In this instructional video, Natalie Fisher explains how to answer the behavioral interview question “Tell me about a time when you earned another person's trust.” She first outlines why hiring managers ask this question—because trust‑building is often essential to the role. Fisher then introduces the SARI framework (Situation, Action, Result, Interesting features), noting its equivalence to the familiar STAR/SAR formats. She walks viewers through each component using a concrete example: starting a new job and needing to earn the trust of a newly hired marketing director. The example details how she clarified expectations, adapted to the boss’s communication style, and consistently delivered results, leading to a strong, supportive relationship. Fisher highlights the “interesting features” by reflecting on the learning about individual communication triggers. The video concludes with a broader interview strategy message, urging viewers to go beyond answering questions and to adopt a holistic preparation approach. She promotes a free “Ultimate Guide to Situational Interviewing” that includes the SARI formula, templates, example questions, and self‑reflection prompts.
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Hi, my name is Natalie, and in this video we're going to answer a situational interview question, and it goes like this: Tell me about a time when you earned another person's trust. So what we'll cover in this video: a sneak peek into why they might ask you this question, Uh, what to say when you're going to answer the question, and a concrete example of an experience to get you thinking about your own story to answer the question. So let's get started. Okay, so what's the point of the question? Possibly the reason this hiring manager or interview panel might be asking this is because he or she knows that it might come up in your job description. So it might come up in the work or the role itself, in the environment. Potentially it's about working with customers, clients or potentially some of your coworkers have— need earning trust. It's going to be a very handy skill for you anyway. So it's definitely worth telling a story about how you deal with it. So here's how we're going to answer. We're going to use the SARI formula. You may have guessed it. So SARI formula, just as a refresher, it's situation, action, result, interesting features. So it might be called STAR. The STAR interview formula is a very popular term. Or SAR is the same thing, essentially: situation or task, action, result. So let's get started. You'll want to tell a powerful story about how you've done this, and when you can tell a powerful story and include, you know, little details about your life, about who you are as a person, you really start to connect even better with those interviewers. So this is a perfect opportunity to do that. So let's start with the example. So step 1, setting the stage of the situation. So for example, I started a new job and I could tell right away that my new boss wasn't really sure about me yet. She had just been hired herself as the new director of marketing and we were both fairly new to the company. So that does a really good job of setting the stage. You've explained, you know, who you had the trust issue with and why. So step 2 is the action. What did you do here? So continuing with the example, I knew I needed to earn her trust and respect, and I did that in a couple of different ways. So the first thing I did was, was getting clear on what she expected of me and by when, and understanding how she worked. So did she like constant updates or constant check-ins, or did she just want to know when the work was finished? So then I knew what I needed to follow through on, and I knew how to earn earn her trust and what steps to take after that. I also knew that I needed to be consistent and become someone that she could count on not to let her down. So when other team members weren't able to meet their expectations, I was there to pick up the slack, and that's how I became her most trusted employee. So the first way was setting expectations, understanding how she worked, and then the second way was to be consistent. So that's the actions that you took. So step 3 is the result. So now you can explain how the situation ended up. So I have a great result with my— I had a great result with this strategy, and I now have a great relationship with my boss, and she often confides in me when she's feeling stressed out, and I'm often able to help her by putting her mind at ease. Great. So moving on to step 4, which is the bonus Interesting features. So what did you learn? What tools did you use? Kind of what went well here? So example, I was able to adapt to her communication style and have it become really in tune with what she needed. So I find it different working with each person, and each person has their different needs and their different triggers, and I find it interesting figuring out what those are for each person and learning how to best And there we have it, the complete answer to another situational interview question. So send me your questions if you want me to do a video for you. I'd be happy to. Thank you so much for watching, and remember, nailing the interview questions isn't everything. There is a lot more to it than just the questions. In fact, if all you do is answer those questions, you've already lost. So there's a whole strategy that you need to know, and that's what I do. I help you with that. You can start right now. If you like this video, click below to grab the free guide. It's called The Ultimate Guide to Situational Interviewing, and what you'll get in the guide is a full breakdown of the SARI formula and why it works so well, plus an example. Then you'll get 10 concrete examples of commonly asked behavioral situational interview questions. You'll get fill-in-the-blank templates for each question, so all you have to do is fill in your own stories. And if you're still getting stuck, I've also included 25 questions that you can use to ask yourself to get your own stories going. So thank you so much for watching. I hope that you will join me and grab that free guide now, and I will see you on the other side. Thanks so much! See you next week! This, this is what it was. This is my dog's ball, and she just has to bring it with her everywhere.
