Competency based interviews

[Jonathan007]

I have an interview pending which is of the competency based type.

I've had them before and can’t seem to get my head around them.

I have tried thinking of scenarios but every interview I've had they have asked me different questions which have left me flummoxed!

Does anyone know the best way to tackle these types of interviews and prepare PLEASE????

Thanks guys,

Jon

[Grissom]

I really don't think one can "prepare" for something like this, other than to familiarize yourself with the organization, industry, and corporate culture of this particular organization and if possible, what, if any, nuances/approaches to the industry are considered the most effective approaches in efficiently and effectively being in that industry.

To me, it really boils down to a test of someone's critical thinking skills, which are at this point ought to be well past the stage of preparing. Just relax, remain confident in your abilities, and calmly and thoughtfully take a moment to consider the the questions in the context of the specific organization, and industry, and answer accordingly.

Best, in my opinion, NOT to "prepare" other than as I have touched upon above, as I would think you want to be "good" at this innately, versus due to overly preparing, for once one has the position, one should want to be able to be most effective simply due to their own innate abilities - that overall, again, in my opinion, would be indicative of a "good fit", employee to employer and vice versa. Hope this both makes sense and proves helpful.

Good luck! :cheers:

[wantonebad]

The best thing you can do Jon for this kind of interview is to have a good night sleep and to find some way to relax. Intimidation or over nervousness is the killer, you need to counter it somehow with some relaxation techniques. Preparing for these kind of questions is folly, be yourself, answer honestly and start looking for another position to apply to.

[East Bay Rider]

Lots of good advice:
Www.manager-tools.com

[Jonathan007]

Thanks guys for your reply's.

Nervousness is my biggest weakness, I'll have to think of a way to harness this type of energy and use it to my advantage.

Jon

[DiamondJack]

Generally the whole point of these types of interviews is to see how people behave and respond when put under pressure.

If there are technical points you may be asked to comment on then you can clearly do some revision on these areas so that you are completely up to date. For example, I will ask candidates to sit a 30 minute technical test before I even interview them since I was finding more and more candidates with very good exam qualifications who just didn't have the knowledge at their finger tips.

I also find that people who retain knowledge and can explain it in an understandable and concise manner generally have a personal interest in the subject in question which, in turn, tends to mean they read widely and on a more regular basis in their own time (as well as mine) than those that don't.

But generally, I like problem solving capabilities in people and when you combine that with finger tip knowledge, you don't go far wrong in my book.

So the ability to clearly and concisely explain to an interviewer what your thought process is when asked to answer certain scenario based questions is extremely important in my book. But very difficult to plan for if you don't have a natural ability for such things.

But relaxation is key and sometimes the more you try to prepare, the stiffer and more clumsy your responses will be.

Best of luck........:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[Sarajevo]

They are always used where I live, (Northern Ireland) in order to reduce the possibility for bias/discrimination. They are good in some ways, as you have to give specific examples to demonstrate your competency. However they are often quite stilted as the interviewers cannot depart from a pre-prepared list of questions.

Having done them a few times, I would say that the biggest risk is to depart from the fairly automatic process of relating your examples. Stick to real-life situations, and try and think of examples related to the specified competencies, e.g. an example of when you dealt with a conflict situation in the office, etc.

Personally I think they represent the lowest common denominator approach to hiring,as they are based on the premise that we are all going to discriminate given half a chance, but they do have the advantage of allowing you to prepare, as you can only talk about your actual experiences.

Best of luck for the job!

[77T]

My best advice is not to study for the specific problems they will pose to you - instead, work on your problem solving skills. It might not help this week, but will help longer term.

The idea is to come up with your own mental "checklist" to manage the test. Here are some quick basics used from pilots flying planes to doctors in the operating theater.

Communication - understand what is being asked and use follow-up questions.

Situational Awareness - get the facts straight.

Decision Making - work through the options, don't jump to conclusions, and explain your work processes.

Teamwork - show you use all the resources/people available.

[Rock]

Selection interviewing, whether competency-based or not is a pretty hit & miss process and depends on a lot of random factors so that the end result cannot be guaranteed.
Ideally it needs to be supported with a bunch of other information sources but this is often just too difficult and so it all hangs on the interview.
Some people just interview well, others don't.
Interviewers play this game where they won't tell you whether the information you are providing is what they want. My best tip is to be assertive (not aggressive) and question them on what they are looking for - Is that the track you want me to go down? Is that enough detail? Are you looking for more examples? You have nothing to lose if they are giving you the signs that they are not satisfied.

[unclesallie]

Selection interviewing, whether competency-based or not is a pretty hit & miss process and depends on a lot of random factors so that the end result cannot be guaranteed.
Ideally it needs to be supported with a bunch of other information sources but this is often just too difficult and so it all hangs on the interview.
Some people just interview well, others don't.
Interviewers play this game where they won't tell you whether the information you are providing is what they want. My best tip is to be assertive (not aggressive) and question them on what they are looking for - Is that the track you want me to go down? Is that enough detail? Are you looking for more examples? You have nothing to lose if they are giving you the signs that they are not satisfied.

Wow! Great advice. :thumbsup:

[Jonathan007]

Thank you everyone for your support in this. I shall take on board all your advice.

Thanks once again,

Jon