How Do I Prepare For a Competency Based Interview??

For us lot on the recruitment consultancy side of the desk we are meeting people all the time with different levels of skills and years of experience and can probably be fairly accused of not remembering what it is like for candidates to attend interviews, a time in their lives when it is potentially career changing forever but we can take for granted.

There are different types of interviews ranging from those where decisions are made on a "gut feel" to the more scientific approach which will combine interview questioning with psychometric testing. These days interviews are tending to be more scientific.

Competency based interviewing is an HR favourite and is structured to reflect the competencies the employer is seeking for the particular job, such as “Give me an example of a time you worked as a team to achieve a common goal.” It might be you are going for an interview with a small firm where the importance of being able to work well in a small team and also sharing the aims of the Partners is of high importance.

Competency Based Interview Question Examples:

I am not saying you will definitely be asked these specific questions but you might and it will also prepare you for needing to think more generally about you and your own experiences and successes. These are just examples and not exhaustive but where the employer is focussing on team work, dealing with people and ambition /initiative they are a good starting point.

What sorts of questions can you expect?

Example 1 -Working with People

Tell me about a time when you were required to work as part of a team?

• What role did you play? There will be situations where you take the lead but also where you are led by a Manager / Partner.
• What challenges have you faced?
• Are there particular situations you consider where you were very successful?
• Are there particular situations where you realised you could have done better and learnt from the experience?
• What do you feel are the most important things to consider when working in a team?
• How would you ensure a co-operative effort from all team members?
• What methods do you use to identify when you need to discuss your work progress with others?

Example 2 - Presenting and Communicating Information

Good communication skills are usually a clear requirement for most positions.

• How would you define good communication skills?
• Can you give me an example of when you have demonstrated these skills in the past?
• Give an example of when you have had to explain a complex idea / task to someone and how did you approach it?
• Tell me about a time when you need to explain financial information to non-finance staff.
  • What challenges did you face?
  • How did you overcome them?
  • How did you measure if you were successful?

Example 3 - Initiative and innovation

• Tell me about a project you worked on that required you to personally generate a lot of new ideas.
• Describe a change you instigated to an existing work process.
• What have you done to make your job easier or more rewarding? What projects have you started on your own this year? Tell me about one.

There are so many different areas that can be focussed on through the use of  competency based questioning. It would be useful as part of your own interview preparation to find out where you can what areas the recruiter is particularly interested in but also do your own research, think outside of the box to cover as many areas as possible so you are able to give relevant examples to match your skills, experience and abilities.

Happy job hunting!!

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The Public Practice Recruitment Specialists