Competency based interview

[GremlinGreen]

I've been out of work for 6 months and am thrilled to have been offered an interview for a job I'd really like to get.

The employer has said that the interview will be competency based, and has mentioned they will be looking at behavioural and functional competencies for the role. They have said they want answers to be in the STAR format (I've heard of this so know what it means).

They haven't been any more specific than that, i.e. no indication of what specific competencies they are looking for. I've no previous experience of competency based interviews.

What can I do to prepare for this interview? I can probably work out what functional competencies they might be after from the job description and person specification. But I'm not sure what 'behavioural competencies' covers. Does it mean things like ability to work in a team, managing own time etc?

Any help gratefully received! I'd love to get this job.

We have a skills and behaviours matrix in the company I work for, there are 6 competencies levels for each category (graded a - entry level position to f - MD). Each role has an assigned grade on the skills and behaviours matrix that you are expected to meet. Some of the categories include; planning and organisation, decision making, developing yourself and others, technical expertise. If it's anything like the interviews I hold, I will give you a scenario and see if you meet the criteria against your assigned grade although we don't ask questions relating to all categories.

I hope that's helpful, i know it's about vague but I work for a large company so can't give too much away!

Thanks SmokingGun. Yes most job vacancies I've seen where they use competencies, they do actually tell you in the application pack which competencies they are looking for! This one hasn't! So should I just guess?!

Hi,

Look at the job description and pick out the key attributes the person requires , and the main responsibilities of the role.

Spend some time drafting some key examples covering each of those points. I'd say try get to at least two for each point.

Then align them with the STAR format so they have a structure. My best advice is always for each example to remember to REFLECT, before they probe further.

I.e. If the same example happened again, what would you do differently, or if nothing, what did you learn? Pre empt their questions.

I always always practice orally all my examples so that I know that when called upon, they are succinct. Brevity is key

Don't be afraid to take some written examples on with your as most employers will appreciate you being prepared - even if it saves you two questions it's better than drawing a blank.

Hope that helps :) good luck!

That's really odd, we advertise ours on the job description. The only reason I can think you wouldn't is if you felt the candidate fell between 2 roles with different grading? Even that is a really weak reason. I wonder if it's worth putting a call on as it may have been missed off in error. I can't see why you wouldn't want your candidate to know up front?