I feel ambivalent about the STAR method of constructing examples for job interviews and cover letters. It can be useful, but also feels artificial. I wonder if it skews jobs markets, by favouring people who have the luck to have come across it, or background to have been taught it. So I started thinking about how story tropes would look if they were written using the STAR method.
Situation — The Hazeldene repository gained an extra shelf, with no visible external agency.
Task — As the regional inspector, I was asked to investigate.
Action — I launched several magical, physical and mixed investigations in a secure, remote location (in line with best practice).
Result — Successfully identified the shelf as containing an indestructible portal, masquerading as a book. Shared my findings with the containment team to future proof the repository against incursions.
Situation — The regional investigator reported a book in Hazeldene containing a supernatural portal that could not be destroyed.
Task — I was asked to make sure the portal could not be accessed, without compromising the surrounding storage.
Action — I hid the book in a pocket realm, concealing the entrance in a disused basement with minimal footfall.
Result — The book is 70% less likely to be found and a maintenance plan has been put in place.
Situation — While filing in the basement archives, we found a door to a concealed library.
Task — I was asked to dust and tidy the library.
Action — While cleaning, I was drawn to a book with a scaled cover and felt compelled to read its title in a sonorous voice.
Result — Unleashed unfathomable horror.