 These guidance notes have been put together to help you prepare for your interview. If having read through the notes you still have some questions, please call your Consultant who will be happy to help.
What is a Competency?
Competencies are those behaviours that you demonstrate at work that makes you effective. They are a mixture of knowledge, skills, motivation and personal characteristics. In demonstrating your competence you will be showing the skills and the background knowledge necessary for you to perform a particular task effectively, together with the motivation and drive to make things happen.
Why are they used?
Our individual skills, attributes and behaviours make us unique, they also influence the way we react and respond to events in our lives and thus how we perform at work. There is a direct relationship between our skills, attributes and behaviours and our performance at work. It makes sense for interviewers to ask candidates about their competencies and see how they 'match' the job requirement. Candidates can assess whether the job matches their competencies so they would be happy in that role.
What is a competency based interview?
It is an interview in which each candidate is asked the same broad questions which are designed to obtain information about the match between the candidate's competencies and those required for the job. These questions concentrate on the most important parts of a candidate's past experience. This enables the interviewer to draw from each candidate his or her ability to demonstrate successful performance in the job.
Interview Preparation
It is vital that you prepare your evidence in advance by identifying your best examples of when you have demonstrated the key competencies for the role.
There are two main areas to consider - the job and yourself.
The Job
Make sure that you have as much information about the role as you can get. You should then put yourself in the position of the line manager and think through what the important factors are for the role. Then consider how these factors match the competencies you have displayed in your current role.
Yourself
Self-knowledge is an important part of your preparation. To be successful you need to make a good impression and be different. The interviewer may see several people and the one that will be remembered is the one who is distinctive, has something interesting to say, or can make a unique contribution to the role.
A possible starting point is to think about your past achievements:
- The things that you have done that you are most proud of
- Situations you feel that you have handled particularly well
- Ways in which you have contributed to the success of the business as a whole
What competencies do these achievements suggest?
For each achievement think about the part that you played - what did you do, what did you say, what did you think?
This should give you a clear indication of your strengths and weaknesses. Then consider how to present these achievements in competency terms at the interview.
You should also consider how your experience and competencies match the requirements of the role for which you are being considered. If there are any gaps, it may be worthwhile doing some more self-analysis and/or identification of achievements to ensure your suitability for the job - and the job for you.
At the Interview
Initially you will normally be asked some general questions about yourself and your background. These will be followed up with some questions about the key competencies. These questions often begin with:
- "Tell me about a time when…"
- "Describe an occasion when…"
- "When has it been important to…"
Remember the interviewer is interest in finding out about you and what you have achieved, not about your team, project or manager's achievements. It is important that you talk about you and your achievements/contribution. These initial questions may then be followed by further questions to enable the interviewer to get as complete a picture of events and as much detailed evidence as possible.
How to structure your response to these types of questions.
Context / Situation -
this is outlining why your response relates to the question
A structured interview question starts...
-
Tell me about a time when you ...
- Describe a situation when you ...
- Give me an example of when you ...
- Tell me about a specific occasion when
...
Action - this is
describing the actions you took
Questions you should consider when responding
- What approach did you take?
- What exactly did you do?
- How did you do it?
Result - so what
happened?
Questions you should consider when responding
-
How did it work out?
- What was the result?
- What feedback did you get?
- What was the outcome?
- How did you measure the success of what
you did?
Practical Example
Q.
Describe a time when it was especially
important that you worked as part of a team.
Response A – unsatisfactory answer
Well I must say I
think it is important that you always work as part of a team. I do this all the time at work. We always help each other out especially when
we are really busy.
Yes I would say that
is when it is really important to be part of a team. I find if everyone works together you achieve
a lot more. I think customers recognise
how well we all get on actually.
We go
out socially especially after a busy day to let off steam. Our branch did really well this year so I
suppose that proves we are a great team. |
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Response B – good answer
Context: Just recently we were short staffed due to illness, it was
essential we all supported each other through what was a very busy day.
Answer: I got everyone together before the branch opened and
organised lunch rotas. We all discussed
which jobs we were trained/able to cover, from that I drew up a job cover plan
for the front desk to ensure that customer service was not effected. I asked everyone for any ideas which may help
us through the day and a couple ideas were discussed and taken forward.
Result: The branch manager congratulated us on our efforts the
following day we all went out for a drink and had a good laugh.
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You should answer the questions as specifically and spontaneously as you can. It is acceptable to have notes to remind you of your examples but don't read from a script. If the interviewer stops you from expanding on a particular point do not be put off. This is to ensure that you have the opportunity to concentrate on the areas of greatest interest to the interviewer.
At the end of the interview there will be a chance for you to add any information that you feel is relevant that has not been covered, and to ask any outstanding questions that you may have. It is important that you have prepared three or four questions to ask at the interview as it demonstrates that you have given some thought to the interview and are keen to get the job.
Good Luck in your search for employment. If you need more help and advice please contact us.
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Opus Mitchell Limited