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Competency-Based Interview Questions (2024 Guide)

Competency-Based Interview Questions (2024 Guide)

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Competency-based questions are interview questions that require candidates to provide real-life examples as the basis of their answers.

Candidates should explain why they made certain decisions, how they implemented these decisions and why certain outcomes took place.

What Are Competency Based Questions?

Competency-based interview questions (also referred to as situational, behavioural or competency questions) are a style of interviewing often used to evaluate a candidate's key competencies, particularly when it is hard to select on the basis of technical merit.

For example, for a particular graduate scheme, or a graduate job where relevant experience is less important or not required.

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.

Competency interview questions can give valuable insights into an individual's preferred style of working and help to predict behaviours in future situations.

Questions about industry experience will not be part of a competency interview. Instead interviewers will ask questions that require candidates to demonstrate that they have a particular skill or a core 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. Candidates will need to give examples of times in the past when they have performed particular tasks or achieved particular outcomes using certain skills.

Competency interview questions may also feature questions that probe candidates on their knowledge of the company and industry they have applied to. This type of interview question tests candidates on their career motivation and commitment to career.

A typical competency-based interview questions 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.

Who Uses Competency Based Interviews in 2024?

Estimates indicate that a third to a half of all employers are using competency based interview questions 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.

Why Are Competency Based Questions Used in Interviews?

Recruitment professionals believe that the best way to assess a candidate's potential future performance is to question candidates about their past performance.

However, graduate candidates don't usually have any experience of the industry to which they are applying.

Consequently, it is impossible for interviewers to discuss previous job roles.

Instead, interviewers use competency based questions to have candidates show how they have performed in various situations in the past, revealing individual personality traits.

These are a great help for interviewers interested in finding out exactly who a candidate is and how they may act if employed.

Question format can vary.

Sometimes the interviewer will be looking to gather non-specific information, rather than evaluating any particular competency or skill.

More normally, interviewers will isolate key competencies that they believe suitable employees should possess, and tailor questions to focus on those skills.

When considering how to answer competency based questions, candidates should not talk in broad terms, be too general or use their imagination when replying to interviewers.

Instead, candidates should use specific situations from real life scenarios.

What Competencies Do Recruiters Look For in 2024?

These are 10 of the key competencies which interviewers often focus on:

1. Communication

Regardless of the position or industry, the way we interact with others is crucial and you need to be able to build and maintain excellent relationships with clients and colleagues.

Example question: "Tell us about a time you had to adjust your communication approach to suit a particular audience."

2. Decision Making

Good decision making will help you solve problems, devise solutions and make efficiencies.

Example question: "Give an example of a time when you had to make a difficult decision."

3. Leadership

Valuable for many reasons such as showing that you can coordinate, motivate and lead a successful team.

Example question: "Describe a situation when you assumed the role of leader. Were there any challenges, and how did you address them?"

4. Results Orientation

Being focused on results is a skill that will help you excel in your career. It can be anything from improving a system or process through to hitting targets.

Example question: "Give me an example of a time when you believe you were successful."

5. Teamwork

Businesses don’t work properly without good teamwork. Collaborative working can achieve results, improve productivity and boost performance.

Example question: "Describe a situation in which you were working as part of a team. How did you make a contribution?"

6. Trustworthiness

Good employees can be trusted to get things done.

Example question: "Would you report on a colleague who you knew was taking money from the company illegally?"

7. Responsibility

Employees who take responsibility for and pride in their work are highly valued.

Example question: "Describe a situation when you were responsible for the completion of a task."

8. Commercial Awareness

A skill that illustrates intelligence, professionalism and commitment to the firm.

Example question: "Describe a situation when you have had to use commercial awareness."

9. Professional Development

Being open to enhancing your skills will always help you succeed at work.

Example question: "Describe a period where you enhanced your skills effectively."

10. Technical Skills

Ever more important, technical (and particularly digital) skills are highly sought after because so many businesses are using them to grow.

Example question: "Describe a situation where you have used technical skills in your work."

What Will I Be Asked in a Competency Based 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-based interview 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.

Typical Competency-Based Interview Structure

Questions in competency-based 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 in 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.

How to Prepare for a Competency Based Interview in 2024

Preparation for any type of interview will help increase your chances of success, but with competency interviews it’s especially crucial.

You must be able to recall scenarios that demonstrate your key competencies, when asked to do so by an interviewer.

To adequately prepare, you should:

Step 1. Explore the Skills and Competencies That You Will Be Asked About

Although this sounds obvious, it’s surprising how many people fail to carry out the correct research to ensure the answers they provide are strong enough.

As an example, if the person specification states that you require good communication skills when dealing with customers, the role is likely to involve complaints handling – so you will need to highlight skills such as empathy and understanding while being assertive.

Alternatively, if you’re applying to a consultancy, they may look for evidence of communicating complex issues in a simple manner (without as much empathy).

Step 2. Conduct Some Personal Brainstorming to Help Identify a Range of Examples Relevant to the Role

Write these examples down and then select those which can be most closely linked to the specific competencies sought after by the employer. Think carefully about examples that best demonstrate your skills and attitude, and which are most likely to impress the panel.

Step 3. Prepare Your Answers Based Around Solid Examples From Your Work, Volunteering or Academic Studies

The most common competencies that are asked for include problem-solving, team working and being results-driven.

Identify examples from your past experience which demonstrate that you possess those skills. You do not have to find overly-complicated examples.

In particular, the outcome of the story does not have to be extraordinary; what matters most is that the role you played in reaching the outcome was substantial.

Step 4. Learn to Narrate Using the Star Method

This means setting the scene, explaining how you handled the situation by placing the emphasis on your role and detailing the outcome/result.

If you're soon to have a competency-based interview, you may want to check out this interview training course, with access to competency questions and expert answers.

How to Answer Competency Based Interview Questions

Interviewers using behaviour-based interviewing techniques such as competency based questions are likely to probe for additional details during your responses.

Always make sure you provide concise, highly specific answers that are well explained, thought-out and detailed.

Questions can relate to past failures as well as to past achievements.

You must adequately explain why you failed to complete tasks; when such questions are posed, don't avoid mention of past failures altogether, but demonstrate what you have learnt from them.

If you find yourself struggling to think of any prior experiences which are relevant to the question asked, give a hypothetical answer and describe what you would do if a similar situation were to occur in the future.

A classic question is:

"Tell me about a time when you failed to complete a task or project on time, despite intending to do so."

Your interviewer will want to find out how you manage your time during difficult tasks and the reason why you failed to meet your deadline on this occasion.

An effective answer would develop a positive justification for a past failure, as with the following example:

During my final year at university, I failed to deliver my dissertation by the due date. This was because I was heavily involved in cutting-edge research right up until the end of my course and was waiting for imminent results from surveys being undertaken by researchers at other academic institutions.

Considering this was my final piece of academic work, I wanted to ensure it was based on the most accurate and up-to-date sources of information available, even if this meant a delay in production. To ensure no marks were deducted from my dissertation, I contacted my course director and personal tutor two weeks before my dissertation due date to discuss my particular situation. I argued my case, and was consequently allowed an extra two weeks to produce my work.

Although my work was delayed, I feel that this delay was justified in that the work was of the highest quality it could be. Furthermore, I organised myself so that all relevant people were aware of a possible delay in the production of my dissertation.

Weaker answers rely on negative justifications:

During my final year at university, I failed to deliver my dissertation on the due date. This was because I was ill for a couple of weeks during my final term.

Aim for positive justifications rather than negative ones.

Key Competency: Motivation and 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 (for example, more specialised in certain niche areas, more international scope, more respected).

  • What appeals to you personally about the firm (for example, your interests in the firm's niche areas, your relevant study at university).

  • Other relevant factors you find interesting (for example, the impression you have of the working style at the firm, the social side of the company, the type of corporate social responsibility 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 the firm's graduate recruitment departments before applying to discuss anything you do not already know about the job.

Tips For Answering Competency-Based Interview Questions in 2024

To give clear, effective and varied answers, consider the following pointers:

  • When answering competency based questions, you can give examples from work, study or personal life, but make sure you give a wide variety of examples and a different example to answer each question.

  • Don't go into too much background detail when answering competency based questions. Your interviewer only wants to know about your past behaviours. Further detail is redundant.

  • Make sure your answers and examples you use are the most relevant to the questions asked, rather than the most impressive or elaborate.

  • Carefully evaluate the person specification. One of the most important elements in a competency based interview is assessing your suitability in terms of core competencies. Take time to read and understand the spec, highlighting skills, experience and knowledge that’s important.

  • Explore the company’s website. Understand what the company does and what attributes current employees might possess.

  • Evaluate industry intelligence. Find out everything you can about the industry the company exists in and the types of people in that industry who are influential.

  • STAR technique. Think: Situation, Task, Action, Result. This will help you to tell a story in a clear and concise manner while showing evidence to support your answers. See below for more detail.

  • Don't make your answers up. Your interviewer will find this very easy to spot.

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.

Techniques for Answering Competency Based Questions

Each of the following techniques will stand you in good stead during the competency based interview.

The STAR Technique

This is also sometimes known as SOAR, where 'Task' is replaced by 'Objective'.

  • Situation: Describe the situation
  • Task: Describe what task was required of you
  • Action: Tell the interviewer what action you took
  • Result: Conclude by describing the result of that action

Be positive about your actions throughout your response and do not make up an example, as you will not come across as believable.

If you cannot think of good examples instantly, ask the interviewer for a moment or two to think about the question and then give your answer.

Read our full article on how best to use the STAR technique.

The CAR Technique

One way of dealing with this type of question is to use the CAR approach.

'CAR' stands for Context, Action, Result. It helps you to structure your answer like a mini-essay.

Context is your introduction, where you describe the scenario you faced, the date and the place.

The Action forms the main body and should be the longest part of your answer.

The Result is the conclusion and, like the introduction, should be quite short.

  • Context: Describe the situation and the task you were faced with. When, where, with whom?
  • Action: How? What action did you take? Sometimes people focus on what the group did without mentioning their individual contribution.
  • Result: What results did you achieve/conclusions did you reach/what did you learn from the experience?

4 Competency Based Question and Answers

These four questions are all ones you can expect to come across in a competency-based interview.

1. "Describe a Situation When You Had to Complete a Piece of Work to a High Standard While Meeting a Strict Deadline."

Structured Answer:

Situation:

As part of the final project for my degree, I completed a quantitative research project to explore whether customer loyalty increased or decreased with businesses who use social media as opposed to those who don’t.

I worked with a creative agency who sponsored my project to allow me to gather the information I needed.

Task:

To provide useful information for the agency, I needed to carry out thorough research and draft the report within a three-month period.

Action:

To ensure the project was delivered on time, I had to become fully conversant with quantitative research techniques. I therefore studied this extensively, which improved the way I gathered data for the project.

I also managed to complete this project while fulfilling my other volunteering commitments and assignments for other courses.

Result:

Even though the workload was significant and I was under a great deal of pressure, I achieved a pass of 80% for my final project and my work was published in a respected journal.

The agency who sponsored the research also published the findings of their project, and I secured an internship with them over the summer.

2. "Provide an Example of When You Used Effective Time Management and Achieved Success."

Structured Answer:

Situation:

While working in an internship programme with a team of four other interns, two of them decided not to continue with the internship.

Task:

As a group we had been asked to assist with a major client project, helping to formulate a digital strategy before the end of our first month on the internship.

Action:

Although the company were going to reduce the workload that had been allocated to the group, I spoke with the manager and the remaining intern and we agreed to take on all of what had been originally agreed for the four of us.

I reviewed the work schedules, allocated new responsibilities and worked two hours longer each day unpaid.

Result:

We managed to make a significant contribution to the client’s strategy and delivered all of our obligations as agreed. I was commended for taking on additional responsibilities efficiently and professionally.

3. "Describe a Situation When the Cause of a Problem Was Not Immediately Apparent."

Structured Answer:

Situation:

While working as an intern for a digital agency, data analysis showed that there had been a 15% drop in traffic over a period of 12 weeks.

Analytics also showed that a lot of customers were abandoning the shopping cart before completing the purchase, and the bounce rate on the landing page was increasing.

Task:

I was asked to conduct some research to find out the possible reasons for this drop in traffic and growing bounce rate, and provide recommendations for addressing the issue.

Action:

Using a variety of tools such as Ahrefs and Google Analytics, I conducted an analysis of competitor performance and the effectiveness of our content strategy.

Result:

Using these programmes, I identified that a group of blog and website owners had stopped linking to our content. Once the problem was identified, I worked closely with the SEO and marketing teams to win many of those links back, which helped to restore traffic and engagement to previous levels.

4. "Describe a Situation Which Required the Use of Your Creativity."

Structured Answer:

Situation:

In the HR business where I interned, a client was experiencing high employee turnover without an obvious cause.

Task:

I was asked by a manager to carry out some data analysis, to identify any trends or patterns that would reveal the likely causes.

Action:

I decided to develop an anonymous staff questionnaire which all employees could complete online.

Result:

A significant proportion of staff completed the questionnaire.

A key finding was that many felt that their training and development wasn’t taken seriously. Furthermore, staff felt that it was difficult to speak to management about change.

These suggestions were passed onto the management team, who made improvements to training and development, established more effective channels of communication and began an open-door policy. Turnover in the next six months showed a marked decrease.


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