FabSwingers.com forum: Competency based interview

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

I have a competency based interview coming up for a promotion in work, does anybody work in recruitment that can give me some tips etc

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I work in HR.

Competency interviews are all about showing previous competence in key areas. Hopefully you know the competency areas you are being tested on?

Then come up with a bank of about 10-15 examples of achievements, work projects etc and check you can talk about them:

Situation

Objective

Action

Result

Response

Review (what did you learn)

Practise talking those examples out loud.

Good luck!

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I used to think I was quite good at interviews however recently it's becoming really tricky!

I'm not in recruitment but the recruitment people often plug a STAR technique for competency questions.. break down your answers in the following way..

Situation

Task

Action

Result

However use real examples and be yourself is my advice too

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Competences are typically related to these kind of areas, but the job your going for should have a defined set.

communication

teamwork

problem-solving

leadership

time management

planning and organisation

customer-facing skills

delegation

influencing

decision making

motivation

adaptability

commercial awareness

creativity

Tailor your stories and examples so they illustrate the competences the job requires.

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *bmarley77Man
over a year ago

Nr Derby

"I have a competency based interview coming up for a promotion in work, does anybody work in recruitment that can give me some tips etc"

Google competency based question examples. Get the ideas and examples in your head.

For example...Describe a time when a project was running late and how you managed the customer...

There are no yes or no answers for these type of questions and are very more conversation based. A little bit of prep before gets you in the right zone.

Hope this helps! Best of luck.

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *carlet_heavenWoman
over a year ago

somewhere in the sticks

Surely 'competency' will require some evidence of relevant training & qualifications required for the role...?

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *carlet_heavenWoman
over a year ago

somewhere in the sticks

Oh & WHY are you having the interview? Is it required & has it been approved by your Trade Union (if you have one?) or is procedure (of being interviewed) set out in your staff handbook? Have you been given the required notice and/or guidance?

Just bcos HR are doing the interview....it doesn't mean that HR people are the only people you need to get advice from & consult with

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Surely 'competency' will require some evidence of relevant training & qualifications required for the role...?"

Sometimes but often the competences are best illustrated through actual examples rather than attendance at training programmes or qualifications.

I am much more interested in the examples people choose to demonstrate their capabilities than a list of qualifications

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *isa 59Woman
over a year ago

Newcastle

"I work in HR.

Competency interviews are all about showing previous competence in key areas. Hopefully you know the competency areas you are being tested on?

Then come up with a bank of about 10-15 examples of achievements, work projects etc and check you can talk about them:

Situation

Objective

Action

Result

Response

Review (what did you learn)

Practise talking those examples out loud.

Good luck!"

Talking your answers out loud is a great suggestion as they never sound the same as they do in your head. Get a friend to help you by asking the questions.

Also, go through your company's definitions of the competencies that you need to cover and pick out the buzz words. If it's anything like mine then you can give the best examples ever but if you don't hit those words then you don't get the marks!

Good luck

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *bmarley77Man
over a year ago

Nr Derby

"Surely 'competency' will require some evidence of relevant training & qualifications required for the role...?"

The qualifications will have been assessed already to get said person to interview, so shouldn't really have much bearing on the interview as such.

The competency questions will be based on the applicable role, designed to tease out whether someone is suitably experienced in the role being applied for.

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By *ooner2Man
over a year ago

peterborough

excellent advice. going for my first interview in over 30years

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I have a competency based interview coming up for a promotion in work, does anybody work in recruitment that can give me some tips etc"

Ask them to tell you what the specific competencies are - it shouldn't be a secret. If they won't tell you, read the job spec for clues. Once you know the competencies, list of a few examples of where you have demonstrated that competency. As others have noted, use the STAR or CAR (challenge, action, response) format.

Good luck op, fwiw I think competency based interviewing is a much better approach than a completely unstructured one, as you have something to prepare and can feel confident going in, of your do your homework

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I think these type of interviews are shit personally because you can bullshit any experience and make up a story to fit the question.

The best interviews are based on talking about your current role and the interviewer actually taking an interest and asking personalised questions to get an idea about you as a person by interview stage you’ve already ticked the skills set - they should be looking to see what type of person you are and how you fit the team dynamic

This is just my personal view

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I think these type of interviews are shit personally because you can bullshit any experience and make up a story to fit the question.

This is just my personal view

"
Competency based interviews can do all those things, the difference is between structured and unstructured interviews. Unstructured interviews are a nightmare for interviewees because they have nothing to base their preparation on. I have only ever given interviews using competency based methods once a number of years ago, but I had a good experience as the interviewer as the structure keeps you focused and on-task.

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Competency interviews are abysmal and only exist to make it easier for the interviewer.

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Competency interviews are abysmal and only exist to make it easier for the interviewer."

I think they get a bad rep because of bad interviewers. Any good interviewer should know what a potential hire should be able to do before interviewing, otherwise it's just a complete crap-shoot. Perhaps there are better ways to conduct an interview, but I haven't seen one. Just saying "take me through your CV" is a virtually guaranteed way of making bad hiring decisions

Reply privately

Reply in forum

Reply +quote

Post new Message to Thread