation

O – Obstacle

A – Action

R – Result

S – Situation

T – Task

A – Action

R – Result

STARL

S – Situation

T – Task

A – Action

R – Result

L – Learnings

STARI

S – Situation

T – Task

A – Action

R – Result

I – Impact

P – Problem

A – Action

R – Result

As you can see, they have similar but not always identical sections (represented by the letters). Let’s do a comparison so you can see the actual differences.

Situation / Problem

For the first section, you’ve got S or P, Situation or Problem. What does that mean? The problem, or issue, or situation. It doesn’t matter what you call it, it means the same thing. It’s what you are going to talk about in your story.

Task / Obstacle

For the second section, you’ve got Task or Obstacle (or nothing). Which is better? Well, think about the first section. Let’s do an example. What is the problem you’re talking about? Let’s say the problem is that I’m the IT Manager for my department and one of the computers is broken and it needs to be fixed today but I don’t have anyone free to fix it. So what is my task? Fix the computer or get someone to fix it. In my opinion, this has already been stated in the problem so we don’t need a Task section. What is my obstacle? Broken computer? No time? No resources? Again, should have already been stated in the Problem.

If you’re stating your problem or situation correctly, you’ll be including the information about task.

Here’s another example in case you don’t see what I mean. Your problem is that you have a report due for your client in 5 days. Well, the task is that you need to finish the report in 5 days. Even if you don’t say this out loud, the task is implied in the problem statement. A good problem statement will be very explicit about the issues. Your problem will be something like “When I was working at X as a Business Analyst, the Finance team had asked me to write a report on X. It was due on Monday. I was having problems getting the information from my key stakeholders.” In this case you state your problem and you are not stating the task out loud but it is there - you need to get the report done by Monday.

I prefer not to use the Task section but if you do use it, make sure you are not repeating the same info you just gave in the Situation section.

Obstacle is whatever might keep you from fixing the problem or completing the task. Again, in my opinion, if there is an obstacle it should be part of the problem statement. In the first example I gave, if your obstacle is that everyone in your department is out sick that day, you should say that in the problem. In the second example, if your obstacle is that the client won’t respond to you to give you the information you need to include in your report, that should be part of the problem statement.

If you keep forgetting to state the Task or Obstacle in your answers, you can use the acronym that will remind you, but for me the T and O are part of the Problem so I always mention them.

Action

The Action step is included in all the structures. This is how you solve the problem.

Result / Impact

You obviously need an ending to every story, which is why we have the Results section. Do we also need an Impact section? Well, to me they are the same. If you see a difference between result and impact you can use both sections, but I don’t see a difference. If you have a good Results section that is enough.

Lessons Learned / Learnings

In some questions, like the mistakes/failures, the Learning section should always be included. In other questions it’s up to you whether you want to talk about what you learned. Sometimes it’s a natural part of a story and sometimes not. I find it excessive to always include this section in every answer.

When I hear someone talk about their learnings I immediately feel like they are a low level employee admitting they made a mistake. If it’s a mistake/failure question it belongs in the answer, but otherwise I think you risk seeming like someone in a weaker position admitting to someone in a higher position what you did wrong.

Jennifer Scupi is the founder of Interview Genie, where the Amazon recruiters refer their candidates. She’s an interview coach who’s worked with thousands of clients preparing for job interviews. They appreciated her honest feedback and say it’s obvious she used to be a teacher because she’s good at explaining the best way to approach answers. Her clients have landed roles at FAANG companies like Amazon, Fortune 500 companies, startups, and more.

For advice about Amazon interviews, visit the Amazon resources page or read her book about Amazon behavioral interviews.

If you need to prepare for your interview, let’s get started. See the Interview Genie services or schedule a consultation.