Morgan Stanley Behaviorals – STAR Method or Conversational?

Hello,

great question, and one I get from a lot of candidates. Honestly, Morgan Stanley isn’t sitting there with a checklist thinking, “Did this person follow the STAR method perfectly?” What they care about is whether you can tell a clear, engaging story that shows your impact and how you work with others.

I usually tell people to think of STAR as your safety net. It gives you structure so you don’t ramble or miss the punchline, but you don’t want to sound like you’re reading off a script either. If you make it too rigid, it can come across as rehearsed and mechanical. The best interviews I’ve seen are when candidates clearly know their story, hit the important beats, like what the situation was, what they did, and what came out of it, but tell it like they’re talking to a colleague over coffee.

So the short version is: prepare with STAR, deliver in a conversational way. That balance tends to work best at Morgan Stanley. They want to see you’re polished, but also that you’d be someone they’d enjoy working with at 2 a.m. on a live deal.

Let me show you with an example. Let’s say you want to talk about a time you managed a tough deadline on a group project.

If you stick strictly to STAR, it might sound like this:

Situation: In my internship I was assigned a project with a two-day turnaround.

Task: My role was to consolidate the financial model and prepare the presentation. 

Action: I divided the model into smaller sections, delegated parts to teammates, and checked in frequently. 

Result: We finished on time, and the MD said our presentation was one of the best from interns that summer.

That hits the structure, but it’s a bit robotic. 

Now here’s how you can make it more conversational while still keeping the backbone of STAR: 

“During my internship we got hit with a project that had an intense two-day turnaround. I was in charge of pulling the financial model together and building the deck, and honestly, it looked impossible at first. I broke the model down into smaller chunks, asked a couple teammates to help, and then kept close tabs on where everyone was. It was a stressful 48 hours, but we ended up finishing on time and even got a shout-out from the MD for the quality of our presentation.”

Same story, but it sounds much more natural and easy to listen to. That’s exactly the sweet spot you want in a Morgan Stanley interview: clear, but not formulaic. 

I hope this helps!

Best,

Simon

Hey!

At Morgan Stanley, behavioral interviews are taken seriously and interviewers want to see both clarity and authenticity. Using the STAR method can be a good way to structure your thoughts and ensure you cover all key points, especially for questions like “Tell me about a time you handled conflict” or “Describe a situation where you worked under pressure.” It helps you stay focused and avoid rambling, which is important in a high-stakes interview.

At the same time, interviewers don’t want you to sound overly rehearsed or robotic. The most effective approach is to prepare stories in STAR format but deliver them in a conversational tone, adapting to the flow of the discussion. 

If the interviewer probes deeper, be ready to go beyond the framework and engage naturally. In short, structure gives you confidence, but a conversational delivery makes you memorable and shows you can build rapport.