S.T.A.R

Lately I have been searching for job opportunities in preparation for my departure from my current termed position. It seems without certifications in computer world, it is very hard to identify any employers who will consider you for a position because there are many qualified people with the necessary certificates. Also, I feel it increasingly difficult to find jobs with just a bachelors degree. To date, most jobs that have interested me have required at least a Master's.

I have hope, and have only begun to tap into all of my contacts, web searches, and newspaper ads to find another wonderful position.

My good friend Koji, who has sucessfully been applying for positions, really gave me some good insight for interviews and resume building.

One of his suggestions is a method for interviewing that I thought I would share on this blog for anyone seeking additional help in enhancing their performance during interviews.

The method is called S.T.A.R:

S -- Situation
T -- Task
A -- Action
R -- Results

When going into an interview you should have certain scenarios in mind that the potential employers may ask.

Case: Leadership

Situation: At UNC Pembroke, I became the Campus Activities Board Chairman, the organization responsible for the majority of campus programming, including movies, comdians, open mic, etc.
--In the situation portion, be sure to be brief, but efficiently describe a little background on your position and what it means.

Task: As Campus Activities Board Chairman, I was tasked with managing a group of 40 volunteers to schedule, plan, and implement entertaining programs using student fees (I would go into a little more detail...but you get the idea)

Action: This is one of the key elements of STAR...where you explain in detail how you where a leader, in what capacity, and how you operated.

Results: This is where you brag about what you accomplished.

This little insight that Koji has given me is helping me alot now with what I need to do in order to prepare for my coming interviews.

I look forward to using this method :D