You’ve got your insurance adjuster license and just landed your first interview. Congratulations! While you never want to sound like you’re too rehearsed or reading from a script, you need to be prepared for a chat with an IA firm or insurance carrier. But how? No matter what shape your opportunity takes, one thing’s for sure: how you tell your story can set you apart.
Even if you’re brand new to adjusting, you’ve got experience that matters. You just need the right way to frame it. That’s where the STAR method comes in.
What’s STAR and Why Should You Care?
STAR stands for:
This method helps you deliver interview answers that are clear, confident, and actually memorable—especially when the person asks those “Tell me about a time when…” questions.
Even big insurance carriers coach their candidates to use STAR because it shows how you think and solve problems. And in claims adjusting, that’s everything.
How to Use STAR to Highlight the Skills That Matter
You don’t need insurance war stories (yet). Your retail job, military background, tech support role, or team leadership gig? All fair game. The key is showing how those experiences prove you’re ready to succeed as an adjuster.
Here’s an example:
- Situation: “As a hotel front desk manager, I had to calm an angry guest whose room wasn’t ready.”
- Task: “Make it right, fast.”
- Action: “I listened, apologized, upgraded her room, and gave a voucher for dinner. I checked in personally to be sure she was happy.”
- Result: “She wrote a glowing review online. I learned how proactive empathy turns frustration into loyalty—something I’d apply with every policyholder.”
That’s a winning answer—and not one word about insurance.
When it comes to an actual interview, you need to have examples at the ready so you can talk about them with ease, clarity, and confidence.
How to Build STAR Stories That Get You Hired
So let’s talk about how to actually take your experience and craft it into STAR stories that will help you shine, even if this is your first interview for an adjusting role.
Step 1: Pick Your Moments
Think of a few times when you:
- Solved a tough problem
- Handled conflict or complaints
- Met a tight deadline
- Took initiative or led a team
- Adapted to a change or challenge
These could come from jobs, school, military, volunteer work, parenthood… you name it. It’s how you turn the experience into a valuable, work-applicable skill that matters.
Step 2: Map It Out
Use the STAR formula to shape each story:
- Situation: Set the scene in one sentence.
- Task: What was the goal?
- Action: What did you do?
- Result: What happened? Bonus points if you can quantify it with a measurable result.
Step 3: Keep It Real
Interviewers want to hear your voice, so don’t memorize answers word-for-word. But do practice out loud. Ask a friend to throw questions at you. And keep the tone conversational, like you’re swapping stories with someone you respect. You want to make your point while remaining authentic in the explanation.
Quick Tips to Nail It
- Be honest. Be you. Perfect feels fake.
- Own your part. Say what you did, not what the team did.
- Connect it back. Always tie your story to adjuster-relevant traits (communication, empathy, time management, attention to detail, etc.).
- Stay positive. Even a failure can become a story of growth.
- Bring the energy. Let your enthusiasm show. People hire people they believe in.
Ready to Start?
We’ve created a free tool to help you put STAR into action:
The AdjusterPro Interview Story Builder
This guide walks you through writing out your STAR stories, gives examples to get you going, and provides a worksheet to create your own. Download it, fill it out, make some copies, and keep it handy for interviews. You’ll be amazed how much more confident and clear you feel when you have your stories ready to go.
Every great adjuster was new once, too. You’ve got this.
