S.T.A.R. in Motion
How can developing S.T.A.R. models help student career success?
There are so many situations military personnel are exposed to where they have to take action and the result is normally very positive. The hard part is drawing it out of them since usually they just take it for granted as part of the job. Drawing these out help not only boost confidence but also helps with the military/civilian translation.
James,
You've hit on a key point. What you and I think is a common place military response and something the comes as part of the job, is in fact very unique when viewed from a corporate America vantage point. Each service has as one of their values something about selfless service and we are trained in that vein to place our unit and our mission first. What methods do you think we can tell our transitioning military so they can "brag" about their military experience but still remain "militarily humble"?
Garland Williams, Ph.D.
I think that people tend explain accomplishments in terms of feature statements and often omit the benefits their approaches or actions created. STAR seems an appropriate approach because it is anchored by the Result. Other similar approaches could be used as well to highlight accomplishments by stating results or benefits. Since getting a job is really about selling an employer on your value to the organization I would also recommend using proven marketing and sales techniques/theories such as Feature-Advantage-Benefit FAB statements, Neuro-Marketing approaches, and WHY-HOW-WHAT statements.
Michael,
What you said about demonstrating the results of an applicant's actions is key. However, coming out of the military we have two gravitational pulls that are working against each other. The first is that the service member has been taught in the military to act as part of a team and that the main goal is that the team succeeds together. At the other pole is the need in a job interview or resume to "toot your own horn" and demonstrate what the individual specifically did to help the team succeed. How can we persuade veterans to brag a little, but with humility, to show what they as an individual are capable of?
Garland Williams, Ph.D.
If you teach veterans sales skills, based on proven sales theories and approaches, it can help to overcome the issue you speak of. Sales skills can be applied to the team concept. For example, using the concept of "working as part of a team" can be turned into a Feature Advantage Benefit statement for the veteran in an interview scenario. "Because of my military background (Feature), you can count on me to understand teamwork (Advantage)while positively working towards achieving the goals of the company. The real benefit I offer is a ready made team player who is experienced generating results as part of a team (Benefit).
Michael,
That's a good approach. Often when we work with transitioning service members, it takes some effort to pull from the service member those things that they individually accomplished to achieve the team goal (advantage + benefit). In my case a TAP counselor took my last 10 years of OERs and highlighted those things that seem to line up with your Feature Advantage Benefit (although she didn't call it that). I could then take those highlights to flesh out my first resume. Do you think service members using the Feature Advantage Benefit approach will sound too confident or do you think their humility will still be able to shine through? I ask because often we are told that military applicants come off as too confident.
Garland Williams, Ph.D.
The employer can visualize this applicant working for them in situations where they had to make a decision and act on it. But it also shows not only initiative but decision making as well as result driven. Taking a step back looking at the situation, task, action, and result will also provide other avenues of outs plan a, b, or c. It also makes you feel good about the action plan implemented and allows you to grow individually as well as professionally. This a great strategy in order to prove your ability in decision making to an employer. One more thing define if a person is a leader or a follower.
MariaElena,
STAR provides the veteran a method in which to highlight his or her decision making process. Hiring officials want to know how a potential employee is going to approach various situations and by explaining past actions using the STAR method aptly shows the "mental calculus" employed to obtain the result. Veterans must overcome the military tendency to emphasize team and insert personal accomplishments. The interview is the time to brag with humility.
Situation, Task, Action and Result (S.T.A.R) Explains the circumstances that one was in or the mission that one needs to achieve. Explains the deed one took with focal point on one. This method tallies what occurred, how the occurrence concluded, one’s achievement as well as what knowledge was gained. This is how the S.T.A.R model helps to set the framework for career success.
Nice, succinct response. You have expressed the attributes of STAR very well.
