August 1, 2024, by Jackie Thompson

Interview techniques: STAR and unexpected questions

By Alexandra Ukah, law student

As an aspiring lawyer I have been to many interviews and will be having many more in the future, but my interview for the Inner Temple Inns of Court Scholarship is likely to be the most important interview I would ever have.

It wasn’t nearly as bad

The idea of the interview was so daunting, and I found myself panicking so much about it, but in the end, it was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. This was because I was prepared. I had three practice interviews, one with the 93% Club, one with a judge I did work experience with, and one with the Careers and Employability Service. Doing these practice interviews was vital to my success in the actual interview, as I learned many techniques that aided me in the interview.

Using the STAR technique effectively

One technique that I learned that I believe every single university student already knows is the STAR technique: Situation, Task, Action and Result.

It was not so much that I learned this technique from scratch, but more so that I learned how to use it most effectively. Because everyone knows the STAR technique, it is easy for answers to start to look the same.

My interview was 6pm and they had already been interviewing since 9am. Most things I would have to say would have already been said, so I had to answer in a way that they may not have heard yet. To do this, I learned how to use the STAR technique in a way that sounded different from the rest, and that is to constantly link what I’m saying to the position I was interviewing for.

Really emphasise why the example you’re giving means that you’re right for this scholarship (or whatever you’re interviewing for). They have heard the technique being used a million times, so try to put your own spin on it and make it yours.

Unexpected questions

Another technique I learned was how to prepare for unexpected questions. Every aspiring lawyer knows that interviewers like to ask random questions that do not seem to have anything to do with what you’re interviewing for.

At my scholarship interview, I was asked how I would explain a bicycle to an alien! It was because of the techniques that I learned during my practice interviews that I was able to calmly and coherently answer this question.

The first step is to take a breath, take a moment, just one, and remember that this is not a make-or-break question. They add these questions into these interviews to learn how you see the world from your perspective and to test how you react to such strange questions. So always remember to take a breath because there is no right or wrong answer here, it is just about your perspective.

The next step is to smile. It is an absurd question, and the interviewers know that it is an absurd question. At my interview, I chuckled at the question, and the interviewers smiled with me. They are not there to catch you out or to be mean, they are just there to understand you, so let them understand the real you.

Finally, answer the question slowly, it is easy to rush through strange questions like this, but when you rush, you lose coherency, so always make sure to slow down and answer carefully.

Remember to breathe

Overall, the most daunting part of the entire process was the way my mind wondered. I had built it up to be much scarier in my head than it truly was. The main technique that will get anyone through any interview is remembering to breathe. Take a moment to stop and breathe and ground yourself in your surroundings. You’ll be okay!

If you have any type of interview coming up, use our interview practice resources and speak to an adviser. Watch our video on building interview confidence.

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