Format of the interview at the FAO

 It will take around 20 minutes.

 You will be interviewed on Skype by a panel (usually without video).
 The panel will consist of 3 to 5 members – usually including your future supervisor,
someone working closely with your supervisor, someone from the HR unit, and someone
from a different department. They will have someone there to take notes.
 You will be asked ± 5 questions. The panel has prepared them, agreed on them and
written them down.

Subconsciously the panel is looking for people that are:

- conscientious (wishing to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly)
- emotionally stable
- likeable and agreeable
- good fit for the position and a good fit for the organization

Not a lot of people are good at answering the question directly. People talk too much
without really addressing the issue. Keep in mind that the panel has a short amount of time.
If you need clarification on the question itself, ask for it.
If you cannot name an example, you can say, I have no experience with X, but I have
another example that might be relevant.
If you are unsure if your answer is what they were looking for, feel free to say something at
the end of your answer to give the panel the opportunity to direct you (“Does that answer
your question?” / “Is that sufficiently detailed?”)

Likely questions you will be asked

You will most likely get five questions. These are the general categories of questions they
ask:
1. About your motivation, general experience or added value
2. A competency /skills based question
3. A competency /skills based question
4. A question on the multicultural or site-specific context
5. A technical question

1. Motivation, general experience or added value

The first question is an important question because the panel makes up their mind at the
start of the interview.
Focus on the value proposition that you bring to the organization and to this role –>
highlight what the panel should hire you for.

Examples of questions:
- Tell me about yourself

Motivation
- Why were you interested in applying to this job?
- What particular aspect of this job appealed to you when you applied?

General experience
- What do you know about FAO?
- What do you know about this department?
- What do you know about the team?

Added value
- Tell me about yourself.
- Walk me through your cv.
- How can you contribute in this position?

Values
- What are the three values that are most important to you? And how do these values
translate into your work?

2. & 3. Competency /skills based question

The questions will generally relate to the competencies listed in the Vacancy Announcement
(VA). Usually they are listed explicitly.

This is part of a VA for a consultancy at FAO:

In this case, the questions often relate to whether you 1) focus on results, 2) work well in a
team, 3) can communicate effectively (which includes drafting policy documents), 4) can
build effective relationships (with people from a variety of regions and developing/emerging
countries), and 5) can share knowledge effectively and continuously improve your
professional qualities.

The FAO core competencies

See the FAO Competency Framework (available online)

Results Focus
- Includes: developing an understanding of client(s)’ actual needs, contributing to work
planning and anticipating obstacles, managing time efficiently, monitoring progress,
meeting deadline, taking accountability for the delivery of results
- Examples of questions
o Tell us about a situation when you went above and beyond your manager's
expectations.
o Give an example of a time when you used your problem solving abilities to
resolve an issue?
o Tell us about a time where you had a number of demands being made on you at
the same time? How did you handle it?

Teamwork
- Includes: Soliciting input from others, putting team agenda before personal agenda,
building consensus, acting according to the group decision even if you disagree,
accepting responsibility for team’s success and shortcomings, offering support to
colleagues
- Examples of questions
o Tell me about a time when you were part of a successful team. What made that
team successful? What was your role in that team? How did you overcome
problems in that team?
o How have you resolved a problem within a team?
o How do you function in a team?

Communication
- Includes: Writing and speaking clearly, tailoring message to audience, listening to
others, asking for clarification, sharing information and keeping others informed
- Examples of questions
o What positive things have people said about your ability to communicate with
others?
o What development areas have been highlighted for you (eg speaking skills,
listening skills)?
o Compared to others, how would you rate yourself as a communicator? Why?
o What could you do to become better at communicating with others?

Building Effective Relationships

- Includes: building positive working relationships with trust and empathy, seeking
opportunities to collaborate, developing networks with people outside of your
immediate team, anticipating conflicting interests and finding solutions
- Examples of questions
o Tell me about a person with whom you worked that you found difficult to trust.
Why did you not trust them? How did you deal with them? How trusting are you
compared with your colleagues?

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

- Includes: Keeping up with news on one’s field, developing one’s self, helping others
learn, seeking feedback from others
- Examples of questions
o How have you gone about keeping your technical knowledge up to date in the
past?
o In what areas of technical knowledge do you want to become more competent?
o How does your technical knowledge compare to that of your colleagues?
o Which areas in your profession/occupation are the most challenging for you?
What are your strengths/weaknesses in this area?
o Describe an occasion when colleagues (others) sought your advice or experience.
What had you done to be an authority? How accurate was your advice? What
have you done since to acquire extra knowledge? To what extent could you
answer all their questions? How did you know that the information you gave was
up to date? What was their reaction?
o Describe an occasion when you felt that your level of technical knowledge was
insufficient. What made you think this? What action did you take since?
o How have you contributed to the learning of others?

How to answer competency/skills based questions

You will also be judged on how well you have prepared for questions and whether your
answers are brief, clear, relevant, and eloquent. Focus on your own role in the situation.

Never give two examples from the same job experience, even if it's relevant.

The panel is looking for:

- The depth and the complexity of the example (like Olympic diving, the higher the drive,
the better the marks)
- The examples that you give have to be attributable to you. You need to be honest about
your own role, because FAO may verify your examples.

Answer according to CAR(L):

- context
- action (attributable to you)
- results/impact of your action
- learning
4. Question on the multicultural context

“Respect for Diversity”

- Includes: working effectively with people from all backgrounds, treating people with
dignity and respect, showing respect for diverse points of view (incl. in decision-making),
examines own biases, does not discriminate
- Examples of questions
o What experience do you have with working with people from diverse
backgrounds?
o Describe a specific situation where you have had to relate to others from a
different background from yours?
o How could you improve how you interact with people from different
backgrounds?
o Based upon your experience, what advice would you give to someone having
difficulty working with people from different backgrounds.
o Describe an occasion when you found it difficult to work with someone from a
different background. What caused the problem, how did you respond, and what
would you do differently next time?
o When you are liaising with colleagues or others from different cultures, what
sorts of issues do you need to take into account?
o Describe a situation that required you to consider a different perspective from
your own when exploring an issue. What did you learn? What do you see as
being the key to effectively viewing issues from an alternative perspective?
o What opportunity have you had to examine your own biases and behaviours
when dealing with people? What observations have you made? Give me an
example of when you have attempted to avoid a stereotypical response?

5. Technical question

Check the technical aspects of the Vacancy Annoucement and make sure to be prepared for
any questions related to the subjects mentioned in the VA, especially on recent
developments on these subjects.

This is part of a VA for a consultancy at FAO:

In this case you may expect “technical questions” related to the subjects listed above,
including for example on how FAO’s work in the AFLOU sector contributes to climate change
mitigation or the priorities of FAO for tackling forest fires in the Mediterranean.
Examples of questions:
- What is the difference between a project and a programme?
- Name three things that the Uganda country office is doing? (for a position in the Uganda
country office)
- How should FAO implement the Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible Governance of
Tenure (VGGTs)? (for a position in the VGGTs team)
- What do you know about the Legal Office, Development Law team? What are their
priorities? Who are their main clients?

List of physical notes to keep handy during the interview

- Vacancy announcement
- Organisational chart (of the entire organisation and of the relevant department)
- My cv
- Notes:
o Motivation / response to the question “Walk me through your CV”
o Response to the question “What are your top 3 values”
o Response to the question “What do you know about the organisation/the
department/the position?
o Examples for behavioural questions (esp. on the top 5 qualities they might be
looking for)
o Notes for technical questions
- List of questions to ask the panel/interviewer