competency based interview

7/21/2019 Competency Based Interview

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Barclay Simpson How’s the Market? Q3 2005 Internal & Computer Audit

Guide tocompetency

based interviews



Competency-basedInterviews

As competency-based interviewsare becoming an ever morefrequent part of candidateselection, here is a brief guide towhat such interviews involve, alongwith some advice on how best to

approach them.

Introduction

Competency-based interviews are based onthe idea that past behaviour is the bestpredictor of future behaviour. Accordingly, theinterviewer’s goal is to obtain specificexamples of when and how youdemonstrated particular behaviours.Interview questions are carefully designed toprobe specific skills, competencies andcharacteristics which are relevant to jobsuccess for the position in question. Allcandidates are asked the same questionsand notes are taken in order to evaluatecandidates.

The word competency is widely used inbusiness and personnel psychology andrefers to the behaviours that are necessary toachieve organisational goals. A competencyis also something you can measure and lists

of competencies form a common languagefor describing how people perform in differentsituations. Every job can be described interms of key competencies. This means thatcompetencies can be used for all forms ofassessment, including appraisals, trainingneeds analysis and, of course, selection.

Whilst each interview may vary in terms ofthe questions asked / competenciesreviewed, there are general themes that areusually covered. It is well worth preparing for

this type of interview by, for example, beingfamiliar with some of the possible questionsand how you would answer them.

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Types of competencies likely to beassessed

Individual competencies - your personalattributes: flexibility, decisiveness, tenacity,independence, risk taking, personal integrity

Managerial competencies - taking charge ofother people: leadership, empowerment,strategic planning, corporate sensitivity,project management, management control

Analytical competencies - the elements ofdecision making: innovation, analytical skills,numerical problem solving, problem solving,practical learning, detail consciousness

Interpersonal competencies - dealing withother people: communication, impact,

persuasiveness, personal awareness,teamwork, openness

Motivational competencies - the things thatdrive you: resilience, energy, motivation,achievement orientation, initiative, focus onquality

Examples of competency questions Problem solving and judgment

1. Tell me about a time when you had toidentify the underlying causes to aproblem.

2. Describe a time when you had toanalyse a problem and generate asolution.

3. Tell me about a situation where youhad to solve a problem or make adecision that required careful thought.What did you do?



Self-management, self-motivation andself-knowledge

Do you always strive to achieve a standard ofexcellence, use initiative at the appropriatetime and show persistence in pursuing goals? Accurate self-assessment skills will allow youto be objective and critical in evaluating yourstrengths and weaknesses.

1. Tell me about a time when you actedover and above the expectations ofyour role.

2. How would you describe yourself?3. How do you think a close friend who

knows you well would describe you?

Ability, competence and achievement

Designed to discover what inspires you andmotivates you to achieve and whether youare a loner or a team person.

1. What two or three accomplishments

have given you the most satisfaction?Why?

2. Describe a time when you led ormotivated others.

3. What do you feel qualifies you for thisposition?

4. Tell me about a time when yourecognised a problem in yourorganisation, what did you do?

Conflict management and ethics

How do you behave in a crisis? What does ittake to shake your poise or self-confidence?What approach do you take to problemsolving?

1. Tell me about a significant crisis youhave faced.

2. Tell me about a difficult customer or acustomer complaint that you have

dealt with.3. How do you resolve conflict in thegroups or teams that you are a partof?

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Personal and career objectives

Employers are likely to invest money in yourtraining and development and will want toensure that your objectives don’t conflict withtheirs.

1. What are your short and long-termgoals?

2. When and why did you establishthese goals and how are youpreparing yourself to achieve them?

3. What are the most important things

you are seeking in a career?

Adaptability

How quickly and how positively will you adaptto changes in work practices, work roles andwork environments and the general flux of themodern workplace? How do you manage oravoid stress?

1. Tell me about a time when youchanged your priorities to meet others’expectations.

2. Describe a time when you alteredyour own behaviour to fit the situation.

3. Tell me about a time when you had tochange your point of view or yourplans to take into account newinformation or changing priorities.

Administrative skills

These are generally checking that you haveeffective work habits, and the knowledge ofworkplace routines and some experience ofcommon office administration systems.

1. Tell me how you organise your workand schedule your time.

2. Tell me about computer softwarepackages you are familiar with and

your experience in using them.3. Tell me about your experience ofmanaging a budget.



Problem solving and decision making

What’s your problem-solving style? Do youmanage your activities to minimise or avoidthem? How do you behave in a crisis?

1. Tell me about a difficult decision thatyou have made.

2. What significant problems have youfaced in the last year?

3. How do you work under pressure?4. Tell me about a time when you had to

make a quick decision. What were the

circumstances and what did you do?

Communication

Are you an active listener, do you really listenand do you hear what is actually said. Areyou able to read the non-verbal messagesthat others communicate? Do youcommunicate in an engaging and convincingway?

1. Describe a situation you wereinvolved in that required a multi-dimensional communication strategy.

2. Give an example of a difficult orsensitive situation that requiredextensive communication?

3. Tell me about a time when you reallyhad to pay attention to what someoneelse was saying, actively seeking tounderstand their message.

Organisational awareness

1. Describe the culture of yourorganisation and give an example ofhow you work within this culture toachieve a goal.

2. Describe the things you consider andthe steps you take in assessing theviability of a new idea or initiative.

3. Tell me about a time when you used

your knowledge of the organisation toget what you needed.

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Client focus

1. Give an example of how you providedservice to a client/stakeholder beyondtheir expectations. How did youidentify the need? How did yourespond?

2. Tell me about a time when you had todeal with a client/stakeholder serviceissue.

3. Describe a situation in which youacted as an advocate within yourorganization for stakeholders’ needs

where there was some organizationalresistance to be overcome.

Teamwork

Employers need people who are sociallycompetent. The desire to build and maintainrelationships in and beyond the workplace iscritical. Many workplaces function on thebasis of project teams.

1. Tell me about a time when youworked successfully as a member of ateam.

2. Describe a situation where you weresuccessful in getting people to worktogether effectively.

3. Describe a situation in which youwere a member (not a leader) of ateam, and a conflict arose within theteam. What did you do?

Results orientation

1. Tell me about a time when you setand achieved a goal.

2. Tell me about a time when youimproved the way things weretypically done on the job.

3. Describe something you have done toimprove the performance of your workunit.



Influencing or persuading others

You may have strong verbal skills but canyou influence another person to change theirthinking or take some action – perhaps acolleague follows your advice or a clientdecides to buy a service or product. Atmanagement level have you the skills topersuade and involve rather than coerce andpunish? Are you ethical in your dealings withpeople?

1. Tell me about a time when you were

able to change someone’s viewpointsignificantly.

2. Tell me about a time when you wereasked to do something that youdisagreed with.

3. Tell me about a person or event thathas been influential in your personaldevelopment.

Preparing for competency-basedInterviews

To prepare for competency-based interviews,first review the job description carefully andidentify the skills and traits likely to beassessed. Next, identify the situations andexperiences that you will refer to in theinterview to demonstrate these skills andtraits. Competency-focused, well-structuredanswers are extremely powerful and willimpress the interviewer.

The STAR model will provide a structure toyour answers:

Situation - describe a situation or problemthat you have encountered

Task - describe the task that the situationrequired or your ideas for resolving theproblem

Action - describe the action you took,obstacles that you had to overcome

Results - highlight outcomes achieved

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Example interview question

Can you give us an example of when youhave dealt with a difficult situation on yourteam? What was the situation? Why had ithappened? What did you do? How was thesituation resolved?

Describe the Situation and the Task briefly.Most of your answers should focus on Actionand Results; applying the who (you), what,when, where, why and how model often usedin journalism to answer all the relevant

questions that will keep you focused andmake your description more interesting.

Possible good answer

I was working on an audit with a more juniorteam member who had a reputation for notpulling his weight. I was finding it difficult toget the most out of him and found myselfthinking back to what my colleagues had saidabout this person. I decided to speak to himin private and give him some feedback on

what the general opinion in the team was. Idid this in a diplomatic way, asking him if heneeded more guidance or if he was havingtrouble at all. He opened up to me saying thathe was not aware of how he was seen by theteam and that he sometimes did notunderstand what he was meant to be doingand that the more senior team members hadtaken over the assignments without involvingor coaching him. He found it quite hard tospeak up. I took this on board and dedicatedextra time to assisting him with ourassignment as well as giving him more(guided) responsibility. I spoke to my seniorcolleagues and asked them to be aware ofmore junior staff concerns. His workimproved and he felt much happier within theteam.

If you would like further information oncompetency-based interviews, pleasecontact Barclay Simpson’s OccupationalPsychologist, Daniela Senior

[email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

competency based interview

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