Careers & Employment Information

Competency Based Interviews - 6 Steps to Success!


Competency based interviews are intended to get the best from you, the candidate, whilst also fulfilling the needs of the organisation to get the very best person for the job. There are some easy steps to make the most of yourself and have a much better chance of success.

  • Prepare well, but keep it sensible
    As long as you know the job you are going for, ask for details of what you will be measured against. Ask for a set of competencies. Ask for a job description. This sets you up to succeed, not just because you are better informed, but also because you have asked - which will impress the decision-makers, before you even get there!
  • Get Creative
    Here is the time to use your own experiences to create 'stories' which you can use in the actual interview. These 'stories' are real scenarios that you have been a part of, which over a period of days and weeks beforehand, you write up. Maybe you will have 20+ initial ideas.
  • Leverage!
    Take the very best scenarios and write them out, bullet points first. Then flesh them out, whilst referring carefully to the competencies you've been given. It is amazing how you can 'tune-in' your scenario to include many, if not all of the competencies. And if you can't fit them all in, there will be a use for them - later!
  • Practice
    By reading through your scenarios (and by now you should not have more than six or seven) you will familiarise yourself with the contents, so well, that they will become second nature - even in the scary experience of an interview.
  • In the Interview
    There are some tactics in here too!

    • Using your scenarios make just three key points about what you've been asked. Make them relevant and the right 'weight'. Not too long or too short.
    • After that, leave space for them to ask more - that's what they are listening for.
    • Say 'I' a lot - they want to know what your personal involvement and experience was, not 'the team' or 'they'.
    • Have fun - whilst not contrived, smile and make some simple jokes, if you feel comfortable with that - they want to employ happy as well as capable people.
    • Can't answer? That's fine. Make sure that you reflect on your shortcomings by saying things like, 'It's one of the first things I want to develop in my next job - if you did your stuff on your scenarios and your competencies well enough, you will have covered 90% of the bases well and you'll be forgiven for not being 'perfect'. If you are really stumped - say so!
    • Ask questions - relevant, about their culture, focus on developing you, opportunities - the positive 'peopley' things (remember it's your chance to see if you want to work with them!).
    • Also ask about current issues they may be facing - you did do your homework on them, didn't you?

  • Strong Ending!
    Keep the whole thing light, even as you leave at the end. Have a conversation in general terms - about anything! Do make sure that you ask them some things that are about them - they will love it if you ask them some open (what, how, when, where, who) general questions about your new job! About something nice in the building or their clothes - take as it comes and do what feels comfortable!
  • Remember that competencies are there to help you and they provide a guide-map for your competency based interview success!

    © 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

    ...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...


    MORE RESOURCES:
    Google

    Reuters

    Why tech jobs are beating the employment odds
    ZDNet - Jul 3, 2008
    ... impressively choreographed fireworks displays, we?re capping off one of the most depressing weeks for employment reports in the better half of a decade. ...
    Treasurys rise ahead of employment report The Associated Press
    US employment slump 'may continue into 2009' Vedior
    Treasurys advance after ADP jobs report MarketWatch
    International Business Times - Forbes
    all 161 news articles


    Boston Globe

    Little doubt that US is in recession; rest of the world can't ...
    The Age, Australia - 6 hours ago
    "Employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and employment services, while health care and mining added jobs," the department said in its ...
    Fragile economy takes toll on jobs Los Angeles Times
    Jobs continue to fade Chicago Tribune
    Six Months of Job Loss Push Economy Toward Recession ABC News
    Amerisurv (press release) - BusinessWeek
    all 372 news articles


    Earthtimes (press release)

    Trouble for Small-Business Employment
    U.S. News & World Report, DC - Jul 2, 2008
    Last month, I declared small-business employment "not too shabby" after looking at May's survey from Automatic Data Processing and the consulting firm ...
    ADP National Employment Report Shows US Employment Decreased by ... CNNMoney.com
    ECONOMY: Little to Cheer on US Independence Day Inter Press Service (subscription)
    DJ: ADP Sees June US Private Sector Jobs Down 79000 Onet.pl
    New York Times - TheStreet.com
    all 81 news articles


    BBC News

    Amid ugly job picture, tech related employment holds up
    ZDNet - Jul 3, 2008
    The US economy lost 62000 jobs in June for the sixth straight month of employment losses with an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, but underneath the ...
    Labor Department to Release Employment Report WJTV
    Payrolls Shrank Again in June; Wall Street Journal
    US non farm payrolls continue rolling downhill in June International Business Times
    Forex Pros - The Australian
    all 195 news articles


    US stocks advance as employment report comes as expected
    MarketWatch - 23 hours ago
    By MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- US stocks end mostly higher, offering a benign reaction to the government's report on employment, which fell only ...
    US stocks advance as employment report comes as expected MarketWatch
    Dollar loses ground after weak jobs report MarketWatch
    US stocks mostly higher in the wake of jobs data MarketWatch
    all 26 news articles


    Survey shows biggest decline in employment for six years
    Financial Times, UK - 19 hours ago
    By Daniel Pimlott in New York The US suffered its largest drop in employment in nearly six years in June in a sign of the deteriorating economic environment ...


    Outlook Darker as Jobs Are Lost
    New York Times, United States - 8 hours ago
    Responding quickly to the government employment report, issued Thursday, the presidential candidates called for action, beyond the recent stimulus package, ...
    Jobs Continue to Be Lost ToTheCenter.com
    Employers Cut Workers for a Sixth Month New York Times
    all 11 news articles


    June is sixth straight month of job losses
    Kansas City Star, MO - 17 hours ago
    Since December, payroll employment has fallen by 438000 jobs. Another indicator, also reported Thursday, suggested further upward revisions in jobless ...
    Job market: No bottom until '09 CNN
    Why Lousy Jobs Numbers Might Be OK U.S. News & World Report
    all 5 news articles


    Getting The Deal Through - Labour & Employment 2008
    Mondaq News Alerts (subscription), UK - 6 hours ago
    As Australia is a federation, employment law is governed by laws made by the parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (federal law) as well as by ...
    Who Owns IP Produced "On The Job Mondaq News Alerts (subscription)
    all 2 news articles


    SJ: COUNTY SUPES OPPOSE FEDERAL ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION ...
    CBS 5, CA - 53 minutes ago
    The SAVE Act would require all employers to verify the employment eligibility of all workers by using Basic Pilot/E-Verify, a system that relies heavily on ...

    Employment - Google News

    home | site map
    © 2006