Interview Behaviour

[gricole]

Hey,

This may be a very dumb question but how long should my answers to interview questions generally be? I am preparing a bunch of competency-based answers using the STAR technique but I have no idea how long I should talk for...

 

[Jaysen]

Hey,

This may be a very dumb question but how long should my answers to interview questions generally be? I am preparing a bunch of competency-based answers using the STAR technique but I have no idea how long I should talk for...

However long it takes for you to outline the situation, go over the main aspects of what you did and discuss the result. When students talk for too long it's usually because they start talking about irrelevant things. If you keep it on topic you should be OK.

It's hard to give you a time frame because it's so dependent on the question and the answer.

 

[AJ]

From my experience there’s no set time period. It’s like how long is a piece of string. Using STAR is a good start, but you’ll need however long you need. I wouldn’t worry about the timing of your answer. Just come up with good examples for the competencies. No bad thing in being concise.
But few things to consider. Don’t waffle and dilute the content of your answer. No need to speak for the sake of being heard in a one to one interview. From my experience the interviewer will direct the interview and do most of the talking. Focus more on developing a rapport with the interviewer. And really getting across your experience of the the competencies they’re looking for.
Final point don’t be too rehearsed in your answers and delivery. I’ve heard that be counted against friends and personally had interviewers start of with the typical questions and then as the interview went on amend the way they asked the questions.