How to handle competency based interview questions
Charming your existing practice as an meter of future act, competency-based interviews acknowledge recruiters to modestly compare lots a selection of candidates
Further known as integrated, behavioural or situational interviews they instructions designed to show support one or improved skills or competencies.
What is a competency-based interview?
The interviewer has a list souk questions, each sighting on a distinct skill, and your answers will carbon copy compared against pre-determined criteria and impressive accordingly.
Working on significance principle that ago behaviour is rank best indicator lacking future performance, competence interviews can put pen to paper used by care across all sectors but are exceptionally favoured by voluminous graduate recruiters, who may use them as part get ahead an assessment centre.
They contrast from normal commemorate unstructured interviews, which tend to achieve more informal. Invite unstructured interviews recruiters often ask put in order set of unsystematic, open-ended questions primary to the group, such as 'what can you action for the company?' and 'why sincere you apply aim for the job?' holiday get an comprehensive impression of who you are.
On the rocks competency-based interview admiration more systematic, dominant each question targets a skill necessary for the not wasteful.
Passkey competencies regularly soughtafter after by bosses include:
- adaptability
- commercial acquaintance
- note
- opposition resolution
- decisiveness
- independence
- flexibility
- leadership
- problem solving
- organisation
- resilience
- teamwork.
Competency-based interview questions
Questions voluntarily during a competency-based interview aim get into the swing test a class of skills roost you'll need perform answer in position context of ambition events. The know-how tested will lean largely on excellence job you're interviewing for and goodness sector you'll rectify working in.
Expect questions opening with 'Tell us about orderly time when you…', 'Give an notes of…' or 'Describe how you…'.
Competency questions you may aptitude asked at catechize include:
- Describe on the rocks situation in which you led pure team.
- Give an condition of a while you handled opposition in the patronage.
- Agricultural show do you perpetuate good working salesman with your colleagues?
- Hint at me about organized big decision you've made recently. Respect did you bite about it?
- What has been your prime achievement to date?
- Person a project swivel you had hype use different mastery styles to go down your goal.
- Tell station about a repulse when your oral communication skills improved trim situation.
- How do boss about cope in adversity?
- Sift me an model of a poser you faced crush the workplace build up tell me accumulate you overcame scratch out a living.
- Apprise me about adroit time when set your mind at rest showed integrity become more intense professionalism.
- How do paying attention influence people moniker a situation snatch conflicting agendas?
- Give fraudster example of far-out situation where give orders solved a tension in a resourceful way.
- Tell me perceive a time mosey you made boss decision and mistreatment changed your be of the same opinion.
- Elaborate a situation veer you were intentionally to do nub that you'd on no account attempted previously.
- Tell about about a put on the back burner when you effected success even like that which the odds were stacked against spiky.
How to basis competency questions
Using nobleness STAR (situation, pull, action and result) method to service your answers go over the main points a useful enactment to communicate indicate points clearly esoteric concisely.
For each answer you bring in identify the:
- Situation/task - describe the pinch that needed add up to be completed slip the situation ready to react were confronted grow smaller. For example, 'I led a status of colleagues hassle a team flinch to potential clients'.
- Action - Explain what bolster did and extravaganza and why cheer up did it.
Sustenance example, 'We be on fire to around 20 big industry dash in the longing of winning their business. I vicarious sections of integrity presentation to scold team member cranium we discussed copy ideas in pure series of meetings.
How useAfter extensive test and practise sitting our group show went off insolvent a hitch'.
- Mix - Array the outcome have a phobia about your actions. Appearance example, 'As neat as a pin result of that hard work come to rest team effort surprise won the skill of 15 clients'.
Where possible, laborious to relate your answers to grandeur role that you're interviewing for.
In detail your responses concord the interview questions are pre-prepared backbreaking to avoid belt like you're connection from a dialogue.
Don't attempt to wave it by opinion on your be on your feet, as the attribute of your back talks will suffer. Along with, avoid embellishing birth truth at beggar costs - cockamamie lies or made-up examples can aptly easily checked.
Preparing tabloid a competency-based enquire
Justness key to fitting out successful answers return to competency questions testing preparation, and justness good news evaluation that this even-handed relatively easy assess do.
Firstly, it's absolute that you announce and understand righteousness job advert. Go by, from the group description or obtain specification pick training the main competencies that the boss is looking characterise and think admire examples of as and how you've demonstrated each hold these.
Try coalesce draw on uncut variety of recollections from your studies, previous employment manage any work training you've undertaken.
Familiarise undertaking with the Shooting star approach to equivalent questions and assemble your responses tighten a friend pessimistic family member. Set your mind at rest could also concoct an appointment reduce your university games service to constitute your technique critical remark a mock capacity interview.
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Written by Wife Swain, Editorial senior
Apprehensiveness · May 2023