Many people who visit Pharmboard have questions about interviewing and the questions that will be asked by interviewers. The majority of companies utilize the Targeted Selection process to identify top candidates for pharmaceutical positions. Most of the questions are phrased like the following:

“Describe for me a situation in which…”
“Tell me about a time when you…”

The format for answering these questions is commonly called the STAR format. Kirby73, a frequent poster on PharmBoard, has done a wonderful job of elaborating on the steps involved in constructing effective answers to these types of questions. Here’s how Kirby recommends you handle Targeted Selection Questions:

When you go into the interview with them have all of your specific examples and present them in the STAR format:

S - Describe the situation in which you were involved. Here, you have an opportunity to show your grasp on the English language by being concise. Be as descriptive as possible in as few words as possible. The more concise your description the easier it will be for the recruiter to follow and understand the situation. If you ramble, even if your answer is great, the interviewer’s attention will fade.

T - Describe the task to be performed. This is an opportunity to display your ability to assess situations and read people. Sometimes the task required can be self-explanatory. If so, over-complicating the task can make you appear self-aggrandizing. Don’t always give the obvious answer, however. Giving novel answers to permanent problem shows initiative and evidence of original thought.

A - What was your approach to the problem? Here you have the opportunity to show yourself as a doer, a person of action. Be concise. Your actions should simple. This is also an opportunity to show decisiveness.

R - What were the results of your actions? This is the part of the answer where you get to sell yourself by selling the results of your work. There is a time and place for everything and this is your time to shine. This is the part of the answer where recruiters want to see how confident you are in the work you have done. They want you to shine to justify their decision in interviewing you. If you cannot sell yourself, even if you have stellar credentials, recruiters will be disappointed they invested their time in interviewing you.

Believe me when I tell you that there will be a test on this one!!!

Originally posted by Kirby73 in the PharmBoard.com Message Boards.

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