Competency-based interviews

Interviews can be nerve-wracking at the best of times.

But what happens when you arrive at the interview, feeling fully prepared, and the hiring
manager decides to move the goalposts? You might be familiar with certain interview types, for
example telephone interviews or group interviews, but have you ever heard of competency-
based interviews?

What is a competency-based interview?

As the name suggests, this interview type is meant to test exactly that: your competence. So,
where some interviewers may be more interested in your experience or previous qualifications,
what a competency based interviewer really wants to know is whether you have the right skills
to take the position on.

Why would an employer use a competency-based

interview?
Often they are used when previous experience in an industry is not seen as essential, for
example an entry-level or graduate position.

They may also be used to practically test how candidates would react in given situations. So
rather than concerning themselves with past achievements, they place emphasis on predicting
how an individual would behave in a certain scenario.

The tasks could range from oral and written communication to planning, organisation and
problem-solving.

What are key competencies?

Skills that employers look for when recruiting. Some key competencies include:

• Leadership • Teamwork
• Problem-solving • Responsibility
• Organisation • Communication skills
• Goal orientation • Decision making
Common questions asked at competency-based
interviews
Although the type of question you are asked will depend entirely upon the role and industry you’re
applying for, there are some common themes which run through competency-based interview
questions.

Some examples include:

Tell me a time when…

Can you think of an example of how/when…?

Describe a way in which you…

Essentially, what the interviewer is looking for are practical examples of some key competencies,
i.e. ‘describe a way in which you demonstrated excellent leadership’.

Your examples can be from a previous job, they could draw from your education or even relate to
an extra-curricular pastime, such as sports teams or groups you may be a part of.

How to answer competency-based interview question

Firstly, pick out some of the key competencies stated in the job description and think of some
examples for each one.

If they’re looking for someone with excellent teamwork and leadership skills, think of a scenario in
which you’ve demonstrated this. As well as workplace situations, consider, for example, a group
presentation you’ve undertaken at school, a university society you were a member of, or even
being captain of your five-a-side football team.

If you’re not used to answering competency-based interview questions, the STAR model is a useful
way of communicating key points clearly and concisely. Once you’ve identified the ‘Situation’,
‘Task’, ‘Action’ or ‘Result’, formulate it into a short key point, making sure you include how you
achieved the result and how your actions addressed the initial situation and task.

A simple answer, using the situation above, would be:

‘I demonstrated my teamwork and leadership abilities when I headed up a group proposal in front
of some key clients. We were asked to give a one hour presentation about how we could improve
their hiring practices. After extensive competitor research and market trend analysis, we were able
to put a competitive price together and present the features and benefits within the allotted hour.
We went on to win the business’.
 Top tips for competency-based interviews
Here are our top tips for competency-based interviews:

• Before you arrive at the interview, pick out the key skills highlighted in the job description.
• For each one, have a pre-prepared example of how you’ve displayed that attribute.
• Use a wide variety of examples where possible, including during school or higher education, any previous
employment or work experience, and in your daily life in general.
• Don’t lie. They will ask you questions about the subject, and any embellishments you’ve made will be
quickly found out.
• Don’t try and think on your feet. For reasons, see directly above.
Creative
1. Describe what you have done to make (your job, a departmental process, etc.) easier, more effective, more efficient?
2. Describe the most creative thing you have done in your career.
3. Think of a time in your past when you took a risk. Give me a quick overview of the situation and then walk me through that
situation, telling me about your part in it.
4. Describe something you have done which improved the performance of your work unit.
5. Tell me about a time you identified a new, unusual or different approach to addressing a problem or task.
6. Tell me about a time you identified a problem and took corrective action to fix it.
7. Give some examples of projects / tasks you initiated.
8. Tell me about a time when you improved the way things were typically done on the job.
9. Tell me about a problem you solved where conventional / normal solutions would not work.
10. In what ways did you perform differently from your peers in your last job?
Detail-oriented
1. Would you rather formulate a plan or carry it out? Why? Give an example of a plan you have implemented.
2. Describe an experience when you were responsible for coordinating several small tasks to accomplish a large job.
3. How do you keep track of your paperwork, schedules, etc.? Please be specific.
4. In your last job, if something wasn't due for several weeks, when and how did you approach getting it done?
5. Describe how you handled the details of your last major project.
6. Describe a way you have improved the organization of a system or a task at your last/present job.
7. How do you organize your daily tasks? How do you prioritize them or decide what you should work on next?
8. Tell me about a time when you had to adjust your work schedule because you didn’t have all of the resources you needed?
9. In some roles it can be very easy to make errors. Tell me about some of the things you have done in your current role to keep
your error rate down?
10. All of us have had situations where we weren’t able to complete everything on time. Tell me about the last time this happened to
you.
11. Tell me about the deadlines that existed for you in your last job. What did you do to ensure that things were completed on time?
12. Every job has aspects that can become boring or repetitive. Tell me about a boring or repetitive task that existed in your last job.
What strategies did you employ to cope?
13. Can you think of a situation where you had to multi task? How did you handle the situation?
14. Tell me about the work you have done in your current role that required accuracy.
15. Tell me about a previous supervisor that demanded accuracy of you. What tasks required accuracy?
Judgment
1. Describe a situation where you had to make a difficult decision and explain it to other people.
2. Tell me about a time when you took a risk.
3. Give me an example of a time when you needed to quickly make a decision.
4. Describe a recent unpopular decision you made. What was the result?
5. Describe a time when you were faced with a decision that had many options from which to choose. How did you determine which
one to take?
6. In the past have you preferred to be closely supervised and given good direction, or work out solutions for yourself?
7. Have you ever experienced a situation in which all the evidence suggested that you should pursue one course of action, but your
‘gut-feel’ suggested another?
8. Have you ever supported someone else’s idea that had a low probability of success? Why did you do so? What happened?
Problem Solver
1. Tell me about a time when you had to identify the underlying causes to a problem.
2. Describe a time when you had to analyze a problem and generate a solution.
3. Thinking about your last role, discuss the types of problems you were required to solve on a day-to-day basis?
4. Tell me about a time when you applied a creative solution to a problem.
Strategic Thinker
1. Describe a challenge or opportunity you identified based on your industry knowledge, and how you developed a strategy to
respond to it.
2. Describe a time when you used your business knowledge to understand a specific situation of the department.
 3. Describe a time when you created a strategy to achieve a longer term department objective.
Adaptable
1. In a past job, did you have to alter your standards to meet your company's? When? Why?
2. If we hired you, what could we count on you for without fail?
3. What results were you expected to accomplish in your last job? How were they measured?
4. Have you worked in an organization that changed its policy or procedure frequently? How did you deal with that?
5. Give an example of a time when you were given tasks to accomplish without advance warning.
6. Has a policy or directive come down with which you really disagreed? What did you do?
7. Can you describe a time when you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had little control. How did the changes impact
you?
8. Can you think of a time when you changed your plans as a result of new information or changing priorities?
9. In what ways has your current job changed since you commenced? How have you dealt with these changes? How did you feel
about these changes?
10. Tell me about an experience you have had dealing with major change. How did you maintain your effectiveness?
11. Working with people from diverse backgrounds or cultures can be challenging. Tell me about a time when you were presented
with a challenge adapting to a person from a different background or culture?
12. Have you ever had to change your priorities to meet another person’s expectations?
13. Tell me about two previous supervisors with different management styles. In what ways did you modify your behavior to respond
to their style?
Team Player
1. Tell me about the things you have done in your current role to improve the team environment?
2. Tell me about the types of teams you have been involved with. What were your roles?
3. Tell me about a team experience you found rewarding?
4. Tell me about a team experience you found disappointing?
5. How often do you meet with the other members of your work unit as a group? Tell me about your most recent meeting. What was
your role?
6. Thinking about your recent roles, what things have you enjoyed most when working with others? What have you liked least?
7. Think about a recent team project you were involved with. What were some of the pros and cons of teamwork?
8. Tell me about a time you asked your colleagues for their input on a problem you needed to solve.
9. We have all been in meetings someone has suggested a new work practice. Tell me about a time that a peer suggested a new
idea that resulted in more work for your team. What did you do?
10. Getting others to accept our ideas can be difficult. Tell me about a time when other members of your team disagreed with your
ideas. What did you do?
11. Tell me about a time in which you were a member (not a leader) of a team, and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?
12. We have all been in meetings where no one volunteers to talk or take action. Tell me about a time this happened to you. What did
you do?
13. Tell me about a time a colleague (who did not report to you) was not completing their share of the work. What did you do?
14. We have all worked with people who waste our time. Tell me about a team mate who wasted your time.
15. Describe a time when you thought you should have led a team because of your knowledge and expertise, but someone else was
selected. How did you feel and what did you do?
Develop Others
1. Tell me about an important task that you have delegated. What did you do to ensure its success?
2. Tell me about a time a staff member was reluctant to accept a delegate task. What did you do?
3. At times it can be difficult to determine the best person to delegate a task to. Tell me about a time when you delegated a project to
the wrong person?
4. Can you tell me about time when you didn’t want to delegate but had to?
5. When recruiting staff to work for you what do you look for? What steps do you take?
6. It can be easy to forget to provide outstanding achievers with ongoing developmental feedback. Tell me about your best
performer. How often did you discuss their performance and provide them with feedback. How did this compare with the way you
coached your other team members?
 7. Tell me about the last time you formally appraise a direct report’s performance. How did you prepare? Did they agree with your
assessment? How did they feel about your developmental plan?
8. Tell me about a time when your coaching helped someone improve their skills or job performance.
9. Tell me about a time you had to increase motivation in those you supervised?
10. Tell me about some things you have done recently to empower your team? How successful have they been? What do you plan to
do next?
11. Have you ever managed a staff member with a performance difficulty / deficiency? What did you do? What was the outcome?
Customer Oriented
1. Give an example of how you provided service to a client / stakeholder beyond their expectations. How did you identify the need?
How did you respond?
2. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a client / stakeholder service issue.
3. Describe a situation in which you acted as an advocate with your organization for your stakeholder’s need, where there was some
organizational resistance to be overcome.
4. Describe the most rewarding experience you have had dealing with customers?
5. In what ways do you interact differently with customers at hectic times? Can you give an example when you have done this?
6. Tell me about a time when you had to handle an unreasonable request from a customer. What did you do?
7. We have all dealt with difficult customers. Can you describe a situation where a customer tested you patience?
8. What experiences have you had in dealing with difficult customers? Can you give an example?
9. Have you ever had to deal with irate customers? Can you given an example and explain how you reacted?
10. What are some of your strategies for dealing with difficult people? Can you describe a situation where these were tested?
11. In some cases we may do everything possible to satisfy a customer yet they still complain about how they were treated. Tell me
about the last customer who complained about the service your provided.
12. Describe the normal kinds of customer dissatisfaction associated with your last job? Can you give me an example? How did you
respond / feel/ cope?
13. In your previous position, how did you know if your internal / external customers were satisfied?
Resourceful
1. Describe a situation in which you took a creative approach to resourcing to achieve a goal.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a particular resource management issue regarding people, materials or assets.
3. Describe the options you would consider to resource a project or goal if you did not have the available resources within your own
span of control.
4. Describe a situation in which you established a partnership with another organization or stakeholder to achieve a mutual goal.
What steps did you take to ensure the partnership was effective?
Results Oriented
1. Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a goal.
2. Tell me about a time when you improved the way things were typically done on the job.
3. Describe something you have done to improve the performance of your work unit.
4. Describe something you have done to maximize or improve the use of resources beyond your own work unit to achieve improved
results.
5. What projects were accomplished in your last job? How were these accomplished? What was your involvement?
6. What are some of the things that you feel you have done particularly well?
7. Tell me about some of your achievements that were recognized by your superiors.
8. Tell me about an accomplishment you are proud of?
9. Tell me about your most significant accomplishment?
10. What were your two most important achievements (in your current or last job)?
11. Tell me about a goal you set for yourself and steps you took to reach it.
12. Tell me about a time you created a strategy to achieve a longer term business objective.
13. Tell me about a time when obstacles made it difficult to achieve a work goal.
14. Can you describe a situation when you were unable to achieve a goal?
Self Motivated
1. Give an example of an important job goal you have set in the past and tell about your success in reaching it.
2. Give an example of a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to get a job done.
 3. Describe how your work history reflects your job objectives and abilities.
4. Why did you choose this profession? What reward does it give you?
5. When has your morale been the highest at work? Why?
6. Please describe how you set and measure work goals.
7. How do you monitor the progress of assignments and projects?
8. If there is one thing that you could change about your last job, what would it be? Why?
9. What was missing in your last job that you’d like to see in this one?
10. If you could create the perfect job for yourself, what would it be?
11. What do you like least about your last supervisor?
Quality Commitment
1. Give an example of a process or assignment in which you went beyond the request. How do you ensure quality work from
yourself and others?
2. Describe a time when you were able to fix a problem, what was your role and what was the result?
Inspiring
1. How do you motivate others? Describe a time when you had to influence someone that did not report to you. What went well and
what would you do differently?
2. Give an example of a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to get a job done.
(Manages) Stress
1. How effective are you at dealing with last minute changes?
2. How do you ensure that stress and pressure do not adversely impact your work or your focus?
(Wants a) Challenge
1. Describe the most challenging project or decision you had to make. How did you approach this? What was the outcome?
Ambitious - See questions in “self motivated and “results oriented” competencies.
Entrepreneurial
1. Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Why or why not? Describe how you create an environment of “safe” risk taking and
tolerance for failure for yourself and others.
Analytical
1. Describe a project or assignment where you had to gather or evaluate large amounts of data.
2. How do you approach a complex problem so that you ensure you get the best solution?
Values Multicultural Workplace
1. Describe a situation in which you used your multicultural competency skills to resolve a communications issue or other
misunderstanding between employees/co-workers.
2. We take pride in the diversity of our campus community. How do you facilitate an environment of mutual respect?
Competency Based Interview Guide
Guide to Competency Based Interviews (CBIs)

What is a “Competency Based” Interview?

Interviewing is a two-way process. The interviewer wants to find out if you have the skills and experience required
to perform well in the role and you want convince the interviewer that you are the right candidate against, what
could potentially be, stiff competition. Sometimes interviews are so informal they amount to little more than a chat.
This might be less stressful for you but it isn’t always the most effective way of selecting the best candidate for
the job.

A more structured type of interview is “Competence Based”. The employer decides which skills (or competencies)
are required for the role. Questions are then designed specifically to invite the candidates to give examples of
times when they have displayed those skills or competencies.

A competency is defined as;

‘A skill, knowledge, ability or behavioral characteristic that is associated with superior performance’

All competencies should be:

· Observable
· Measurable
· Linked to job requirements
· Linked to the assessment strategy and business needs
· Future-oriented
· Based on strong performance
How Competency Based Interviews Work
The interview will be more systematic than a biographical interview where all the questions relate to your previous
employment or education. Each question will target a specific skill or competency. Candidates are asked
questions relating to their behaviour in specific circumstances, which they then need to back up with concrete
examples. The interviewers will then dig further into the examples by asking for specific explanations about the
candidate's behaviour or skills.

How to answer a CBI question

Prepare, prepare, prepare! This may sound simple but you must prepare fully for your interview and specifically
look at how you would answer the competency questions. You will not know the exact format of the questions that
you will be asked but by studying the job advert or specification you will be able to get an idea of the questions
you are likely to encounter. For example, if the job advert says you need ‘excellent communication skills’ then it
would be fair to assume that your communication skills will be investigated during the CBI.
Examples of competencies
Obviously, the competencies required vary from one job to another but some common themes are listed below;
· Teamwork
· Responsibility
· Commitment to career
· Commercial awareness
· Career motivation
· Decision making
· Communication
· Leadership
· Trustworthiness & Ethics
· Results orientation
· Problem solving
· Organization

To help you structure your answer, you should follow the “STAR” model:

· Situation - Describe the situation or the problem you had to deal with
· Task - Describe the task that the situation required
· Action - Describe the action you took and the obstacles that you had to overcome
· Result - Describe the end results emphasising the positive outcome

Situation / Task
Describe the situation that you were confronted with or the task that needed to be accomplished. With the STAR
approach you need to set the context. Make it concise and informative, concentrating solely on what is useful to
the story. For example, if the question is asking you to describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult
person, explain how you came to meet that person and why they were being difficult. If the question is asking for
an example of teamwork, explain the task that you had to undertake as a team.

Action
This is the most important section of the STAR approach as it is where you will need to demonstrate and highlight
the skills and personal attributes that the question is testing. Now that you have set the context of your story, you
need to explain what you did. In doing so, you will need to remember the following:
· Be personal, i.e. talk about you, not the rest of the team. Always start with I did.
· Go into some detail. Do not assume that they will guess what you mean.
· Steer clear of technical information, unless it is crucial to your story.
· Explain what you did, how you did it, and why you did it.
Result
Explain what happened eventually – how it all ended. Also, use the opportunity to describe what you
accomplished and what you learnt in that situation. This helps you make the answer personal and enables you to
highlight further skills.
This is probably the most crucial part of your answer. Interviewers want to know that you are using a variety of
generic skills in order to achieve your objectives. Therefore you must be able to demonstrate in your answer that
you were taking specific actions because you are trying to achieve a specific objective.

Example…
Let’s take the example of Customer Focus.

Definition: Individuals who display this competency understand and believe in the importance of customer focus.
They listen to and understand the needs of customers and meet and exceed their needs to ensure satisfaction.
The interviewer might ask you,
“Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a very angry customer. What was the situation? Why had it
happened? What did you do? How was the situation resolved?”
They are looking for a specific example of a situation you have actually dealt with in the past. You should not
generalise. Don’t say “Oh, it happens all the time.” Tell the interviewer about one occasion when you dealt with a
customer complaint and brought it to a satisfactory conclusion.

Good luck!
Competency Based Interview
Competency interview (also referred to as situational, behavioural orcompetency based interview) questions are
a style of interviewing often used to evaluate a candidate's key competencies, particularly when it is hard to select on
the basis of technical merit; for example, for a particular graduate scheme, or a graduate job where relevant
experience is less important or not required.

Increasingly, companies are using competency based interviews as part of the selection process for experienced
recruitment, as it can give valuable insights into an individual's preferred style of working and helps to predict
behaviours in future situations.

Conventional job interviews may focus on questions relating to an applicant's past or previous industry experience, but
this is an ineffective tool for graduate-level candidates who are not expected to have any former experience in the
industry they wish to work in.

Questions about industry experience will not be part of a competency interview. Instead interviewers will ask questions
that require candidates to demonstrate that they have a particular skill or a key competency the firm is looking for.
Candidates will be asked to do this using situational examples from their life experiences, to illustrate their personality,
skill set and individual competencies to the interviewer.

Competency interviews may also feature questions that probe candidates on their knowledge of the company and
industry they have applied to. This type of interview question tests candidates on their motivation and commitment to
career.

A typical competency based interview will last for one hour. At most major firms competency interviews will also be
standardised. Consequently all applicants can expect to be asked identical questions.

What Are Competencies?

A competency is a particular quality that a company's recruiters have decided is desirable for employees to possess.
During interviews and assessment processes, competencies are used as benchmarks that assessors use to rate and
evaluate candidates.

In interviews, recruiters look for evidence of competencies by asking candidatescompetency based questions. This
style of question forces candidates to give situational examples of times in the past when they have performed
particular tasks or achieved particular outcomes using certain skills.

Read more here about key competencies.

Why are Competency Based Questions Used at

Interview?
In the case of applications for graduate jobs, candidates typically have no experience in the industry to which they have
applied. Consequently it is not possible to assess their suitability for a job role based upon their CV alone. This has led
to the development of competency based interviews becoming the prime way to interview inexperienced graduate
applicants.

The best way to prepare is by reading as much about competency based interviews as possible. JobTestPrep has a
range of material that can help - to learn more about and practice actual competency-based questions, click here.
Typical Competency Based Interview Structure
Questions in competency interviews will usually refer to activities a candidate has participated in at school, college or
university, or any other activities that can be used to effectively display evidence of particular competencies or a
particular competency.

A typical competency question could be: "Describe two situations where you have had to work as part of a team."
When asked a question like this, you should be able to talk for several minutes about your participation to a particularly
strong team you have been part of in the past and how your sense of teamwork helped lead a task or project to
successful completion.

You should have an idea before the interview of the experiences from your life that you could use as examples to
demonstrate the key competencies of the firm to which you are applying. You are likely to have to provide at least two
examples for each competency during your interview.

It is quite acceptable to ask for and to use a few moments of thinking time before answering competency questions. If
necessary, simply notify your interviewer by explaining you "may need to think about this for a few moments". Once
you have thought of a good example to use, continue with your answer.

Who Uses Competency Interviews?

Estimates indicate that a third to a half of all employers are using competency interviews as part of their recruitment
process. Large graduate employers are especially likely to use competency interviews as part of their graduate
recruitment procedure, in particular as part of an assessment centre.

Will I Be Given a Competency Interview?

It is hard to tell if a competency interview will feature as part of your assessment process before making your
application to a firm, although the application form itself may help to give you a clue. Many employers who do use
competency interviews design their Application Forms to include a number of competency questions. Take note if you
find any questions on your application that ask you to give situational examples. These may be a strong indicator of
what is in store at interview.

Key Competency: Motivation & Commitment to

Career
It is likely you will be asked why you wish to work for this company in particular, and what distinguishes this company,
for you, from its competitors. This question requires you to discuss your knowledge of the firm in detail and prove to
your interviewer your desire for a job.

To answer this question you should describe:

• The key strengths this firm has over its competitors in the industry (e.g. more specialised in certain niche
areas, more international scope, more respected).
• What appeals to you personally about the firm (e.g. your interests in the firm's niche areas, your relevant
study at university).
• Other relevant factors you find interesting (e.g. the impression you have of the working style at the firm, the
social side of the company, the type of charitable work the firm is involved in).

You may also be asked what you believe you will be doing during your first year on the graduate scheme. You should
be particularly clear about exactly what it is you will be doing. If you cannot answer this question, you are unlikely to be
successful. If you are currently unsure, it is perfectly acceptable to contact firm's graduate recruitment departments
before applying to discuss anything you do not already know about the job.
If you’re soon to have a competency based interview, this free ebook is well worth downloading. It covers how to
recognise competency-based questions and relate them to an organisation; how to use the STAR and SOARA
methods; and how to use narratives that work well as model answers.

Competency Based Interview: The first 60 seconds

Although competency based interviews are standardised, a typical interviewer will decide within minutes whether they
like you or not, and this is likely to affect the outcome of the interview. It is very important to give a good impression to
your interviewer from the very first moment you meet.

Shake hands confidently, smile, introduce yourself, and be generally convivial to the occasion. Sitting quietly and
communicating poorly will not help you, and neither will boisterous or arrogant behaviour. You should be polite but
outgoing, assertive but not aggressive and aim to be every bit as professional as the interviewer who is assessing you.

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