Competency Based Interview Training

Competency Based Interview Training

Posted 7 November 2020

Develop practical skills in conducting a competency-based interviews and be able to identify the presence or absence of evidence of the competencies.

Competencies

Probe the candidate with the following questions for the below competencies:

What led up to the situation?
Who else was involved?
What did you do?
What did you say?
What were you thinking?
What was the outcome?

Performance Excellence

Tell me about a time when you achieved something you are particularly proud of

Analytical Thinking / Conceptual Thinking

Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem or come up with a new way of doing something

Adaptability

Tell me about a time when you had to change your approach to doing something

Taking Initiative / Information Gathering

Tell me about a time that you spotted a potential opportunity or problem

Integrity

Tell me about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma

Taking Initiative

Tell me about a time that you spotted a potential opportunity or problem

Leadership

Tell me about a time you have led others to achieve something

Exhibit 1

Record your evidence during the interview

Interview problems and how to deal with them

Problem

Interviewee seems uncomfortable with the nature of the interview

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘This method will help me to get to know things you have done in your life, and how you’ve dealt with different types of situations'

Problem

Interviewee cannot remember a specific incident

Possible way to handle it

Remain silent to give the interviewee a chance to think. Then say any of the following:
- ‘Is there anything else you do in your job?’
- ‘Was there anything else you did in your job?’
- ‘Can you think of a situation involving some other activity that you have not given me an example of yet?’
- ‘Earlier you mentioned …’ (refer to something the interviewee said earlier)

Problem

Interviewee seems uncomfortable

Possible way to handle it

Reward the interviewee whenever he or she provides a good behavioral event: Say, ‘That is exactly the kind of information I’m looking for’.

Problem

Vagueness: Interviewee talks of the philosophy of doing the job and remains abstract or discusses hypothetical situations

Possible way to handle it

Ask for specific examples:
- ‘What did you actually say to him or her?’
- ‘How did he/she respond to that?’
- ‘What did you say then?’

Problem

Reticence: The interviewee is evasive or refuses to answer questions because he/she is concerned about revealing confidential material about himself/herself or others

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘I don’t need any names. Just tell me what happened’. OR
‘I’m only interested in what happened and your part in it’.

Problem

Interviewee rambles, digresses to topics unrelated to behavioral events.

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘I wish we could talk more about that, but I really to need to hear about a specific incident’. OR
‘That’s interesting, but we have a lot more ground to cover. Can we get back to the incident? You were saying that ….’

Problem

Interviewee says he/she can’t remember the actual words in a conversation

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘Just give me the flavor of it. What sort of thing did you say?’
‘Try to reconstruct the dialogue right now to describe your memory of what happened. Make believe I’m the person you were talking to’

Problem

Interviewee is giving too much information, too fast or the information is scattered

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘I’d like to slowdown a bit. Could you go back to …?’ OR
I’m not sure I understand that sequence. Could you walk me through it?’

Problem

The key part of the event is not clear

Possible way to handle it

Say: ‘What was it about that situation that was a high/low point for you?' OR
‘Tell me about one of the conversations/meetings that stands out in your mind’

List of Useful Phrases

If you remember nothing else….!

“What did you do”
“What did you say”
“What was your thinking behind that?”
“How were you feeling?”
"Can you give me a picture of that?”
"If I were there, what would I see?”
"Walk me through that (incident) (meeting) etc.”
"Can you give me an example of a time that you...?”
"Can you give me an example of such a (meeting) (group)?”
"You said "we". What did you do specifically? What part did you play?”
"Can you tell me what you actually said to him/her?”
"Can you tell me what you mean by...?”
"That was a good overview. Now, let's go back and get the details.”
"How were you feeling then...?”
"What went through your mind...?”
"Tell me about a time when you....”
"This sounds like a good incident for us to be talking about. Can you take me back to the beginning?”
"Take a minute to reflect. Then, give me a quick overview.”
"What were the key events, the critical points along the way?”
“How did it start?”
"Tell me about...X. What led up to it?”
"That's exactly the kind of incident I was looking for, and exactly the right amount of detail."
"What were some of the specific things you talked about?”
"What did he/she say? What did you say?”
“Let's go back. When you...(left the meeting) (etc.)...how did you feel?”
"So what happened after that? What were the critical next steps?”
"Can you remember any key interaction or conversation you had in the early stages of this?”
"What stands out in your mind as most important about that time...(incident) ...(event)....?”
"Let's go back. You said there was planning involved. Can you tell me about that?”
"What were some of the thoughts you had when...?”
"Who's the 'we' here?”
"And, then, what happened?”
"Tell me about one of those times? What were you...?”
"How did you feel as you...?”
"What other key things happened?”
"How did that come about? How did that first come up?”
"How did you do that?”
"What did you say?”
"What were your next steps?"

Note taking and deciding on rating

Don’t try to come up with a final rating while you are interviewing; concentrate on taking as comprehensive notes as possible.

After the interview, review all notes and discuss code against the model, being sure to maintain objectivity.

Record your evidence and subsequent agreed rating on a summary form. Provide enough detail as evidence so that an observer who was not present can understand clearly what was said that led you to put forward the rating arrived at.

Rate the evidence gathered during the interview against the level most “typically” demonstrated of each competency.

The “typical” level could be described as the highest level at which you have compelling evidence.

Competency Coding Exercise

Read the following statements, and code them for competencies. Refer to the competency definitions if you need to. Underline key words. Give your reasons for choosing the competencies you have coded.

1. It was clear that if we were to deliver the project, we needed more people with SAP experience. I spoke to my boss and explained that we needed an experienced project manager if we were to hit the deadline. After the explanation, he agreed, so I spoke to a number of recruitment companies, held interviews and in the end, we got a guy who had implemented SAP at one of our major competitors.

List the competencies and reasons

2. It’s really important in this business to keep up to date with competitors. If one of them is launching a marketing campaign, we need to know the likely impact and take counter measures as soon as possible. So, every Monday, I would read every newspaper and check their websites to see what they were up to. It’s a bit sad, but if I was out shopping, I’d always go into their stores and see how our offers stacked up. If they had a good offer on, I would launch our own campaign within 2 days.

List the competencies and reasons

3. We had never had any work out of them in the past, and I knew that we went into the presentation as their least preferred supplier. So, I figured we had nothing to lose. Instead of going in with a PowerPoint presentation like everyone else, we got load of posters printed showing what the organization would be like after the initiative. We got them out of their chairs and literally walked them round the posters. We had never tried it before, but they loved it, and we got the project.

List the competencies and reasons

4. Sales were heading down, and I wanted everyone to be clear about what we had to do to rectify that. So, I called the group together to seek ideas on how we could improve sales. After I got agreement to implement some of the suggestions, sales began to improve.

List the competencies and reasons

5. Well, I sort of did whatever I was told to do. I did not think it was my place to do any extra work because I was afraid, I may be stepping on someone else's toes- you know, taking over their job responsibilities. So, I waited until I was given extra assignments before I took them on.

List the competencies and reasons

6. I had this dreadful feeling in my stomach, but it was important I didn’t hide. People were expecting me to come on stage and defend the company’s performance, but I wanted to be honest. I told them that we had failed to deliver against our objectives, and much of that was down to me getting embroiled in the merger and taking my eye off the ball. It was kind of awkward at the time, but lots of people told me that it was what needed to be said.

List the competencies and reasons

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