STAR or CAAR
Context >
Approach 1 – Your Playbook
Approach 2 – Depth
Result
- Build a Story Book – Create a library of stories. Use CAAR format. Bias towards recent stories, but don’t shy away from older stories if they convey your skill and capabilities.
- Mistakes Level You Don’t use trivial examples – Mistakes indicate experience – breaking a build is a minor issue
- Audit Stories for Clarity – Ask for feedback. Practice. Don’t confuse the interviewer.
- Specificity Matters – Be specific about what you did. Numbers build trust. “Reduced wait times by 4 hours!”
- Don’t use we statements – Use I not we