STAR Method, Interviews and the Art of Selling Yourself (When You’re Not Great at It)

I never thought that talking about myself would be this hard. Not in a deep, soul-searching way that I actually enjoy. But in that very specific, stiff, fluorescent-lit interview way. The one where someone asks:

“Tell me about a time you made an impact.”

Cue the dry mouth. Racing heart. Blurry memory.

I’ve worked in marketing for years. I know how to write, design, analyse, strategise and optimise. I helped grow direct sales by 20 percent through SEO and content marketing at Canbe Hospitality. I’ve handled campaigns from scratch. I’ve improved search visibility. I’ve worked across B2B and B2C. I love what I do. But still… interviews are a different story.

Somewhere along the line, I came across this magical formula used in Ireland and Europe: S-T-A-R method.

Situation. Task. Action. Result. Clean. Clear. Supposedly foolproof.

And yes, it does make sense. It helps me structure what I want to say so I don’t just mumble through my thoughts or start a sentence I can’t finish.

But even when I prepare my star answers, like the one where I increased direct sales through better SEO targeting and smarter content, it can still fall flat.

Not because the work wasn’t good. But because talking about it in a room full of strangers who barely look up from their notes can feel… weird. Forced. Performative. Especially if you’re more used to doing the work quietly, behind the scenes, than presenting it like a TED talk.

We spend so much time trying to prove we’re valuable in a very narrow window. A 30-minute call. A one-size-fits-all competency question.

“Tell me about a challenge.”
“Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague.”
“Tell me your greatest weakness.”

What I want to say is: I’m a creative, sometimes introvert, who’s constantly battling imposter syndrome but still shows up every single day and gets results. But that’s not a STAR answer.

So instead, I go:

• Situation: At Canbe Hospitality, most bookings came through OTAs.
• Task: I was asked to grow direct sales through SEO.
• Action: I ran an audit, restructured the blog, rewrote landing pages, updated image metadata and improved our internal linking strategy.
• Result: We saw a 20 percent growth in direct bookings in less than a year.

Which is true. But it still feels like I’m playing a game I didn’t write the rules for.

Sometimes I wonder: how many great people are being passed over because they didn’t follow the star script perfectly?

I think of a chef I know who started their own pop-up kitchen after losing their job. They learned budgeting, marketing, logistics, social media (everything) just to make it work. That’s a STAR story in itself, even if they never called it that.

Or a friend who works in tech support. She created her own internal guide to speed up ticket resolution. It saved the company hours every week. But in interviews? She shrinks. She says, “Oh, it was nothing. It wasn’t.

I’m not going to pretend I’ve figured it all out. I still get nervous. I still struggle to sell myself. Sometimes I rehearse my star answers so much they sound like someone else talking. Other times, I try to wing it and forget half the story.

But I keep going…
Because I know the work I’ve done matters. Because I believe there’s a place out there where someone will see past the awkwardness and hear the real story underneath. Because, despite everything, I still believe in the magic of honest work and quiet impact.

• Writing my STAR stories like journal entries first. Not just bullet points. Real thoughts, messy and honest. Then shaping them into cleaner answers.
• Telling the truth about being kind of shy. Sometimes I just say it. “I’m a bit of a shy person, but I’m really proud of the results I’ve achieved.” It helps me out.
• Remembering that the outcome doesn’t define my worth. Even if I don’t get the job, it doesn’t erase what I’ve done.

If you’re reading this and you’ve ever felt the same, like you’re amazing at your job but not at the own performance part… I see you.

You’re not alone. You’re not broken. And you’re definitely not the only one trying to make sense of this whole system.

Maybe the STAR method works. Maybe it doesn’t always. But at least we’re trying to tell our stories. And that, in itself, is pretty powerful.

If you want to see my real work, not just the polished interview version, check out my portfolio or connect with me on LinkedIn. Because sometimes, the best way to understand someone is through what they create, not just what they say in 30 minutes.