Any tips for a competency based interview?!!

[cupkate]

I am going off for my first interview tomorrow and I am, to put it bluntly, bricking it! Having been an SAHM for the last couple of years I have found that I am completely fluent in Teletubby talk but seem to have forgotten how to speak every day English!
The interview will be competency based which I have had absolutely no experience of and although the company have given me a guide, I have no idea of what to expect. I have managed to find experiences for all the competencies listed in the guide but am now scared stiff that my mind will go blank when I get in there (as happened yesterday when I was trying to explain something th DH!) The last time I felt this nervous was 17 years ago when I took my driving test and ended up sitting on the loo for most of the day - I did pass my test, so maybe that's a good sign!

Anyway, is there anyone who can give me any tips or advice on competency based interviews or better still, how I can get rid of this terrible nervous feeling - obviously with something that doesn't involve imbibing large amounts of alcohol before said interview

cupkate - we do competency based interviews, and they are actually far easier for both the interviewer and interviewee. There are lots of previous threads with interview tips - just search on "interview"

Specifically for a competency based; The interviewer will be looking for complete STAR's that is the:
Situation or Task that you are referring too - they will want to have a full understanding of what the problem/job actually was.
your Action - specifically what you actually did, be simplistic in your explanations, but don't be afraid to get into detail if it seems the interviewer will understand it
the Result - the outcome of your actions.

Competency based interviews are based on the premise that past performance is a very good guide to future performance, so they will be looking for you to have exhibited the behaviours that they want to see in the past. So do keep it simple, and based on things that actually happened - not on what you would have done in hypothetical situations. You should find it easier to actually recollect events, than to imagine the correct resposne to a hypothetical situation. When rating you on each competency, the interviewer should be giving more weight to recent examples, and to those where inappropriate behaviour would have had more serious consequences.

Don't be afraid to use examples from your time as a SAHM - multitasking, prioritizing, negotiating are all very transferable skills.

Hope that helps -and good luck

Cupkate, here's the thread with loads of interview tips Good luck for tomorrow, I know the feeling about going back into it having been a sahm, I worried about lapsing into mother mode while I was there but I bet you'll be Ok once you get there and realise they're taking you seriously. You might even enjoy it. Good luck anyway.

Cupkate - we advise people on how to get through these interviews. The main thing I would say is to structure your answers clearly. A good tip is Context (what was the problem/challenge you faced), then Actions (ie what did you do, either with others or on your own), then Outcome (what happened in the end, what did you learn, what would you do dofferently next time).

Don't be afraid to ask things like 'Have I answered your question?' or 'Would you like me to give a bit more detail about that?'. Its fine to do this once or twice and if the interviewer needs more info, then its easy for them to ask for it.

And remember, they are as keen to fill the post as you are to get it.

Good luck with it, and stay calm!

Just to add to what is here, I have interviewed a lot of people using competency based scripts and would say for you to take your time thinking of answers. As it is a real life example, don't worry if it takes you a bit to get the best example. I would preplan some ideas in advance - you can guess the areas they will be asking you about eg organisation, communication, negotiation, leadership and then practise some questions beforehand. If you have someone to help, try going through some questions with them as the interviewer. At least you will going in with some practise. This means you should be more relaxed (!) but I would not try and memorise anything as it will just stress you out when you inevitably lose your place in the interview. HTH

I'VE BEEN OFFERED THE JOB!! I took so much from the advice given here on mumsnet into that interview (inc. Prufrock's tips on using examples from being a SAHM) Just wanted to say thank you and I think the link that WWW gave me should be made into a bible!! It was fantastic.
I should add that the job is dependent on a medical that I have to have in the city (I live in the countryside and haven't set foot in London for approx 18 years!!) so I guess that's another hurdle to cross. Anyway, THANK YOU AGAIN!

Congratuations Cupkate! What is the job?

Oh well done, agree, that thread is great isn't it?

Congratulations!

Well done you

Excellent news!