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?

[Hulder]

Demonstrating you are a reflective practitioner is easy.

I am a reflective practitioner. I recently experienced incident or patient x. I found this situation challenging because y make sure this reason doesn't make you look incompetent I have subsequently reflected on it and this made me read in more detail/sign up to a study day/learn more about whatever skill/realise there were several approaches to the issue/make something up.

If faced with the same situation again I would tackle it differently by doing z due to the way I have reflected on it.

[Hulder]

OK for nurse I would expect an answer something like (and completely guessing at your role so put something better in):

I am a good communicator with experience of having challenging conversations with patients and relatives. I am able to provide clear and concise handover focussing on individual patient needs. I am familiar with communication and safety tools such as SBAR.

I am good at planning and organization. I manage my time on my shift by planning across the day. I have recently organized x, y and z.

I am familiar with legislation relevant to this role such as the Mental Capacity Act, DOLS, any other act or legislation you want to mention.

I am signed off on giving iv drugs, using this that and the other pumps, male and female catheterization, any thing else you want to mention.


I've interviewed nurses and if you spoke for 15 minutes without a break I might kill you. It suggests also that you can't make a decision or identify what issue is really important.

[FruitCider]

I'm a nurse, all of my interviews have had broad questions at the beginning e.g. "Why do you want this job/tell me why you are a good match for this job" followed by competency based questions e.g. "Tell us about a time you dealt with a difficult situation. What was the outcome? What could you have done better?" These answers need to be 2 minutes MAX, as they will generate further discussion.

And of course you need to leave time at the end to interview your interviewer!

[catkind]

What's your skills and experience? Given your boss's steer, I would tend to take that as an overview question. Broadly what qualifies you for a this role, what's your relevant background. I studied at x, have been working in y for z years, most recently specialising in abc. Then pull out one or two specific areas in the job spec to demonstrate experience in? (Also not in nursing so prepared to be corrected.) I think it's also fine to ask the interviewers would you like more detail of my experience with ABC?

[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!

[newmumwithquestions]

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

[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]

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.

[Ecureuil]

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

[Ecureuil]

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

[user1489943514]

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

[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]

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.

[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.

[Crumbs1]

This is good framework

[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.

[user1489943514]

Argh! What do I say then? Any ideas?

[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.

[TheOnlyColditz]

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

[chickenjalfrezi]

I thought this was about something else

[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!!

[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.

[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

[MoreThanUs]

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

[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.