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Competency Based Interviews

Overview and then drill-down of competency based interview methods employed by employers to get you employed.

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tekgeek
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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2K views

Competency Based Interviews

Overview and then drill-down of competency based interview methods employed by employers to get you employed.

Uploaded by

tekgeek
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

Competency-based interviews (also called structured interviews) are interviews where each
question is designed to test one or more specific skills. The answer is then matched against pre-
decided criteria and marked accordingly. For example, the interviewers may want to test the
candidate's ability to deal with stress by asking first how the candidate generally handles stress
and then asking the candidate to provide an example of a situation where he worked under
pressure.

How do competency-based interviews differ from normal interviews?

Normal interviews (also called unstructured interviews) are essentially a conversation where
the interviewers ask a few questions that are relevant to what they are looking for but without
any specific aim in mind other than getting an overall impression of you as an individual.
Questions are fairly random and can sometimes be quite open. For example, a question such as
"What can you offer our company?" is meant to gather general information about you but does
not test any specific skill or competency. In an unstructured interview, the candidate is judged on
the general impression that he/she leaves and are therefore likely to be more subjective.

Competency-based interviews (also called structured or behavioural interviews) are more


systematic, with each question targetting 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.

Which skills and competencies do competency-based interviews test?

The list of skills and competencies that can be tested varies depending on the post that you are
applying for. For example, for a Personal Assistant post, skills and competencies would include
communication skills; ability to organise and prioritise; and ability to work under pressure. For a
senior manager, skills and competencies may include an ability to influence and negotiate; an
ability to cope with stress and pressure; an ability to lead; and the capacity to take calculated
risks.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the more common skills and competencies that you may be asked
to demonstrate:

Skills and competencies for competency-based interviews

• Adaptability
• Compliance
• Communication
• Conflict management
• Creativity and
Innovation
• Decisiveness
• Delegation
• External awareness
• Flexibility
• Independence
• Influencing
• Integrity
• Leadership
• Leveraging diversity
• Organisational
awareness
• Resilience and tenacity
• Risk taking
• Sensitivity to others

• Team work

How competency-based interview questions are marked

Before the interview, the interviewers will have determined which type of answers would score
positive points and which types of answers would count against the candidates. For example, for
questions such as "Describe a time when you had to deal with pressure", the positive and
negative indicators may be as follows:

Positive indicators Negative indicators

• Demonstrates a positive approach • Perceives challenges as problems


towards the problem. • Attempts unsuccessfully to deal with the
• Considers the wider need of the situation situation alone
situation
• Recognises his own limitations • Used inappropriate strategies to deal
• Is able to compromise with pressure/stress
• Is willing to seek help when necessary

• Uses effective strategies to deal with


pressure/stress

In some cases, negative indicators are divided into two further sections: minor negative
indicators, i.e. those which are negative but which don’t matter so much; and decisive negative
indicators i.e. those for which they won’t forgive you e.g. not asking for help when needed.

Marks are then allocated depending on the extent to which the candidate's answer matches those
negative and positive indicators. Here is an example of a marking schedule for the table above:

0 No evidence No evidence reported


1 Poor Little evidence of positive indicators.
Mostly negative indicators, many decisive

2 Areas for concern Limited number of positive indicators.


Many negative indicators, one or more decisive.

3 Satisfactory Satisfactory display of positive indicators.


Some negative indicators but none decisive.

4 Good to excellent Strong display of positive indicators

If the interviewers feel that there are areas that you have failed to address, they may help you
along by probing appropriately. For example, in answering the question above “Describe an
example of a time when you had to deal with pressure”, if you focussed on how you dealt with
the practical angle of the problem but you forgot to discuss how you managed your stress during
and after the event, the interviewers may prompt you with a further question such as “How did
you handle the stress at the time?”. This would give you an opportunity to present a full picture
of your behaviour. This is where the marking can become subjective. Indeed, if an interviewer
likes you, he may be more tempted to prompt you and push you along than if he has bad vibes
about you.

Examples of competency-based interview questions

For a comprehensive list of questions commonly asked at competency-based interviews, please


see our special competency-based interview questions page.

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