Irwin and Colton have partnered with NEBOSHon a series of articles looking into questions from their alumni.
Question: I often hear acronyms like STARR, SMART, SWOT and GROW used in interviews or professional development. How can these help me as a health and safety professional?
Structured thinking sits at the heart of health and safety. Whether you’re carrying out a risk assessment, leading an investigation or implementing an improvement programme, clear frameworks help you make decisions and communicate effectively. The same is true when planning your career or preparing for interviews.
Models such as STARR, SMART, SWOT and GROW give you a simple way to articulate your experience, plan development and demonstrate competence. Recruiters and employers also use these frameworks to understand your capability and potential.
Mastering them can make a real difference in how confidently and convincingly you present yourself.
STARR - Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection
In health and safety interviews, employers want to understand how you act in real situations, particularly those involving risk, leadership and communication. The STARR model helps you structure your experience with clarity and emphasis on outcomes.
It guides you through an ordered explanation: Outlining the situation and context, followed by the task you were responsible for. You then describe the actions you personally took, before explaining the result, ideally with impact. Finally, the reflection stage highlights what you learned and how you have applied that learning since.
Used this way, STARR keeps your answers concise, relevant and focused on personal ownership.
You can use STARR to:
Present examples from investigations, audits, risk reviews or safety interventions
Explain decision‑making in high‑risk or time‑sensitive circumstances
Demonstrate continued learning and improvement
Employers use STARR:
To evaluate your technical competence and professional behaviours
To understand the scale and impact of your work
To assess your ability to influence and engage colleagues across levels
Including the reflection element is increasingly important; employers value professionals who can articulate what they learned and how they applied it later.
SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time‑bound
With health and safety roles closely linked to organisational objectives, SMART goals help demonstrate accountability and structured thinking. The framework turns broad ambitions into clear, trackable commitments by ensuring each goal is specific, measurable and relevant to safety and organisational priorities.
By framing goals this way, whether that’s compliance improvements, cultural changes or personal development, you set objectives that are easier to communicate, monitor and deliver.
You can use SMART to:
Set development targets, such as progressing toward a NEBOSH diploma
Drive measurable improvements, such as training compliance and incident reduction
Report progress to leaders in a clear, concise way
Employers use SMART to:
Understand how you plan and manage workload
Assess your ability to deliver on expectations
See evidence of measurable outcomes and ownership
In interviews, SMART examples help show that your achievements weren’t accidental; they were planned, monitored and delivered.
SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
Health and safety continues to change at pace. Topics such as well‑being, psychosocial risk, sustainability and supply‑chain transparency are becoming central. A SWOT analysis helps you understand how you align with these changes.
By examining your strengths and weaknesses, you gain a clearer view of your current capability, including technical skills and behavioural attributes. Opportunities help you identify trends, new sectors or qualifications that could support career progression, while threats highlight external factors such as regulatory shifts or technology developments.
Used regularly, SWOT becomes a practical tool for career planning and staying future‑ready.
You can use SWOT to:
Identify strengths, such as communication and influence
Highlight development areas such as CDM, fire safety reforms and process safety
Recognise opportunities in growing sectors like renewables, logistics or technology
Stay aware of changes shaping future skills needs
Recruiters use SWOT to:
Position candidates effectively in the market
Identify transferable skills between sectors
Match strengths to organisational environments and culture
For NEBOSH alumni, this can be a practical way to plan your next step, whether you’re seeking a more senior position or a specialist role.
GROW: Goal, Reality, Options, Will
The GROW model is commonly used in coaching and leadership development, and it closely aligns with the consultative approach modern safety professionals are expected to take.
It works by helping you define a clear goal, then assess your current reality, including skills, qualifications, experience and constraints - before exploring the options available to you, such as mentoring or further study. The final stage requires committing to specific actions and timelines, ensuring that the plan moves from intention to measurable progress.
This structured thinking supports long‑term career development and creates a confident narrative in interviews.
You can use GROW to:
Set long‑term goals such as achieving chartered status
Understand your situation - including experience, qualifications and constraints
Explore development options, mentoring, secondments, projects or training
Commit to clear actions to move toward career objectives
Recruiters and managers use GROW to:
Understand motivation and long‑term ambition
Assess alignment with organisational capabilities and growth plans
Evaluate self‑awareness and leadership potential
Professionals who show their development through GROW often appear focused, intentional and progress‑driven, which are qualities employers frequently seek.
Final thoughts
For NEBOSH alumni, these models may already be familiar concept but applying them effectively can be a different challenge. Used well, they can help you communicate your experience clearly, demonstrate your value, and show both competence and potential.
At Irwin and Colton, we’re seeing that the health and safety professionals who stand out are those who apply structured models to guide their development and show their impact.
Employers value candidates who can present achievements through STARR, set measurable SMART objectives, assess their strengths with SWOT, and plan progression using GROW. These models highlight self‑awareness and professionalism, qualities becoming increasingly important as safety roles evolve.
If you’re preparing for your next career step, our team is always here to support you. For tailored advice, you can reach us by emailing info@irwinandcolton.com or calling 01923 432 633