is this possible interview answer too personal?

[ireallydontcare]

I'm looking at possible competency questions and where I could be asked about meeting a challenging deadline I was going to say something like (I've shortened it for the purposes of this thread)

The company put me on a course. it was challenging as I had 6 months to complete the course but it was not accessible for me as a disabled person. I had to find a way to complete my course in alternative ways. I asked other participants for a copy of their notes, I asked the tutor for extra 1 to 1 meetings, I asked my manager for extra study days, I asked the tutor for adjustments and I tried to set aside some time in my diary to work on the course. I went from thinking I would not be able to do the course to getting the highest marks.

What do you think? too personal? crappy example? change to something else? Any suggestions for maybe wording it better?

I don't want to sound critical of the company either.

Always tie the result into the bigger picture.

DH does interviews all the time, albeit a different industry, so he is going to help me practice and I'm going to try videoing myself to see how I come across.

what do you mean by 'bigger picture'? you mean the job? the company's goals? what skills it demonstrates?

To use the MP one again

Situation - what was the sport and why was it important
Task - my job was to write a report in order to give the MP the appropriate information before he had to present it to xyz. I only had two days to complete it.
Action - I needed to gather my facts. (Include 3 actions you took) Because if my excellent stakeholder management (always bring in other skills you might have to show multi talented) I have built up some strong relationships with department abc over the years. I was able to touch base with them to get valuable information. I also made sure that I sought corporate knowledge on such a person and double checked facts ...
Result - the MP got what he needed I received great feedback through my line manager, (some thanks in writing if you have some?), and from the MP point of view I saved the day because (definitely don't use this phrasing but you get my drift!)

Competency interviews are about technique. You CAN learn this.

Bigger picture is the company goals/ strategy/ why it's important not just for you but for those outside of you.

For example
I wrote a report because I was asked to. I didn't have long to write it.

Versus
The company was looking to invest in a new area. There was a particular opportunity to meet with funding institutions with a knowledge of this area but we only learned about it with two days to go etc etc

It makes you seem more knowledgeable and invested in your company rather than an 'I just do as I'm told' employee

Tie the result into the new job too if you can

... and this is very relevant in this role because of the high level of deadlines it's vital that someone can prioritise/ delegate tasks to others appropriately / proper time management due to ministerial/judicial timelines that must be honoured.

Have you been told what the compentencies are?

Sorry. Think it's too personal. Think about something more task/work related. It could easily go off track if you use that example. I understand why you think it's a good example I just think it's risky to use it as you could loose control of the message. Good luck with the interview.

No disrespect meant here at all, but if youre gunning for a managerial position but cannot grasp what the "bigger picture" means, I dont think you're in for much luck.

While your written competencies might get you an interview, they count for nothing.

Its the scores at interview versus the framework that you'll be assessed on and if you cant fathom the bigger picture into your competency, you may as well consider yourself out of the running.

Not what you want to hear, but that is fact I'm afraid.

I don't think that is a good example because completing a course isn't the same as meeting a deadline and anyway your answer is all about getting other people to do extra stuff.

Answers about meeting deadlines should be about breaking down the task into chunks, establishing which chunks are critical and whether any can be delegated, restructuring other responsibilities to make time for the important tasks etc. These things demonstrate management competencies in a way your OP does not.

Sorry but it is not a good example to use. When I was recruiting I asked that question to gain an understanding of how someone works under pressure in a more immediate sense. I wanted to see how they would prioritise their workload and what they would do if they became overloaded with work, how would they deliver, what tactics and strategy would they use.

With your example, my first thought is why wasn't any reasonable adjustments made for you. Did you not ask for them or were you not assertive enough with management to get this done for you. Now there may have been many reasons why it was not possible but I would worry you were not assertive enough.

They were refused oliviastabler after I had asked in advance, with no reply, for them. I chased up, and was refused, so had to get union rep involved. Obvs can't really say that part but yeah, I get that its not the best example.

The competencies will be problem solving, customer focus, partnership working, networking, drive for results and leadership - so 6 competencies, plus a written test and presentation.

it's an internal promotion I'm going for [...] It's a managerial level position [...] I am not holding out much hope of getting it as my scenarios seem so crap [...] The competencies will be problem solving, customer focus, partnership working, networking, drive for results and leadership

Is your current line manager on the interview panel and are they supportive of your application? Can you request a 1:1 with your line manager to talk through these 6 competencies and see if they have any insight about which scenarios will be helpful? If you aren't successful then you can ask for development opportunities to be challenged with situations which enable you to demonstrate these competencies and build up your stock of interviews answers.

Out of interest, what grade is this job? HEO level?

we don't go by those levels...I can't really say much without giving away my exact job which I'm not keen to do, sorry

Fair enough, totally understand where you're coming from.

Wish you the best, regardless :)

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has helped thus far, I really do appreciate it. I think I have gone from being stuck for problem solving examples to having several now! The only one left to think about is customer focus...things like dealing with unrealistic customer expectations, going above and beyond etc. I only really have one good scenario so need to have another look through all my evidence and previous work. Will keep you all updated on how I get on.

Glad you are feeling more prepared.

Make sure all your answers follow the pattern described in detail by whothefuckhas5children at 24/08/2017 22:45 - they aren't just looking for an anecdote - my first time with a "competence" type interview I totally stuffed it up from not knowing these rules.

Great stuf!!

Try to think of general answers too. Often people think of one example for each competency and the question doesn't work for that example. But because they have just got the one answer prepared they use that example which isn't relevant. From my experience of competency based interviews (I have been the interviewer and the interviewee) the question can be worded different to what you expect. So the customer service question might be an easy 'Can you give an example of when you have given excellent customer service' or can you give an example of when you have gone outside your role to give excellent customer service' or 'what does good customer service look like', or 'what would you do if you witnessed someone you worked with giving poor customer service'. With your examples try to get your values in. What do you think good customer service is important. What impact does it have on the customer and the organisation etc. Try to do the same for all your examples. So the problem solving what would have been the outcome if you hadn't solved the problem and why would that have been a negative thing. What was so good about the problem being solved, what impact did it have.

Hi all back with a wee update. Good and bad news.

I got through the first interview, yes that's right, they want to do a second interview next week, something I've never known my company to do before

DH says they maybe have it down to two candidates now and can't decide

The second interview is the same - presentation, interview and written test.

I can't use the same scenarios as last time so I need to start thinking again.

The competencies this time are

Analysis and problem solving
Communication
Planning and organising
Creativity and innovation
Team work

I think there will be more focus on internal relationships this time as well as how I communicate to VIP stakeholders

Urgh I feel so drained by it all and now I have to do it all again next week

If you need any help, please just ask.

Happy to support you!

Oh that's tough, you've used your strongest examples for thr first interview I bet. Happy to be of help if required.

please do help!

For communication, assuming the question is about communication failure, I'm thinking of a time when I did not make it clear who a partner organisation's main contact was and they got pissed at having to go through several people to get to me.

If it's adjusting communication style, I might use a time when I had to produce materials in a particular format for disabled delegates. Not sure if that's high level enough though?

For team work, possibly a difficult team, I helped another department with a marketing campaign and I had to warn them that the target audience could be very difficult about the wording/language they were using but they weren't grasping the importance of this and at their first launch of the campaign they got absolutely pasted. they then started to listen to me and improve based on my advice....I need to word this better.

Analysis and problem solving - I might talk about a report I had to do that involved gathering a lot of data and breaking it down. I did need help with this though as we have a data/research team, who checked over my report and made it look better. So again, how do I talk about MY role here, considering I had a lot of help.

Planning and Organising - I'm a bit stumped at this one. I assume it will be a question around time management, delegation or deadlines. Totally stumped for scenarios so far.

Creativity - I think this will be around developing a new process to make things work better at work. I think I might talk about a spreadsheet I created to keep track of everyone's CPD which means I can see who is BSing about what they've done and also see where the gaps are.

How does all this sound?

I practiced a bit with DH today who does a lot of interviewing and he was grimacing, telling me I'm waffling. He then gave me his example answer and I was totally open mouthed at him. It was short, to the point and just amazeballs. Why can't I do that???

I want to say thank you all so much once again. Mumsnet is amazing. I started this thread feeling defensive and worried and Mumsnet has made me feel a bit more confident. If I don't get it after all your help, I'll be afraid to come back and tell you all!

Ok, your communication failure example sounds like you did something wrong and people were pissed off st you. Don't use that one, you need to be showing how you can communicate with internal & external stakeholders a and do it well! Your other communication example sounds better.
Or even Your team work example might be a better demonstration of that do you think?