Preparing for competency-based interviews February 16, 2009

What are competencies?

Competencies can be described in slightly different ways. Here’s one definition:

a written description of measurable work habits and personal skills used to achieve a work objective

From Paul Green’s book Building Robust Competencies

Competencies are the skills, behaviours and abilities that you will need to do the job well.

Examples include: teamwork, attention to detail, presentation skills, ability to motivate others, ability to work under pressure, adaptability, research skills, negotiation, problem solving…

Why would I have a competency-based interview?

Competency-based assessment is usually just one step in a recruitment process that aims to get a picture of you as a whole person. Your CV will probably have told them all they need to know about your qualifications. Any technical abilities required (e.g. computing languages) may be assessed in a technical interview or a practical test. The competency-based interview is intended to draw out how you like to work and what sort of tasks you will do well. Rather than looking for previous experience of doing the exact same job, they allow you to prove yourself using a range of previous experiences, including coursework, societies, sports, voluntary work, and life experiences like negotiating with your landlord. This is why they are popular amongst graduate recruiters, because they help identify your potential to grow into a new professional role.

How does the interview work?

You will be asked questions from a pre-prepared list to see how you measure up against a limited number of specific, required competencies. The questions will often be behavioural or situational, for example ‘describe a time where you had to work with someone very different to you’, so it is particularly important to back up your answers with examples.

At the same time you should bear in mind that the interviewers will also be looking at your presentation, your communication skills and to some extent your personality. You need answer questions clearly, make your point well and demonstrate that you fit into their workplace culture. This should be natural: for instance, if you are going for a sales role you mustn’t spend the interview looking at the floor with your arms folded. You have to be the person they are looking for.

What sort of answers are they looking for?

Your answers will be scored and compared against other candidates, so these must be strong examples that provide clear evidence for the point you are making.

Think of a few projects you have been involved in and prepare  short summaries in advance. Each project should be useful to demonstrate a number of competencies, but you must prepare a few to show your success was not a one-off (and to stop the interviewers getting bored…).

You are more likely to make a strong impression if you use the STAR formula to structure your responses, as you provide a fully rounded story, with a positive outcome that demonstrates the importance of your contribution.

STAR:

• describe the Situation,
• describe your specific Task
• explain your Action
• give the Result

How can I prepare?

First of all you should read through the job ad carefully to see if they have used keywords like the example competencies given at the start. If they have then great! Make sure you can meet all of these competencies.

If they haven’t specified them, look at similar job ads in similar firms, and look for a company mission statement or slogan on their website (try the ‘About us’ section) that gives you an idea of their values, e.g. innovation, expertise, personal touch, originality, leadership, tradition, future-proof strategy. Think about what sort of person would fit a workplace and a role like that.

As I mentioned above, you can practice talking about a few projects and situations that demonstrate a few of the competencies they require. You don’t need to learn them all by rote, they also want to see someone who can think on the spot. You will probably find that once you have given one clear answer from prepared material, you will be a bit more relaxed and think of all sorts of other examples.

Best of luck!

Resources

To help you prepare for interview, we recommend:

• The Careers Group information sheets Interviews and Telephone Interviews

• WikiJob http://www.wikijob.co.uk/    This site includes both an explanation of competency based interviews, and sample interview questions for a range of companies.

• Kessler, Robin. 2006. Competency-based interviews. Kessler.

careers competencies interviews