Competency Based

Leadership is a competency employers look for in candidates who are applying for jobs that require them to lead, motivate and/or develop other people, usually team leader and management positions (or trainee positions that lead to management positions).

It is likely that you will need to show evidence of your own communication skills during a competency based interview. Questions you may be asked include:

★ Give an example of how you dealt with a difficult or sensitive situation that required extensive communication.

★ Give me an example of how you dealt with a difficult customer at work.

★ Tell me about a time when you had to explain an issue or process to a colleague (or colleagues) at work.

★ Tell me about a time when you taught someone else something.

★ How do you explain things to other people?

Examples of competency questions that are used to evaluate leadership skills are:

★ Describe a time when you had to lead a group to achieve an objective?

★ Describe a work based situation where you had to lead by example to achieve an objective?

★ Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal?

★ How do you motivate team members to do something they decide they do not want to do?

Trustworthiness and ethics are key competencies employers want to see evidence of in candidates, in particular for jobs in industries that require a high level of confidentiality such as law, accounting and consulting.

Results orientation is a term used to describe "knowing what results are important and focusing resources to achieve them." Interviewers will ask competency questions to determine if candidates are results driven, aware of the importance of results, to find out what kind of results are important to a candidate and if the candidate understands how to achieve results.

Results orientation questions you may be asked include:

★ Are you successful?

★ Give me an example of a time you have been very successful.

★ Why do you think people aren't successful?

★ Give me an example of a time you were not successful. Why do you think this happened?

You need to make it clear that you understand how important results are, that you are a competitive and results driven person and that although you may not always have achieved the desired results in the past, you certainly did aim to do so and have learnt from your mistakes.

If an employee has a responsibility then they have been given the duty to make decisions in certain circumstances. Interviewers use competency based questions to find out how candidates have performed in the past when they have been given responsibilities and to find out how candidates may perform responsibilities given to them in the future.

Candidates with good teamwork skills are able to see the bigger picture and grasp the concept that employers value the outcome achieved by a group, more than that achieved by any one person.

Commitment to career is a key competency you should be able to demonstrate in job interviews. To test your commitment to a career interviewers will usually try to find out how much you know about the firm they represent, the position you have applied for, the industry you will be working in and what you will be doing if you are employed.

Examples of competency based questions used to determine how candidates have performed their responsibilities in the past include:

★ Tell me about a time when you were responsible for something?

★ How do you perform your responsibilities?

★ Are you a responsible person? Explain why?

★ Do you enjoy having responsibilities?

★ What responsibilities have you been given in the past?

You should be able to:

★ Give a well informed description of what the line of service you have joined does for its clients.

★ Be able to describe what you will be doing in your first year at the firm.

★ Be able to describe makeup of any qualification to which you have applied and to understand what work you will have to do to achieve it.

★ Be able to give a rough account of where you imagine you might be in 5 years time. (e.g. a certain position in the firm)

★ You must be certain to convey clearly that you fully understand the role you are applying for. If you are not able to do this, you will not make it through the interview

Commercial awareness is a term that refers to a candidate's general knowledge of business, their business experiences (or work experience) and specifically, their understanding of the industry which they are applying to join. It is a key competency for all city job applications, as well as for roles in engineering, consultancy and many other sectors.

Although competency based interviews are standardized, a typical interviewer will decide within minutes whether they like you or not and this is likely to affect the outcome of the interview. It is very important to give a good impression to your interviewer from the very first moment you meet.

Shake hands confidently, smile, introduce yourself and be generally convivial to the occasion. Sitting quietly and communicating poorly will not help you and neither will boisterous or arrogant behavior. You should be polite but outgoing, assertive but not aggressive and aim to be every bit as professional as the interviewer who is assessing you.

Typical commercial awareness questions include:

★ Describe a company you think is doing well/badly and explain why you think this is so.

★ What do you think are key qualities for a company to have to be successful?

★ What significant factors have affected this industry in recent years?

★ What do you understand of the role this firm plays in this industry?

You need to logically illustrate your desire to work for the company you are interviewing with. Good answers should make reference to any, training, qualifications and/or experience that you would receive, if you were to be offered the role you have applied for.

Career motivation questions you may be asked include:

★ Why do you want to work for our firm?

★ Why do you want to work in the service line to which you have applied?

★ What can you tell me about us and the service line to which you have applied?

Top jobs give employees both power and responsibility. Employees are forced to make difficult decisions as part of their employment, often during times of intense pressure and/or stress.