Advice

How do I prepare?

Competency interviews require you to put in the effort up front. First, you need to research all the likely questions around the competencies related to the job you are applying for.

Second you’ll need to sift through your employment and personal history to find examples that show you’ve got the relevant skills and abilities.

And third, you need to practise the STAR technique for answering the questions, using your personal material. The acronym, STAR stands for situation, time, action and result. Is the technique recommended to use a sentence to describe each of those components and remember the result or outcome is the most important part. An answer structured in these four components shows how you demonstrated a skill in a particular context, so the potential employer can imagine how you might operate in their workplace.

How are they marked?

Before the interview, the employer will have determined which type of answers would score positive points and which types of answers would count against the candidates. For example;

"Describe a time when you had to deal with pressure":

Positive-Demonstrates a positive approach towards the problem-Considers the wider need of the situation

Negative-Perceives challenges as problems-Attempts unsuccessfully to deal with the situation alone

Even if you haven’t been told you’ve got a competency interview, make sure you clarify what kind of interview you’re being invited to.