3.3 STAR Story Structure Part 1

We have provided a process to help you identify a specific situation where you demonstrated professional skills. Some professional skills, such as responsibility and written communication, are common and are easily identifiable; while others, such as critical thinking and leadership, can be more difficult to break down and identify.

Depending on your level of experience you might be able to skip to the end and write the situation with enough specificity and detail. If you find that you are struggling to come up with a definitive “situation” try answering the three questions below. Examples have been provided below.

Examples of S & T

Writing The Situation & Task Elements Of Your STAR Story

S – Situation

Describe a coursework or workplace situation in which you demonstrated one of CamSTAR’s 10 professional skills. This should point to a specific time and place, e.g., ‘during my diploma program’ or ‘while on a work term’ or ‘in my creative writing course’.

Note: It’s best to describe a situation that was challenging to you in some way and that enabled you to learn or grow.

T – Task

Briefly explain the task that required you to demonstrate initiative. Be sure to focus on your actions – use “I” and not “we”, and if you are describing a group task, focus on your role.

Please note that the Table of Professional Skills and Behaviours in Section 7.1 has full STAR stories for each of the 10 professional skills.