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.
For further information on competency see - Competence and What are Competencies?.
Competence is a standardised requirement an employee needs to possess, in order to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavioural traits. An employee or candidate's competence, is the sum total of each of their individual competencies.
See also:Core competencies are things that a particular firm can do well. A core competency is something that is fundamental to the operation of a company.
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.
Since the early 1970's, employers have been using competencies to help recruit and manage their employees, after psychologists found that traditional tests such as academic aptitude and knowledge based tests, did not accurately predict employment success.
In subsequent years, competency frameworks have become an increasingly accepted part of recruitment and contemporary HR practice, and now form part of most graduate employer's assessment procedures.
In 2007 a survey by the CIPD revealed that 60% of employers had a competency framework in place for their organisation. Of those who did not, almost half intended to introduce one in the near future. Competencies appear to be an increasingly important part of HR practice and recruitment, and consequently something that graduate job applicants should be increasingly aware of.
Modern employers generally view competency frameworks as an essential vehicle for:
Competencies usually fall into two categories, behavioural or technical.
Behavioural Competencies
Behavioural competencies are usually an expression of the softer skills involved in effective performance at a company.
Technical Competencies
Technical competencies are usually concerned with effective use of IT systems and computers, or any technical skills which are necessary for a job role.
Employer's competency framework's usually contain no more than 12 competencies. The most widely used competencies by employers are:
Now see - Competency, Key Competencies and competency based interview.