Situation – Recently, I was part of a group project in my Organizational Communications class. We had an assignment to design an effective public relations campaign for a fictitious company.
Task – We chose to market a bank opening a new office in a small community. We had to come up with a marketing plan and media kit designed to introduce the company to its new community and to solicit new bank customers.
Action – As the project team leader, I set up an appointment with the Director of Marketing at XYZ Bank and got her insight on the project. After the meeting, I came up with a creative marketing plan, which was enthusiastically received by the other group members. I then assigned each group member a particular task, based on his or her area of expertise. For example, one member of our group was responsible for designing the bank’s logo and another member was responsible for writing a press release. I monitored the group’s progress to make sure we were meeting our deadlines and also put together a strong oral presentation to make to the class.
Result – The project was lots of fun and allowed me to develop the management skills necessary to lead a very diverse group of 6 people. The most rewarding part was that our group received the highest marks in the class and the professor currently uses our project materials as an example to his classes.
Sample STAR Technique Response
A possible response for the question, "Tell me about a time when you were on a team and a member wasn't pulling his or her weight?" might go as follows:
"I had been assigned to a team to build a canoe out of concrete. One of our team members wasn't showing up for our lab sessions or doing his assignments. I finally met with him in private, explained the frustration of the rest of the team, and asked if there was anything I could do to help. He told me he was preoccupied with another class that he wasn't passing, so I found someone to help him with the other course. He not only was able to spend more time on our project, but he was also grateful to me for helping him out. We finished our project on time and got a 'B' on it."
The interviewer might then probe: "How did you feel when you confronted this person?" "Exactly what was the nature of the project?" "What was his responsibility as a team member?" "What was your role?" "At what point did you take it upon yourself to confront him?" You can see it is important that you not make up or "shade" information, and why you should have a clear memory of the entire incident.