I have one next week. What to expect? Will it be 'Describe a situation when you…'

😐

They'll lock you into a cage with the other candidates and you'll have to fight to the death using the weapons provided.

like gladiator? or gladiators?

one in which you will be expected to display competencies. If you're going for a job that requires experience of using Access for example, you might be asked to set up a simple database as part of the interview. If you are going for a secretarial post, maybe be prepared to touch type an unseen text at a defined speed. If you're going for a gynaecologist's post, take your own gloves just in case.

In employment terms 'Competencies' usually refer to key attributes (in the eyes of the HR people)
Examples of competencies I have come across are things like decision making, team work, applying expertise, communication skills etc etc.

In a C based interview, the candidate is usually expected to describe examples from their work/life experiences as to how they fill a certain competence….

..as in "right Mr Jimmy, perhaps you could describe in your own words how you could demonstrate to us your ability to make decisions and pass those decisions on to those you would be working with"

It's HR speak all the way I'm afraid……

Yes, just like that.

shit. i hate all that. i'm very much a 'just do it' person, rather than thinking about things too systematically. therefore my answers usually want to be 'i just do it'.

Arrrrrrrrrse

Just remember the 3 B's:

Bulls##t Baffles Brains 😆

You'll be fine.

so gimme some bullshit answers to 'how do you influence people to take your chosen course of action?'. I will get asked that.

It's just a game mate, if you want the job badly enough it's worth jumping through the hoops 🙂
There's loads of web stuff on interview-speak, the HR people expect you to look it up and learn the catch phrases.
It's kind of like wearing a suit'n'tie – probably won't mean you're any better at the job but shows you've bothered, and HR people like you to bother, it makes them feel wanted 😉

you need to think along the lines of
'letting the person see the benefits of this action for both themselves, their colleagues and the company'

'getting the to believe they matter and because they matter, what they do matters'

search amazon for "Great answers to tough interview questions"

It's a well-regarded book that really helps you get your head around interview speak and how to communicate your answers in the best way. Don't think it's too late either, you can just read some relevant chapters in the few days before the interview.

I lost my copy, but bought it again to read for another interview a while later.

'how do you influence people to take your chosen course of action?'.

Offer them cash, booze or hookers – choose two out of three.

You can have that answer for nothing – HTH 😉

Clicky:

Is it Civil Service? The whole point of these interviews is to cut through the bull and to expose people who just learn the management lingo. So they'll drill down to find out exactly what you contributed to making a difference. Think along the lines of what was the problem, what did you do to solve it, what was the result. Keep your answers simple and make it absolutely obvious what you did and what the result was. They'll tick off the answers you give on a scorecard as you go.

MrsG is, at this very moment, undergoing a competence based interview for the civil service. Poor girl.

I went through her application and the list of competences she was given last night in a mock interview – it's a complete load of bollocks that serves only to benefit those who can memorise bullshit and speak in hr-babble. Whether you are ideally suitable, experienced or qualified for the job is irrelevant. If you can not display and provide examples of the competencies, you will not pass the interview.

Not impressed. Oh, and I'm the JFDI type too, Jimmy.

However, as hilldodger correctly states – it's just a game. Treat it as such, say what they want to hear and you'll be fine.

I had to do a role play for my recent interview. That was fun.

Does the advert list the compentices or qualities they're looking for? If so just list these down and then write a brief paragraph on an example you've done in the past. You don't need to memorise it but you'll find it easier to remember in the interview leading to less 'er…… i can't think of a specific instance right now'.

Remember it's all about showing how you made a key contribution or difference, so phrase it in that way.

The 7 'core competencies' from my current job 😆

Developing and Applying Expertise
Analysis and Decision Making
Leading and Developing a Team
Team working
Communicating
Delivering results
Focusing on Customers

What kind of job is it you're going for? I might be able to dig up some interviewers question sheets for you if they're relevant.

Try to answer in
S
T
A
R

format

Situation – what was the situation? What was occurring?
Task – What was your task in the situation? What was the desired result?
Action – What did you do, how did you approach it?
Result – What was the result? How did that affect the situation?

You can go through the Job Descirption and pick out the competencies or behavious and write down examples in the above format that matches each competency.

You could even do STARAR for ones where you did not get the desired outcome first time. (you basically repeat the Action and Result) until the desired outcome is reached.

Good luck!

It's all a racket cooked up by HR people, innit.

If you're a JFDI person (as I am), you just have to be articulate about how you JFD things.

IME what they like is concrete examples of specific instances where you've JFD something, and how you did it, and why it worked.

Good luck.

An agency once sent me a document on interview technique. I have uploaded it here. Hope you find it useful.

research has found that half of all interviewers make their hiring decision in the first 30 seconds, based on the candidates' appearance. Personal grooming is a vital element of your presentation and reinforces a professional attitude

the beard's coming off

curiouso – thats the most useful article I've seen on interviews. Has almost put me at ease, thanks.

It's funny hearing people say that competency based applications and interviews are rubbish – I used to hate them until I understood what they were all about – justifying decisions/actions and recognising results. Now they've become second nature and I can't imagine any other way of applying for jobs. Just be confident of your examples and know what they demonstrate about your strengths.

No worries, Jimmy. And good luck!

I have a telephone interview on Monday. I hate telephone interviews; a two second pause while you think of a reply feels more like 10. 😕

Is it like the 5 D's of Dodgeball?

'how do you influence people to take your chosen course of action?'.

you sell the prospect to them. you do this by understanding their resistance to the concept and explaining the benfits. Your hand is strengthened if there are people in their circle who have already "bought in" to the concept. For this to be successful, you ned to identify those people in each area likley to agree with the concept, sway them, then move on until you reach a critical mass where those most resistant to the concept are swayed by their peers and not by you.

yes, i do sometimes talk like that, but as sofatester points out

Bulls##t Baffles Brains

jimmy

Having had a quick trawl through this lot hilldodger's piece about STAR comes closest

Now before I start FWIW as an employer I think competency based interviews are total rubbish – they reflect that the twonk (sorry candidate) is capable of bull shitting me it tells me nothing real. That's why I rely on a quality CV backed up by decent references – and personal recommendation (not perhaps PC but I want workers thanks)

That said, and again going back to hilldodger's post, use STAR. Come up with great examples of your work where you personally nailed it and off you go. I'd do all on a separate sheet, before adding to the application or as an addendum, and MAKE SURE YOU ANSWER ALL KEY COMPETENCY'S INCLUDING (if possible) DESIRABLE ONES

AND GOOD LUCK!

competancy based interview = PC approach now that everyone is too scared / unable to ask about experience…

I've done a few of these now, and the thought of them is always worse than the actuall interview. It's all about preperation. Definitely think about some model answers in advance, have a browse on t'internet about the sort of thing they're looking for and what they might ask.

It's not rocket science (unless your going for a job as a Rocket Scientist, in which case, it might be)

Been looking for example questions. Maybe its the Yorkshireman in me, but this just boils my piss;

Give us an example where your listening skills proved crucial to an outcome.

Errr, I'm listening all the time. I heard what needed to be done so did it. If I hadn't have listened, I wouldn't have known what to do…

FFS

Jimmy – so you can take instructions then. Great. If your being interviewed for a job as a gofer.

If the job is a bit more managerial you need to say what you actually did having listened (checked the timescale/task/resources?), why you chose to take the action you did (consultation, planning) and what the result was (happy customers/more profit). Use it as a system to tick those boxes!

I've done quite a few of these now (as interviewer), and whilst I don't really like the format myself (and hence I tend to add quite a few more random questions/drilling down into answers) a strong candidate always shines through.

My tips:
– Don't be afraid to think before you answer. Be comfortable with silence.
– A glass of water is great to give you thinking time. Pick it up, slowly sip, put it down. Gives you an easy 10-15 seconds to think.
– When you've finished answering, stop. Don't ramble at the end. You can say something like "and that's all I can think of at the moment".
– Make sure you describe the situation, what you did, what the outcome was, what you learnt.
– Use "I" rather than "we" in your answers, lots of people don't focus on themselves enough.

Good luck.

I use competency based interview questions a lot & interview a lot & whilst just talking to someone gives you a good indication of what they will be like to work with a good competency based interview will weedle out the bullshitters.

You'll be told that they would like to understand you ability to build relationships, for example, & ask you to describe a time when blah blah blah. It's very difficult to bullshit through this & any decent interviewer will spot it a mile off. The STAR system is a really good way to prepare for this kind of thing (as a couple of other people have pointed out) & you should try to be as clear as possible about the role you played ie avoid "we" & try to focus on "I".

If it boils your piss that much, you might as well not bother turning up for the interview 🙂

had an IT interview few years back and i failed one question.. "please explain what the REGISTRY is"

just because i didnt hit the 'key words' on the clipboard held by the HR girl i failed the final interview.

maybe i was bitter and totally got the wrong end of the stick about exactly what a 'competency-based interview' is 😆 but i did talk to the IT manager (who i knew beforehand)who sat in on the interview and he said he doesn't agree with the test and my past work experience was light years ahead of the guy that got it, also the guy who got the job was laid off after 3 months.

but what do i know!

jimmy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening

You need to apply these to your chosen scenario

Load of tosh frankly. Let's face it you've gone for a job in bomb disposal and they question this one the answers going to be

(a) I haven't any I have a perforated ear drum from 'on the job experience'
(b) He told me 'It's going to blow any minute!!!' and I listened a c t i v e l y…..

I really don't miss corporate life at all.

Sometimes I think I do, y'know, the magic figure appearing in the bank account on the same day every month. And then I read about "competency based interviews" and I realise why I got out. I was a just-cant-be-fooking-bothered-doing-it-you-middle-management-cock type. And that was a fault with me. But I don't miss it at all.

kill hr