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The use of Competency Based Interview Questions is becoming increasingly common and not just within the largest corporations. Smaller and medium sized companies are using these tools as a means of improving their recruitment decisions.
This method of interviewing is also called Structured Interviewing and uses Behavioral Interview techniques to assess how a candidates past performance in work related situations can be used as a predictor of future performance.
Every job can be described in terms of Competencies, which are the skills, abilities or behaviors required and some of which will be regarded as essential and others desirable.
You may see them categorized as Managerial Competencies, Individual Competencies, Analytical Competencies, Interpersonal Competencies and Motivational Competencies however the 12 most common competencies are:
Communication, Achievement, Customer Focus, Teamwork, Leadership, Planning and Organizing, Operational Awareness, Flexibility, Developing Others, Problem Solving, Analytical Thinking and Building Relationships.
These of course will vary depending on the role and the level however in the job interview, you should expect a series of Competency Based Questions exploring each competency. These are usually behavioural in nature and take the form of:
• Tell me about a time when
• Describe a situation
• Give an Example
When you give your answer the interviewer may choose to probe deeper and ask about the detail such as:
• How exactly did you do that?
• Tell me exactly what steps you took to resolve that
• What was your involvement
By investigating further the interviewer is trying to discover more about your skills as well as looking for clues which may suggest that you are exaggerating your part in the process or have created a complete fabrication.
When answering competency based interview questions we suggest that you choose answers based on real experiences that you have had and be ready to give details. Your response needs to be relevant and sufficiently detailed. Be specific and tell a story. A technique to use when answering behavioural questions is what I call iPAR:
I = Talk about the part you played in IDENTIFYING or noticing the problem
P = Describe the PROBLEM, situation or task
A = Talk about the ACTION you took
R = Describe the successful RESULT by using figures and data to illustrate the benefit to the company.
And always use “I” rather than “we”.
Prepare answers which relate to all the achievements on your resume or CV as you will surely be asked questions referring to these. You will find that you should have a sufficient stock of answers that will help you answer any competency based interview question irrespective of the style used.

• ISBN13: 9781564148698
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Product Description
Have you ever wondered why you didn’t get a job offer after an important interview? People interviewing for jobs today often fail because they are using yesterday’s strategies. They haven’t realized that the best employers have changed the way interviews are done, and it now takes a different strategy to succeed. Competency-Based Interviews shows today’s candidates a new, more targeted way to prepare for the tough interviews based on the competencies tha… More >>

Competency-Based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style And Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job

So all your hard work has paid off and you have finally received an invite to an interview for that dream job. However you still have more work to do to win that elusive job offer and effective communication is vital if you are to succeed.
The interview is very much a two-way dialog, it is an exploratory conversation where you and your interviewer are assessing each other. You will be trying to discover if job is right for you and in turn your interviewer is trying to gather as much information about you and what you bring which will allow them to make a correct decision.
As with all conversations, there are ways of communicating which work better than others and here are some key guidelines to help you give powerful interview answers. I am going to show you how to structure answers to two common interview question types so that they have maximum impact:
1. Competency Based and Behavioral Interview Questions
It is very likely that you will be asked Competency and Behavioral Interview Questions. These are relatively easy to spot as they usually start with phrases such as:
‘Tell me about at time when….’
‘Describe a situation….’
‘Talk through a project/event…’
These questions can often seem deceptively simple however without careful preparation, it can be very difficult to give a truly effective interview answer. Many candidates tend to ramble and to overcome this, I recommend a technique called iPAR when structuring your answer.
I = means both the use of ‘I’ rather than ‘We’ and also relates to the situation where you initiated or identified a problem
P = stands for the Problem, the situation requiring attention
A = refers to the Actions you took to resolve the situation
R = refers to the Results, the successful outcome
Very importantly, when talking about the Result, quote figures to illustrate the magnitude of the success and the positive impact your actions had.
Keep this technique in mind when preparing answers and during the interview itself and it will help you to deliver a concise, focussed and interesting answer to any Competency or Behavioral Question.
2. Direct Questions
Direct questions are even easier to spot and they begin with Why, What, Where, Who etc. For example:
“What are your strengths?”
Here is an easy to remember formula which is great for giving structure to your answer and which will help demonstrate your communication skills. It really is as easy as ABC:
A: ANSWER the question in your first sentence
(’I have a number of strengths which I can offer in this position and three, which I believe will be of particular benefit are my ability to lead and motivate large teams, my negotiation skills and my experience in delivering complex change management programmes.’)
B: Having set the scene, carry on and BUILD your answer methodically
(Give more detail which gives evidence of your ability and which re-enforces and lends credibility to your opening statement.)
C: Summary and Conclusion: CONCLUDE your answer by referring back to the role, discussing how you see yourself contributing in the job.
(Overall, I am a dedicated and experienced Manager and I believe these skills will be of real benefit in delivering excellent results, in motivating the team and in ensuring that your clients have a better customer experience here than anywhere else.)