Argh.

[HelloPossums]

Feel really frustrated with myself!!

The background is that I had a job interview for a permanent role at an organisation a few months ago. I wasn't successful at interview, so asked for feedback. In the feedback, they said they felt I could've been clearer and more concise in my interview answers.

Today, I had an interview for an internship at the same organisation. I felt I did okay at answering the non-competency questions. Afterwards, I was asked competency questions, which I was expecting. I just feel so frustrated with myself, because although I prepared a lot for this interview, I found it really hard to come up with answers to the specific questions asked in the interview. I think they're going to say no again, and I really don't feel like I've learned anything or improved/progressed between my last interview for the other role and this interview today.

AIBU to ask you how I can improve and get better at answering competency questions? So bloody frustrated at myself, but I really want something good to come out of this frustration!!!

Thanks Pengggwn :) I used the STAR technique, but I struggled with the fact that some of the questions were a bit unexpected, so I wasn't entirely sure about how to apply the STAR technique to answer them.

People tend to store information like a video library, so when giving competancy examples state date first, then place, say who was involved then you start to relay the story.

It means it's far more likely it is 'indexed' in the interviewer's mind.

I think I struggled with the fact that a lot of the competency questions asked were very similar - I was asked a lot about communication, for example.

I was asked things like: 'what ways of communication do I think are best to use?' (Can't remember exactly what the question was or how to rephrase this in good English!!)

I feel really frustrated, because I did prepare a lot for the interview but, thinking about it now, I was probably not as prepared as I could have been. I hesitated quite a bit when giving my answers, as I was thinking about what answer to give, and they kept on prompting me, when I was giving my answers. I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not really sure how to improve. Do I just practise competency questions over and over again? What if they ask me something really unexpected? That's what I'm really unsure about.

I really, really want to avoid this happening again, but not sure how I can. Any tips please? FML.

If you have a copy of the competencies then try writing questions you would ask about them. Two per competency if you can. Then do star format answers for each. I temped at a similar organisation and they gave me a mock interview so I was able to get a copy of the mock questions. I hope you get it OP. Job interviews are hard.

Use STAR but just lie/white lie etc so just make it fit their question a bit more. I.e you did a presentation to a group - just say it was on X subject when it may have been about something else etc. They never check anything in interviews so I always bend the truth to give the best answers, they'll never know the outcome of the actions you're describing so just go for it with your answer without coming across cocky.

Oh and when I did my interview, they did ask me follow up questions, but it was just about the answer I'd given. They weren't trying to catch me out just looking for detail.

*disclaimer obviously I don't just mean outright LIE! I mean embellish things to fit STAR that have no bearing on your true achievements etc. Anyway I know what I mean!

Rehearse saying a range of answers out loud again and again before interview??

I hate competency based interviews!

My best advice is to think of as many specific "anecdotes" from your career as you can in advance. And try to have ones that can serve more than one purpose depending on the questions that come up. Like a time you learned something new , working with a difficult person, conceiving and implementing a system, adapting your communication to the situation, working under pressure etc etc. If you Google you can find loads of example competency based questions online, sometimes for specific industries. The hardest thing for me is thinking of specific examples from my experience on the spot, so I try to list lots in advance and memorise them.

Thanks pengggwn and everyone else who's posted :) you've all been so helpful

I think the main problem that I'm having is that I haven't really had a career yet. I've been involved in tutoring and a few other things since leaving university two years ago. I worry that this might hold me back, as sometimes the only examples for competency questions that I can think of come from what I did at university, and I know this isn't ideal, as I'm sure they want more recent examples. I just get so tongue-tied and unsure about what I want to say in these situations...!

So just to re-cap:

It seems like practising my answers regularly with someone else AND thinking of a few different potential questions for each competency would be useful ways to prepare for competency-based interviews in the future.

Another question I found tricky to answer in the STAR format was telling the interviewers about a time when I'd shown initiative(!!!)

It wasn't mentioned in the competencies at all for the job, so I wasn't expecting it and stupidly hadn't prepared anything. Aargh. I came up with an answer, but had to spend some time thinking about it.

Any advice for what to do in those situations when they ask an unexpected competency question that you haven't prepared for? FFS :(