Research shows that traditional biographical interviews have low effectiveness in predicting a candidate’s performance. An interview by an untrained interviewer may be no more effective a selection tool than a handwriting assessment. Consequently, many organisations now use structured competency or behavioural interviews, which remove bias and subjectivity. A competency based interview, combined with a test of a task that the candidate will have to perform in the role, is proven to be a valid selection tool for both internal and external candidates. (This is assuming that there is an up-to-date job description with a correlated competency model (for both functional and cultural fit), combined with some well-trained interviewers who have paid attention to their own subconscious biases … but that’s a whole other topic for another day.)
What is a competency?
Competencies are the specific behaviour patterns (including knowledge, skills and abilities) a job holder is required to demonstrate in order to perform the relevant job tasks with competence. The focus in a competency based interview is on gaining an understanding of how you have dealt with specific situations in past roles. This is evidence of what you are likely to do in your next one.
Here are some sample competencies and questions that could be asked to assess them. You’ll see that some of the questions could cover more than one competency. Expect to be asked more technical questions also.
Problem solving and decision making: Taking ownership of problems and decisions. Empowering others to problem solve and make decisions. Stepping in to long running problems and holding the right people accountable for solving them.
What’s your problem solving style? Do you manage your activities to minimise or avoid them?
Describe a time when you were able to get people working together effectively in a challenging situation and what the outcome was.
Tell me about a difficult decision you had to make.
Have you experienced a situation that was slipping out of control? What did you do about it?
Capability building: Managing performance of your team and developing the skills and behaviours needed within the team in order to meet the organisation’s objectives. Adapting leadership style to get best performance from individual team members. Putting in succession plans. Looking at learning and developing plans from an ROI perspective. Improving skillsets through stretch assignments. Providing feedback to improve performance.
Describe a time when you have had to get buy-in from all members of a team.
Explain a time when you served as a mentor to someone outside your own team and what the outcomes were.
Explain a strategy for employee improvement.
Describe a situation when you had to deliver negative feedback and how you handled it.
Have you had any subordinates with performance problems? What have you done about them?
Partnership and communication: Acting as a team for the good of the organisation as a whole. Effective cross-functional working to get the job done. Building collaborative relationships with internal and external customers and partners.
Describe a time when you had to use your communication skill in a difficult situation.
Describe an achievement that required you to work with a diverse team.
How do you resolve conflict in the team you are part of?
How have you executed a plan of consistent communication to everyone involved in a project?
What types of upward communication systems have you established?
How often do you attend meetings with your peers and what role do you play in them?
Customer focus: Puts customers at the heart of all work. Gets clear information on customers and uses it ensure expectations are met or exceeded. Creates and maintains customer relationships. Considers internal and external customers.
Explain a time when you have repaired a damaged customer relationship and what the outcome was.
Describe a scenario when a customer’s needs took priority over yours and the company’s.
Explain a strategy for exceeding expectations within your customer base.
How do you handle negative customer feedback?
What’s the smartest way to answer the questions?
Really do your homework. Look at the job description, role profile or advertisement and do as much research as you can on the business: its people, customers, leadership, products, financials, branding, strategy, marketing, vision, social media, PR, stakeholders, threats. Anyone who has been on one of my workshops or coaching programmes will know my conviction that to do well at interviews, and indeed in your career, you have to face out, not in. Think about the interviewer, not you – what problems do they have? Ask yourself these questions:
- What is most important in the role? (Read between the lines in the job description).
- What’s really going on in this organisation/team/business?
- What’s worrying my potential Manager – and how could I fix the problem?
- What will they measure the job-holder on?
- What are the skills they need?
- What are the main challenges?
- What do I have to demonstrate from my previous experience to prove that I can do it?
- If I was interviewing for this role what obvious and nasty questions would I ask?
Then, think about case studies from your experience that demonstrate how you can do the job. Give real examples as evidence, not hypothetical ones, and talk about what YOU did, not just your team. Think through the impact you wish to make and the messages you want to get across. Prepare your answers using the STAR model:
- Situation — what the problem/issue was, the consequences of it continuing?
- Task — what did you need to do to solve it (and how did you decide that)?
- Action — what action did you and your team take to solve it?
- Result — what were the outcomes (for all stakeholders — organisation, customers, your team)? Any learning objectives — what would you have do differently next time?
Try and come up with at least five meaty case studies that will address the competencies you think the interviewers will be looking for (there will be a minimum of two interviewers — the questions may be distributed amongst them and at least one will record your answers to score them against the competency framework). Each of these scenarios should nail several competencies at once.
Good luck!
Please contact me if you want to improve the selection process in your business and avoid costly hiring mistakes, or if you want interview support including executive presence training from one of my specialist Associate team. As well as working in organisations over the next few weeks, I will be at the Royal College of Art, the School for Creative Start-ups, the Mumsnet Academy and the West Cork Development Partnership so hope to see some of you there.