Helping Students Become Interview Stars

Abstract

The majority of employers of students from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University use behavioral-based interviewing (BBI) techniques. This process focuses on past behaviors (what did you do?) rather than opinions (what do you think?). When students interview for full-time employment and internships, they are expected to relate experiences showing how they've developed and demonstrated competencies important to the employer. The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a technique for describing actions related to specific competencies. Competency development and demonstration are also critical components of our departmental outcomes assessment plan. This paper discusses BBI, the relationship between BBI and STARs, how we are integrating STARs into our curriculum from freshman to senior years, how our students successfully use STARs, and how STARs contribute to our overall outcome assessment plan.