Are you applying for jobs and worried about the timing of the interviews? Do you work in the HR department and are unsure what to ask candidates? Whichever the case, this post is for you. That’s because we’re going to talk about the competency-based interview questions.
If you’ve ever been to a job interview, you’ve no doubt been asked the usual questions about your education or work experience. Well, in the competency-based interviews They go one step further and use a structured approach to assess your skills and behaviour in specific situations.
What do you need to know about competency-based interview questions?
Firstly, it is important to realise that the skills These are characteristics, knowledge or skills that are useful in a specific job. For example, the ability to work in a team, problem-solving and leadership are some of these competencies.
In a skills-based interview, also known as behavioural interviews, the recruiter usually does carefully crafted questions to find out how the candidate has performed in specific situations. Ultimately, the aim is for the candidate to give specific, real-life examples of situations in which they have needed to put these skills into practice.
In this way, employers will be able to assess more effectively whether a candidate has the skills and abilities required for the role on offer. Furthermore, it helps to create a standardised set of questions for all candidates, which makes the assessment process fairer and more objective.
Types of competency-based interview questions
Before moving on to the most commonly used types of questions in a behavioural interview, it is important that you know what the interviewer expects of you. Generally speaking, the questions are framed in accordance with the STAR model: Situation, Task, Action and Result. When employers present you with a particular scenario and ask you to explain what you would do, they expect you to discuss the situation which raise, the tasks which you take on, the shares to be carried out to resolve the dilemma and the rresults expected.
Right then, here’s what we’d like to share with you Seven types of competency-based interview questions. Take note!
Questions on adaptability
The adaptability questions, as the name suggests, aim to assess a candidate’s ability to adapt and be productive in changing environments. The aim here is to find out how the candidate has dealt with situations that required flexibility or the ability to learn quickly.
Here are some examples of questions on adaptability:
- Describe a situation in which you had to deal with an unexpected change at work. How did you adapt to that situation?
- Tell me about a time when you had to learn a new skill or task in a short space of time. How did you go about it?
- Tell me about a time when you had to tackle a project with tight deadlines and multiple priorities. How did you organise your time and cope with the pressure?
Questions on teamwork
These questions are designed to give an idea of the candidate’s ability to to collaborate and work effectively with others to achieve common goals, overcoming any differences. Some examples are:
- Describe a project in whichyou worked as part of a team. What was your role within the team, and how did you contribute to the project’s success?
- Could you give an example of a situation where you had to resolve a conflict within a work team?
- Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a team member. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?
Guidance questions for the customer
Guided questions enable the interviewer to assess the candidate’s ability to focus on the customer requirements, communicate effectively, solve problems and work to ensure customer satisfaction. Questions such as the following are often used:
- Could you give an example of a situation in which you provided exceptional customer service? How did you identify and meet their needs?
- Tell me about a situation where you had to convince a client that what they were asking of you was against their own interests.
- Can you give me an example of how you turned a negative experience into a positive one for the customer?
- What strategies do you use to build strong, trusting relationships with customers?
Questions on initiative and autonomy
These questions seek specific examples of how the candidate has identified opportunities and taken action without the need for direct supervision and has made important decisions on their own. To do this, they ask questions such as:
- Could you give an example of a situation in which you took on a difficult challenge on your own? How did you tackle it, and what results did you achieve?
- How do you prioritise and manage your workload when you don’t have clear guidance or direct supervision?
- Tell me about a time when you identified an area for improvement at work and took action to bring about a change.
Questions from leadership
Leadership questions are designed to assess the candidate’s ability to to lead, motivate and guide to help others achieve common goals. In this case, the questions might be along the lines of the following:
- Describe a situation in which you took on a leadership role in a project or team. How did you motivate and guide your team-mates towards success?
- Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision as a leader. How did you assess the available options, and how did you communicate your decision to the team?
- How do you foster and support the professional growth and development of your team members?
Questions on oral communication
In most jobs, it is necessary to have good verbal communication skills in order to convey information,ideas and concepts effectively. For this reason, employers use these types of questions to assess verbal communication skills:
- Describe a situation in which you had to convey complex information to a client or colleague. How did you ensure that your message was clear and easy to understand?
- Tell me about a time when you had to break bad news to a client or colleague. How did you handle the situation, and what steps did you take to ensure the communication was effective?
- How do you handle difficult questions or comments during a conversation or presentation? Can you give me an example of how you handled such a situation in the past?
Questions regarding liability
Finally, the responsibility-based questions are designed to assess a candidate’s ability totake on responsibilities, make important decisions and be accountable for their actions. Questions such as the following are therefore used:
- Tell me about a situation in which you had to take responsibility for a mistake.
- How do you manage the tasks assigned to you to ensure they are completed on time and to the required standard?
- Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision at work and how it affected others.
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