Competency Based Interview
A competency interview (also referred to as a situational, behavioural or competency based interview) is a style of interviewing often used to evaluate a candidate's competence, particularly when it is hard to select on the basis of technical merit: for example, for a particular graduate scheme or graduate job where relevant experience is less important or not required. However, increasingly, companies are using competency based interviews as part of the selection process for experienced recruitment, as it can give valuable insights into an individual's preferred style of working and help predict behaviours in future situations.
Conventional job interviews may focus on questions relating to an applicant's past or previous industry experience, but this is an ineffective tool for graduate level candidates who are not expected to have any former experience in the industry they wish to work in.
Questions about industry experience will not be part of a competency interview. Instead interviewers will pose questions that ask candidates to demonstrate that they have a particular skill or a "key competency" the firm is looking for. Candidates will be asked to do this using situational examples from their life experiences, to illustrate their personality, skill set and individual competencies to the interviewer.
Competency interviews may also feature questions that probe candidates on their knowledge of the company and industry applied to. This type of interview question tests candidates on their motivation and commitment to career.
A typical competency based interview will last for one hour. At most major firms competency interviews will also be standardised. Consequently all applicants can expect to be asked identical questions.
Competency Interview Video
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What are Competencies?
A competency is a particular quality that a company's recruiters have decided is desirable for employees to possess. During interviews and assessment processes competencies are used as benchmarks that assessors use to rate and evaluate candidates.
In interviews recruiters look for evidence of competencies by asking candidates competency based questions. This style of question forces candidates to give situational examples of times in the past when they have performed particular tasks or achieved particular outcomes using certain skills.
Key Competencies
A firm will usually isolate several key skills or "key competencies" to look for in candidates at interview. You will be graded in terms of each competency based upon your answers to competency based questions.
Employers typically use some of the following as their key competencies:
Now see - Competency based interview and competency based questions.
Why are Competency Based Questions Used at Interview?
In the case of applications for graduate jobs, candidates typically have no experience in the industry to which they have applied. Consequently it is not possible to assess their suitability for a job role based upon their CV alone. This has led to the development of competency based interviews becoming the prime way to interview inexperienced graduate applicants.
Typical Competency Based Interview Structure
Questions in competency interviews will usually refer to activities a candidate has participated in at school, college or university, or any other activities that can be used to effectively display evidence of particular competencies or a particular competency.
A typical competency question could be: "Describe two situations where you have had to work as part of a team." When asked a question like this, you should be able to talk for several minutes about your participation to a particularly strong team you have been part of in the past and how your sense of teamwork helped lead a task or project to successful completion.
You should have an idea before the interview of the experiences from your life that you could use as examples to demonstrate the key competencies of the firm to which you are applying. You are likely to have to provide at least two examples for each competency during your interview.
It is quite acceptable to ask for and to use a few moments of thinking time before answering competency questions. If necessary, simply notify your interviewer by explaining you "may need to think about this for a few moments". Once you have thought of a good example to use, continue with your answer.
Who Uses Competency Interviews?
Estimates indicate that a third of all employers are using competency interviews as part of their recruitment process. Large graduate employers are especially likely to use competency interviews as part of their graduate recruitment procedure, in particular as part of an assessment centre.
Will I Be Given a Competency Interview?
It is hard to tell if a competency interview will feature as part of your assessment process before making your application to a firm, although the application form itself may help to give you a clue. Many employers who do use competency interviews design their application forms to include a number of competency questions. Take note if you find any questions on your application that ask you to give situational examples. These may be a strong indicator of what is in store at interview!
Key Competency: Motivation & Commitment to Career
It is likely you will be asked why you wish to work for this company in particular, and what distinguishes this company, for you, from its competitors. This question requires you to discuss your knowledge of the firm in detail and prove to your interviewer your desire for a job.
To answer this question you should describe:
- The key strengths this firm has over its competitors in the industry (e.g. more specialised in certain niche areas, more international scope, more respected).
- What appeals to you personally about the firm (e.g. your interests in the firm's niche areas, your relevant study at university).
- Other relevant factors you find interesting (e.g. the impression you have of the working style at the firm, the social side of the company, the type of charitable work the firm is involved in).
You may also be asked what you believe you will be doing during your first year on the graduate scheme. You should be particularly clear about exactly what it is you will be doing. If you cannot answer this question, you are unlikely to be successful. If you are currently unsure, it is perfectly acceptable to contact firm's graduate recruitment departments before applying to discuss anything you do not already know about the job.
Competency Based Interview: The first 60 seconds
Although competency based interviews are standardised, a typical interviewer will decide within minutes whether they like you or not, and this is likely to affect the outcome of the interview. It is very important to give a good impression to your interviewer from the very first moment you meet.
Shake hands confidently, smile, introduce yourself, and be generally convivial to the occasion. Sitting quietly and communicating poorly will not help you, and neither will boisterous or arrogant behaviour. You should be polite but outgoing, assertive but not aggressive and aim to be every bit as professional as the interviewer who is assessing you.
For more information about preparing for competency interviews and general interview skills see General interview advice and How to get hired.
You can also ask questions about competency interviews, competencies, competence and competency based questions on the WikiJob messageboards.
Also see:
Career motivation
Interviewers ask career motivation questions to determine why you want to work for their company and why you want to work in role to which you have applied. Career motivation questions are similar to, but not the same as commitment to career questions and are often used as part of a competency based interview.
You need to logically illustrate your desire to work for the company you are interviewing with. Good answers should make reference to any: training, qualifications and/or experience that you would receive, if you were to be offered the role you have applied for.
Example Questions
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Career motivation questions you may be asked include:
- Why do you want to work for our firm?
- Why do you want to work in the service line to which you have applied?
- What can you tell me about us and the service line to which you have applied?
Now see - Competency Based Questions and Competency Based Interview or ask a question on the WikiJob forums.
Commercial awareness
"Commercial awareness" refers to a candidate's general knowledge of business, their business experiences (or work experience) and, specifically, their understanding of the industry which they are applying to join. It is a key competency for all city job applications.
Interview Preparation
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Candidates should read publications like the Financial Times and websites such as BBC News and BizEd to prepare in the days leading up to interviews and assessment days. Most industries also have specialist trade press (for example, Accountancy Age or The Lawyer) that you should be consulting regularly.
Commercial Awareness Questions
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You will need to know some basic general commercial principles to be able to answer general commercial awareness questions, such as being able to describe private equity or explain the difference between a private limited company and a public limited company. You will also need to know about any current major global economic issues, and their impact, or potential impact, on your employer's business sector.
Typical commercial awareness questions include:
- Describe a company you think is doing well/badly and explain why you think this is so.
- What do you think are key qualities for a company to have to be successful?
- What significant factors have affected this industry in recent years? (The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is a key factor for accounting and especially audit.)
- What do you understand of the role this firm plays in this industry?
Competency Based Commercial Awareness Questions
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Like all other competency based questions you will need to use situational examples from your life experiences to form answers to competency based commercial awareness questions. Try to highlight any past relevant work experience you have had to answer these questions, and make sure your you discuss your awareness of things like customer's needs and business targets, i.e. commercial issues.
Typical competency based commercial awareness questions include:
- Tell me of a time when you were given the task of improving a service or product?
- Tell me about a time you provided excellent customer service.
- Tell me of a time when you have been responsible for a budget.
Further Information
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Candidates should also see:
Commitment to career
Commitment to career is a key competency you should be able to demonstrate in job interviews. To test your commitment to a career interviewers will usually try to find out how much you know about the firm they represent, the position you have applied for, the industry you will be working in, and what you will be doing if you are employed.
You should be able to:
- Give a well informed description of what the line of service you have joined does for its clients.
- Be able to describe what you will be doing in your first year at the firm.
- Be able to describe makeup of any qualification to which you have applied, and to understand what work you will have to do to achieve it.
- Be able to give a rough account of where you imagine you might be in 5 years time. (e.g. a certain position in the firm)
You must be certain to convey clearly that you fully understand the role you are applying for. If you are not able to do this, you will not make it through the interview.
Once you have been employed, a company may invest tens of thousands of pounds in your training and professional development. Consequently commitment to a career is a highly valued competency to employers as it allows them to determine whether a candidate is a good investment.
See also - competency questions and competency based interviews.
Communication
Employers are looking for employees who can communicate well with other people. Strong communicators make good team members (see teamwork) because they can efficiently and effectively transfer information from person to person, follow instructions and instruct other people.
Strong communicators generally also make good leaders (see leadership) and decision makers (see decision making), which makes communication a key competency.
It is likely that you will need to show evidence of your own communication skills during a competency based interview. Questions you may be asked include:
- Give an example of how you dealt with a difficult or sensitive situation that required extensive communication.
- Give me an example of how you dealt with a difficult customer at work.
- Tell me about a time when you had to explain an issue or process to a colleague (or colleagues) at work.
- Tell me about a time when you taught someone else something.
- How do you explain things to other people?
For further information see Competency Based Questions, Competency Based Interview and General Interview Advice.
Decision making
Top jobs give employees both power and responsibility. Employees are forced to make difficult decisions as part of their employment, often during times of intense pressure and/or stress.
Employers need to know that the people they hire are competent enough to make good decisions during these times. This is why interviewers test candidates with competency based questions targeted at measuring their decision making skills.
Example Questions
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Examples of decision making competency based questions are:
- What is the toughest decision you have ever made? Why was this so difficult?
- How do you come to conclusions?
- Tell me about a decision you have made that has affected other people.
- Do you find decisions difficult?
- Give me an example of a bad decision you have made. Why was this a bad decision?
To answer these questions you should give examples of sensible and pertinent decisions you have made during difficult situations either at work, in education or during extracurricular pursuits.
Leadership
Leadership is a competency employers look for in candidates who are applying for jobs that require them to lead, motivate and/or develop other people, usually team leader and management positions (or trainee positions that lead to management positions).
Examples of competency questions that are used to evaluate leadership skills are:
- Describe a time when you had to lead a group to achieve an objective.
- Describe a work based situation where you had to lead by example to achieve an objective.
- Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal.
- How do you motivate team members to do something they decide they do not want to do?
If you have little experience of leading teams in workplace situations, use examples where you have lead people on the sports field or during educational group exercises.
For more information see Competency Based Questions and General Interview Advice or ask a question on the WikiJob forums.
Problem Solving
The ability to solve problems is an analytical skill that employers look for evidence of in applicants, particularly for jobs that involve frequent problems that must be solved, such as mathematical problems or managerial problems.
The ability to solve problems can be defined as: the ability to accurately assess a problem and effectively arrive at an excellent solution.
Examples of problem solving competency questions are:
- How do you solve problems?
- Give me an example of a problem you have faced in the past, either as part of a team or as an individual. How did you solve the problem.
- What do you do when you can't solve a problem?
To answer these questions you should give examples of intelligent and useful decisions you have made to solve problems that have arisen either at work, in education or during extracurricular pursuits in the past.
For further information see Competency Based Questions and Competency Based Interview.
Responsibility
If an employee has a responsibility then they have been given the duty to make decisions in certain circumstances. Interviewers use competency based questions to find out how candidates have performed in the past when they have been given responsibilities and to find out how candidates may perform responsibilities given to them in the future.
Examples of competency based questions used to determine how candidates have performed their responsibilities in the past include:
- Tell me about a time when you were responsible for something.
- How do you perform your responsibilities?
- Are you a responsible person? Explain why.
- Do you enjoy having responsibilities?
- What responsibilities have you been given in the past?
For further information see - Competency Based Questions and Competency Based Interview or ask a question on the WikiJob forums.
Results orientation
Results orientation is a term used to describe "Knowing what results are important, and focusing resources to achieve them." Interviewers will ask competency questions to determine if candidates are results driven, aware of the importance of results, to find out what kind of results are important to a candidate and if the candidate understands how to acheive results.
Results orientation questions you may be asked include:
- Are you successful?
- Give me an example of a time you have been very successful.
- Why do you think people aren't successful?
- Give me an example of a time you were not successful. Why do you think this happened?
You need to make it clear that you understand how important results are, that you are a competitive and results driven person and that although you may not always have achieved the desired results in the past, you certainly did aim to do so and have learnt from your mistakes.
Now see - Competency Based Questions and Competency Based Interview or ask a question on the WikiJob forums.
Teamwork
Most jobs require employees to work alongside other people, as part of a team. Being able to get on with other people and work with them efficiently (i.e. Teamwork) is a key competency employers value and often require job applicants to demonstrate at interview.
Examples of competency questions interviewers may use to find out about a candidate's teamworking skills are:
- Tell me about a time when you worked successfully as part of a team.
- Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work together effectively.
- Describe a time when a team member has annoyed you.
- Tell me about a time when you have had to modify yourself (or a way you do something) to take into account someone else's views.
- Tell me about a situation when you needed to offer constructive criticism to a friend or team member?
- Describe a time when you were a member of a team and witnessed a conflict within the team. What did you do? What were the results? What could you have done better?
Candidates with good teamwork skills are able to see the bigger picture and grasp the concept that employers value the outcome achieved by a group, more than that achieved by any one person.
For further information see - Competency Based Questions and Competency Based Interview or ask a question about teamwork or competencies on the WikiJob forums.
Trustworthiness & Ethics
Trustworthiness and ethics are key competencies employers want to see evidence of in candidates, in particular for jobs in industries that require a high level of confidentiality such as law, accounting and consulting.
Example Competency Questions
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Examples of competency questions that are used to find out about a candidate's trustworthiness and ethics are:
- Give me an example of a time a member of a team you were in had a problem. What did you do to help?
- Give me an example of a time you told a lie.
- Would you lie if your job depended on it?
- Do you think it can sometimes be ok to deceive people if this leads to a positive final outcome?
- It's late on a friday afternoon. The rest of your team, including managers, have left the office for the day but you have stayed to finish some work. A client company calls and you are the most relevant person to talk to. They are angry and demand that you shred some key documents immediately, otherwise they will terminate their relationship with your firm. You are almost cetain destroying these documents is illegal. What do you do?
Use examples from your life to answer these questions: education, work and extracurricular activities. It is almost always essential that you describe yourself as an ethical and trustworthy person in an interview.
For more information see Competency Questions and General Interview Advice or ask a question on the WikiJob forums.
