Prepare your PAR
When faced with a classic “Tell me about a time when…” question, Forbes recommends framing your answer in terms of PAR: Problem, Action and Result. When talking about the problem you faced, give the interviewer key points about the challenge without overloading them with details. Communicate certain obstacles you considered and quickly discuss the team/timeline for the project. When describing the action you took, highlight your leadership during the process, teams you worked with and the reasoning behind your moves. For results, only highlight the one or two more relevant metrics to track your success. There’s no need to go into minutia if the results are better highlighted through a broader stat. By framing situation questions in terms of PAR, you’ll be able to fully cover the interviewer’s question while highlighting any relevant experience and skills.
