Competency-Based Interviews

Competency-Based Interviews

Last Updated (29/05/12) Written by Sinead Smith 29/05/12

Interviews can be quite nerve-wracking, even for the most seasoned job hunters among us. They are full of promise and potential for the future and signify a step in the direction of your new career so, a few butterflies are understandable.

However, butterflies can often quickly turn into fully-fledged nerves when we tell candidates that their interview will be a competency-based one. “A what?!” is the general response we get and we have to quickly explain the process and try to allay their fears.

 

 

Rest assured, however, competency-based interviews really are nothing to worry about. They are effectively interviews based on the candidate’s experience and aimed at gauging how suitable or competent a candidate is for a role. Questions are generally structured in the manner of “Give an example of when you…” or “Describe a time when you…” and the floor is then left open to the candidate to demonstrate how their skills and abilities mesh with the role at hand.

 

Below is a selection of commonly asked questions for competency-based interviews. We do have a longer list so, if you’d like to see that, feel free to drop an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;

 

  • Describe a time when you worked in a really effective/difficult team. What made it effective/difficult? What was your contribution/response?

  • Tell me about a time when you have identified an opportunity and driven it forward to the benefit of the business. What specifically did you do?

  • Give an example of a time when you have had to communicate a complex idea/message/concept. How did you communicate it? What tools did you use? Why those tools? How did you ensure that the message was fully understood?

  • Give me an example when you have found a role particularly stressful and why? How did you overcome the stress in this situation? What did you learn and do differently?

  • Give me an example of when you have submitted an idea to and manager or customer that was rejected. How did you react? What was the outcome?


Here are some of our top tips for competency-based interviews;

 

  • Know your CV inside out and back-to-front.
  • Keep your answers concise, don’t ramble or stray too far from the question asked.
  • To keep your answers on-point, follow the SAR framework when possible; Situation (Give a brief background to the situation you’re discussing); Action (What you did including the skills you used and problems you solved); Result (The overall outcome of the situation).
  • Where possible, try to relate your answers to the company/industry you are interviewing for e.g. if it is a construction company, and you have experience working with similar clients, touch on this in your examples.

 

Essentially, competency-based interviews are a means for the candidate to sell themselves to the employer, to prove why they have the necessary traits and experience for the job. Remember, the interviewer will be quizzing you on your own experience so you should be, in theory, the expert. Your CV is your ready-made study aid so utilise this to its full potential before you go in. For further, more general info, check out our tips on making the most of interviews here.

You can now follow Accountancy Professionals on LinkedIn,Twitter and Facebook!

Image

 

 

 


 

 

By autson.com