"a decision that had far reaching implications"

[flopsyandjim]

I know all about competency interviews and have done them before but I got completely stumped at this interview question and the feedback was that my answer was weak. The answer I gave was about an idea I had to make our offices more disability accessible which is being implemented around hundreds of offices but no....it's a weak answer!

I can't think of anything else and I'd really like to hear some examples from others? It's a management role this time but same company (internal promotion) so maybe they are looking for something more relevant, who knows.

Any help, tips, examples PLEASE!

It’s hard to say without knowing more about the role or industry, but I’d be looking for something around business strategy or future oriented thinking.

Anything that set a strategic direction that represented a major change for the organisation. E.g. entering a new market, discontinuing a product?

It may not be a weak answer, but the way you're explaining it makes it sound weak? Are you using the STAR technique?

pffftt... I'd be a total fail. "Really I've no idea. Shall I just get my coat now?"

My immediate reaction is that they asked for a decision you took and you appear to have responded with an idea you had. If it was your decision to make offices more disability accessible that would be a good answer. However, if you simply came up with the idea, that wasn't what they were looking for.

I also tend to agree with others that they probably wanted something around business strategy or similar. For most organisations, making offices more accessible is an operational issue rather than a strategic one.

There is also the question of whether you talked about what you did personally and were clear as to what you did, or whether you talked about what "we" did. If you start talking about "we" it isn't so clear what your role was.

Anything that set a strategic direction that represented a major change for the organisation. E.g. entering a new market, discontinuing a product?

You'd have to be a pretty senior person Leadership Team and above, to be responsible for decisions of that nature. Most average folk don't ever get anywhere close to that degree of responsibility.

OP are you in a senior role? If so, then the clue is in the word "decision" - and it would require you to demonstrate you had decision-making powers to claim that it was your decision and not just a whimsical idea that never saw the light of day.

Benefit of hindsight is a great thing, but whether you made the final decision or not you could adapt your response to show your part in the decision making process.

I'd have said something along the lines of "based on my organisation's diversity agenda, I highlighted that disabled access needed improvement. The decision wasn't mine alone, but my influence in the Working Group led to the improvement being made"

Always make clear what your role is in any action.

it's a first rung managerial position in an employment organisation. Trying to be vague but would involve helping employers from a particular industry to recruit. I have not been a manager before but have led projects and brought some teams together across departments.

Yes I know about STAR

And yes, I have had feedback before that my answers tend to be too 'operational' :(

One tip I find helpful for more senior jobs is to think "SOAR" rather than "STAR" - rather than task (what my manager asked me to do) think of objective (what I needed to achieve in this role).

OP please don't lose heart. The SOAR tip is a really good one. When thinking about results think about outcomes rather that outputs. So with your example you could have talked about increased brand value at being perceived as positive and proactive about disability (I might be stretching it a bit but you get the idea).

The fact that you are getting interviews is a great thing.

Do you have a mentor or someone who can help you get access to more strategic work/opportunities?

Thank you everyone. I had my interview on Monday and I'm still waiting for the outcome.

They didn't ask the question above after all. I'm worried I may have made a few mistakes though...

During my presentation, at one point one interviewer looked at her watch. I stopped and asked "am I okay for time?" She said "no no no, don't worry, I'm just looking". But now I think I made a mistake saying that. I don't know if I was on time although I had practiced the night before and it was 14 minutes (time limit was 15).

The interviewer did not give any other indication that I was under/over time and I think I saw her setting a timer which did not go off.

The questions I got are below. How do my answers sound (trying to not identify myself though!)

"how did you prepare for this interview"

This one was quite hard but only because I was expecting a harder question! I spoke about approaching the person currently doing the role, reading over relevant documents, researching key partners I'd be working with, preparing my CV, preparing possible interview answers, practising the night before, using relaxation techniques

"How do you manage your time"

I think I fluffed this answer as I wasn't really prepared for this one. I spoke about entering things in my diary, prioritising, asking for help if needed, using gant charts, recognising that colleagues may have more experience or expertise and approaching them if necessary. I spoke about balancing study with work, but I think this answer could have been much better :(

"tell me about a problem solving decision you made"

I spoke about encouraging a partner to take a different approach to tackling a problem they had. I spoke about how I helped them implement this new approach and what support I brought in with regards to other departments and other external partnerships. I think I went on and on about 'partnership working' and 'team working', probably a bit too much! I also spoke about how this new approach led to a 50% improvement and they want to go forward with this new approach every year now

"tell me about when you were in a team but not the leader"

I spoke about a school wanting my involvement in an activity (my work includes supporting schools but not as a teacher). I was able to suggest an alternative approach, and again suggest others within my network who could support the activity. I spoke about regular meetings to plan how the activity would run. The school were responsible for arranging staffing and timing for the activity and I took responsibility for arranging the delivery of it / people involved. I think for this answer I did come across as a leader though...

"tell me about a time when you saw an opportunity to work in partnership with an external organisation"

I spoke about a joint event I organised with another organisation that was successful and they want to roll it out to other areas. I mentioned the other organisation were initially reluctant, wanting to take charge, possessive of their product and I had to show the mutual benefits of us teaming up

"tell me about a difficult message you had to communicate"

spoke about refusing funding to an organisation and it not being well recieved and our organisation being bad mouthed as a result. spoke about identifying I needed to communicate bad messages better, ideally face to face, holding meetings, listening to their concerns, getting feedback, finding alternative solutions and how this led to the relationship being improved

Competency interviews are the pits...

I have interviewed individuals who could sail through the competency questions - but in reality couldn't do the job.

My DH had found the same in a totally unrelated industry - I now work for myself but his organisation have gone back to a more traditional interview approach involving several stages and are finding they are getting better candidates.

Doesn't help your situation but might help you realise it is not always your presentation skills or style.