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If you’ve ever prepped for an interview, you’re probably familiar with the various types of questions you might be asked. Technical questions assess your software skills or subject-matter expertise. Situational questions test how you’d respond to hypothetical challenges in the role. Performance-based questions focus on what you’ve achieved in the past. And then there are behavioral questions— those that ask how you’ve handled real-life work scenarios.
That last category—behavioral questions—can be especially tricky for career switchers. And with most people expected to navigate several careers before retirement, it’s a challenge more and more professionals are likely to face.
You may already be familiar with the STAR method. It’s a framework many of us learned early in our careers to answer behavioral questions effectively. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The idea is to walk your interviewer through each step of a story that illustrates how you successfully handled a challenge, led a team, or solved a problem at work.
The method works well. It’s linear. It helps you stay on track. And it gives hiring managers valuable insight into how you approach your work.
But for career switchers? STAR might not go far enough.
According to Hannah Zhang, a career content creator and product marketer, the STAR framework doesn’t always help candidates highlight what’s most relevant when pivoting into a new field. Zhang herself has switched careers several times— starting in sales and trading at Morgan Stanley, transitioning to investment banking, later moving into product and strategy roles in tech, and earning her MBA at Wharton along the way. She now works in product marketing and strategy at Bonterra, a B2B software company.
“When I was interviewing for tech jobs as someone pivoting from finance,” Zhang says, “I found that the STAR framework did not give me enough air time to highlight the most crucial parts of any behavioral story— my impact and how this would translate to my new role.”
Why doesn’t STAR cut it for career switchers? First, STAR encourages candidates to spend a lot of time setting the scene— explaining the situation and task. That might be helpful for interviewers unfamiliar with your field, but it can eat up valuable time you could use to emphasize your results and transferable skills.
Second, STAR doesn’t explicitly ask you to reflect on what you learned and how you’ve grown. That’s where Zhang’s CARL framework comes in.
Here’s what CARL stands for:
C: Context
A: Action
R: Result
L: Learning
Zhang explains that CARL combines the Situation and Task elements of STAR into a single step—Context—so you spend less time setting the scene and more time highlighting what matters: what you did, what happened, and what you learned that applies to the role you’re targeting.
Say you’re an engineer who wants to pivot into product management. Fixing bugs may be an important result to highlight for an engineering role, but it’s less relevant if you’re trying to demonstrate your ability to think like a product manager. In that case, the new Learning component—a feature that sets CARL apart—becomes especially valuable in reframing your impact:
Context: After fixing five similar bugs in our product, I noticed a recurring pattern that indicated a deeper underlying issue in the design.
Action: I raised the pattern with the product manager, and together we determined that we needed to design a new feature to address the root cause. I collaborated with her to brainstorm and scope out the proposed feature.
Result: We aligned on a potential solution that could prevent similar bugs in the future, improve user experience, and reduce developer rework.
Learning: This experience showed me how much I excel at the strategic side of product development—identifying root problems, shaping solutions, and cross-functional team collaboration—the kind of work I aspire to do more of as a product manager.
That closing line is important. It doesn’t just wrap up the story— it positions your experience as a bridge to your future role.
Beyond frameworks, Zhang also encourages career switchers to reframe how they view pivots altogether. Instead of focusing solely on the end goal, she suggests reflecting on the why behind the pivot. Is it to gain new skills? Increase your earning potential? Explore a new passion?
“When you reflect on the why,” Zhang explains, “you may realize there are other ways to solve those core problems. For example, you could take on new projects in your current role that stretch your skill set. Or you could build something on the side outside your 9-5.”
The STAR method is still a powerful and effective tool. It’s great for staying structured, showcasing past accomplishments, and preparing for traditional or virtual interviews where behavioral questions take center stage. But if you’re navigating a career change, you may find that STAR alone doesn’t give you enough room to connect your experience to your future goals.
That’s where CARL can give your stories the clarity—and forward momentum—they need.