To think this should last 15 minutes not 1?!!

[user1489943514]

I've got my first competency based interview tomorrow and my manager told me I really need to show my knowledge of legislation, processes and showcase my practical skills.

So I prepared an answer to 'what's your skills and experience' that shows the different reports and legislation I've worked with and different skills I've acquired.

My Manager then said 'don't try and memorise it, just make bullet points and try and remember the main points for the interview. It's only a minute long anyway. One guy spoke for 20 mins once. I was brain dead'.

Now I'm so nervous. Mine is 15 mins long when I've practiced.

Is this too long? There's no way I could say anything with substance in under 5 mins although I'm sure my nerves will cut out most of what I say.

The skills I need to evidence are:

Communication
Planning and organisation
Good knowledge of legislation
Analytical thought

So I not need to give examples for all of these?

Argh! Hell.

Would I be unreasonable to do my 15 minutes answer?

[onceandneveragain]

yes sorry, I think a 15 minute response to one question would be very excessive. I should imagine most interviews would switch off after about 2-3 minutes. They might want to ask you 10-15 questions, if you take 15 minutes for each of them you'll be there for hours!

Plus how are you ever going to remember a 15 minute speech? As you say nerves will affect you and you might end up half remembering lots of different bits and it coming out disjointed and unimpressive.

Have you ever actually sat there while someone talked at you, with no interruptions/interaction, for 15 minutes? (not in a lecture or training type setting, just talking) - it's not a great experience.

I would definitely trim it down to under 3 minutes. You can always use the examples you don't use in other questions if they are relevant. Surely things like 'communication,' they will be assessing throughout the interview anyway - and ironically talking for much longer than they would expect, and not picking up on non-verbal clues/body language that they are bored etc might actually go against you.

I understand you want to show everything you've got, but sometimes less is more!

Good luck!

[ineedamoreadultieradult]

If they have advised you to do bullet points then I would give a short bullet point style answer without long explanations and if they want you to they will ask you to expand on certain points.

[MargaretCavendish]

So I prepared an answer to 'what's your skills and experience' that shows the different reports and legislation I've worked with and different skills I've acquired.

Have you been told to expect that exact question? It's very broad. I think it's much more likely that they'll ask about skills individually, rather than just ask you to list everything you've got going for you. Also, while of course they'll know you have prepared, you do want to sound fairly natural. I really would advise against a 15 minute speech!

[TheNaze73]

As a hiring manager, a 15 minute answer would say to me so many bad things

[Squills]

15 minutes is way too long. Do as your manager has advised and make a bullet point list of the key points.

It's difficult to be concise but it will be well worth it.

[MoreThanUs]

15 minutes? You'd talk yourself out of a job there and then.

[Lilaclily]

Most competency based interviews are 5 questions and the interview is expected to last 30 minutes , so approx 5 minutes on each question

Good luck

[catkind]

Yes, brief outline of main areas, don't go into so much detail. They can always ask followup questions if they want more detail. For a competency based interview the questions are usually about specific skills though.

[user0000000001]

If someone gave me a 15 minute answer to an interview question, it would be a serious black mark.

Sounds like a general question that I would ask to kick off more probing questions, like 'how did you do that', 'what was the outcome' etc. I usually phrase it as 'talk me through your recent roles'. It's a bit of a filler question, designed to settle everyone into the interview.

The skills you list will be explored throughout the interview... they don't need to be answered in one question!!

[chickenjalfrezi]

I thought this was about something else

[TheOnlyColditz]

Do not give someone a fifteen minute lecture. Outline it or they'll scream

[Ecureuil]

Yes, a 15 min answer to one question is too long.
Normally during a competency based interview there will be a number of questions designed to demonstrate that you have the particular skills. Not one question asking you to outline all of them.
For example... 'tell us about a time you have had to communicate a difficult decision to a stakeholder'. You then give a STAR your answer (situation, task, action, result) that demonstrates you have good communication skills.

[user1489943514]

Argh! What do I say then? Any ideas?

[justaguy]

In my experience on both sides of the table, that's not a competency based question. It's a general opener.

Competency questions would be along the lines of 'Can you describe a time when you have had to demonstrate your knowledge of legislation as part of your role?' There would then be a bit of probing so the interviewer can satisfy themselves they have given you every opportunity to demonstrate your full competency.

[Crumbs1]

This is good framework

[Ecureuil]

I have conducted (and sat) a lot of competency based interviews and we never have questions as broad as that.
There is usually a general 'talk me through your CV' type opener. Then specific competency based questions drawing on your experience to demonstrate your skills.
I really doubt you will have a question asking you to demonstrate all competencies in one go.

[user1489943514]

It's a point based interview.

My whole life I've had this feedback:

We liked you, felt you would be a great team fit and knew you were capable of doing the job/had perfect experience. But you did not prove your competency and others got a higher mark than you'.

So maybe I have been to competency based interview without knowing.

My feedback has been that I need to discuss legislation more. What do I know about it.

I'm a nurse.

[user1489943514]

I always get asked 'what's your skills and experience'. I've been to one interview in 5 that hasn't asked that

[user1489943514]

I usually give a really poor answer so need to improve.

[Ecureuil]

Fair enough, i have no experience of nursing so our interviews are probably completely different😉

[Ecureuil]

Sorry didn't mean to put the winking face in!

[newmumwithquestions]

As pp said, if it's competency based then your answers are best formatted to 'star' (or something similar.
So if I were you I'd prepare 4 answers, one for each competency you listed.

For example:

Skill: Good knowledge of legislation

Situation: I was working on X project which was based in Y country
Task: we needed to ensure the project complied with all national and international laws
Activity: I reviewed all project activities and compared them to national legislation. I highlighted task Z to the project manager as the way the project was planned we would have broken legislation L.
Result: the project tasks were amended and it gained regulator approval.

Deep breath, don't panic. Your interviewers will want you to give them the right answers. Your job is to make it easy for them.

[WipsGlitter]

I've just done some interviews and the main mistake candidates made was waffling on too long about the situation element of "star" teams of background detail.

[newmumwithquestions]

Sorry x posted. I'm afraid I also have no experience of nursing interviews!

[user1489943514]

Ah thanks everyone. I need to show I am a reflective practitioner too.

I can easily do this job. I just need to prove that!