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Answering targeted questions

Targeted questions in the context of a job application, are specific questions designed to assess your skills, experience, and suitability for the role. They often focus on key capabilities and require structured responses, typically using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

If the advert requests responses to targeted questions, these are built around the focus capabilities for the role which are listed in the role description. You will need to describe how you used your knowledge, skills and abilities in a certain situation.

To answer this type of question you should:

  • Review the role description to help you understand the capability and other important things about the job. The following are especially helpful:
    • Capability description explains what the capability covers.
    • Behavioural indicators describe the behaviours or actions at different levels for each capability.
    • Key accountabilities give a high-level summary of the outcomes the role is expected to deliver.
  • Use the behavioural indicators to help you think of a relevant example of what you did in other jobs or contexts.
  • Be specific – tell us what you did.
  • Use full sentences, check your spelling and grammar, and stay within the word limit.

What is the STAR method?

Situation - describe the situation you were working within, including key details that will provide important context

Task - define the tasks that you were required to undertake to address the situation.

Action - describe the specific actions you took to address the situation and task.

Result - describe the outcome of your actions and what results you specifically achieved.

Last updated:

09 Apr 2025