How to conduct a competency-based interview?
- Competency-based interview questions for management roles
Posted by: Mansour Baker
Develop practical skills in conducting competency-based interviews and be able to identify the presence or absence of evidence of the 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
|
Competency interview problems and how to deal with them
Problem
- Interviewee seems uncomfortable with the nature of the interview
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Say: ‘I wish we could talk more about that, but I really 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
- 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
- Say: ‘I’d like to slow down 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
- 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 in conducting a competency-based interview
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?"
Competency 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.
a. 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
b. 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
c. 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 loads 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
d. 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 reached an agreement to implement some of the suggestions, sales began to improve.
- List the competencies and reasons
e. 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
f. 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
Competency-based interview questions for management roles
The competency-based assessment questionnaire has been specially designed to give you a tool to assess your candidates’ management competency and behavioral levels.
The questionnaire acts to collect responses from candidates to help you gain a better understanding of your candidates’ competency levels, management styles, leadership skills and personalities during the recruitment process. The questionnaire is for assessment of managerial positions, and it can be modified to include information and questions most relevant to the requirements of your company and that of the position that you are hiring.
For each question, prepare one-two paragraphs giving an example for each of the questions asked.
- The Issue
- The Action
- The Outcome
|
Sample format to collect responses from candidates
|
General Skills & Management Competencies Questionnaire
- What are your strengths - what can you offer that other candidates cannot?
- What are your limitations and weaknesses?
- What is your management style? Describe a situation in which you had a difficult management problem and how did you solve it? Describe some situations in which you have worked under pressure or met deadlines? Give an example of an objective in your last job which you failed to meet and why? Would you describe a few situations in which your work was criticized? What have you learned from your mistakes?
- As a manager, what do you look for when hiring people? How do you motivate your staff? As a manager, had you ever had to fire anyone? If so, what were the circumstances and how did you handle it?
- Describe a time when you had to think through major issues and had to rely on what you knew about the business to come up with the best plan, strategy, or solution.
- What do you anticipate being the most difficult task in being a manager (i.e. in this case for the position that you are being interviewed for)?
- What are the things that are most important to you in a job? Give 2 examples of things that you are not happy with in your present job.
- Describe what you feel would be an ideal working environment.
- Given the opportunity to take on this post, how long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to your new employer?
- How many direct and indirect employees do you have in your current job and what types of employees are they?
- How do you evaluate your last employer?
- How would your boss and your subordinates describe your leadership and management styles?
- Why do you think you are the right candidate for the job? Give 3 reasons why you think the company should choose you instead of other candidates.
Behavioral Competencies Questionnaire
- How would you describe your personality?
- How would you describe your interpersonal, communication and relationship management skills?
- How would your boss, subordinates and colleagues describe your personality and your interpersonal, communication and relationship management skills?
- Thinking innovatively is an important aspect of this position. Describe a time when you were most effective at encouraging a group (or person) to think creatively.
- Describe an example of a time when you knew you were right in making a decision that was not endorsed by your boss? What was the incident about and the nature of the disagreement? What did you do to cope with the situation? How did you go about solving the disagreement and convincing your boss to accept your decision?
- Describe a time when your work was criticized. What was the nature of the work? Who made the criticism? What were the reasons behind it? Was the criticism justified? How did you react to the criticism and to the person who made the criticism? What measures were taken to ensure that the same mistakes would not be repeated?
- Describe an example of a time when you suffered a setback or disappointment concerning a project or activity for which you were responsible? What was the project or activity you were involved in? What was the nature of the disappointment or setback? What did you do to cope with the demands of the situation? How did you proceed after the setback?
- Having good relationships with customers is necessary for the success of this position. Following up with customers helps achieve long-term customer relationships. Describe a time when your persistence in following up produced the most positive result.
- Describe an example of a time when you must convince senior and line management to co-operate and be part of the team to carry out an initiative directed from corporate office within a specific timeframe. What was the activity about? What was the resistance and why? How did you go about convincing managers to be part of the team and to carry out assigned tasks to ensure successful implementation of the project?
Management Competencies Questionnaire
- What are the 3 most important achievements in your career to date? Achievements that have really contributed to the success of the company or have been recognized by the company as successfully achieving business objectives? How did you go about achieving these objectives?
- What important Trends related to your management area do you foresee for the coming years? For example, describe the HR trends for HR positions, marketing and pricing trends for marketing positions and IT trends for IT positions etc.
- How well do you evaluate your skills and experience relevant to the position you are applying for, experience and skills in the country and region that will convince the hiring company that you are the right person for the job?
- Describe your experience in strategic planning and management and in developing business strategies to provide a long-term competitive advantage to the company.
- Describe your experience working as an advisor to top, senior and line managers providing advice and solutions to strategic and daily operational issues that are relevant to this position.
- Describe your experience in managing change and in developing, designing, and implementing change management programs and processes.
- Describe your experience in reviewing, creating, and designing different management programs relevant to this position that you are applying for. Specify the different programs and what role you play in each area.
- Describe your experience in developing, driving, and implementing change communication programs.
- Describe your experience and style of managing staff.
- Describe your experience in integrating in business planning.
- Describe your experience in the management of vendors and external consultants and service providers.
