World Biz Info
The source of the best business, financial and legal news
web www.worldbizinfo.com
Business Informations

Competency Based Interviews - 6 Steps to Success!


Competency based interviews are intended to get the best from you, the candidate, whilst also fulfilling the needs of the organisation to get the very best person for the job. There are some easy steps to make the most of yourself and have a much better chance of success.

  • Prepare well, but keep it sensible
    As long as you know the job you are going for, ask for details of what you will be measured against. Ask for a set of competencies. Ask for a job description. This sets you up to succeed, not just because you are better informed, but also because you have asked - which will impress the decision-makers, before you even get there!
  • Get Creative
    Here is the time to use your own experiences to create 'stories' which you can use in the actual interview. These 'stories' are real scenarios that you have been a part of, which over a period of days and weeks beforehand, you write up. Maybe you will have 20+ initial ideas.
  • Leverage!
    Take the very best scenarios and write them out, bullet points first. Then flesh them out, whilst referring carefully to the competencies you've been given. It is amazing how you can 'tune-in' your scenario to include many, if not all of the competencies. And if you can't fit them all in, there will be a use for them - later!
  • Practice
    By reading through your scenarios (and by now you should not have more than six or seven) you will familiarise yourself with the contents, so well, that they will become second nature - even in the scary experience of an interview.
  • In the Interview
    There are some tactics in here too!

    • Using your scenarios make just three key points about what you've been asked. Make them relevant and the right 'weight'. Not too long or too short.
    • After that, leave space for them to ask more - that's what they are listening for.
    • Say 'I' a lot - they want to know what your personal involvement and experience was, not 'the team' or 'they'.
    • Have fun - whilst not contrived, smile and make some simple jokes, if you feel comfortable with that - they want to employ happy as well as capable people.
    • Can't answer? That's fine. Make sure that you reflect on your shortcomings by saying things like, 'It's one of the first things I want to develop in my next job - if you did your stuff on your scenarios and your competencies well enough, you will have covered 90% of the bases well and you'll be forgiven for not being 'perfect'. If you are really stumped - say so!
    • Ask questions - relevant, about their culture, focus on developing you, opportunities - the positive 'peopley' things (remember it's your chance to see if you want to work with them!).
    • Also ask about current issues they may be facing - you did do your homework on them, didn't you?

  • Strong Ending!
    Keep the whole thing light, even as you leave at the end. Have a conversation in general terms - about anything! Do make sure that you ask them some things that are about them - they will love it if you ask them some open (what, how, when, where, who) general questions about your new job! About something nice in the building or their clothes - take as it comes and do what feels comfortable!
  • Remember that competencies are there to help you and they provide a guide-map for your competency based interview success!

    © 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

    ...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...


    MORE RESOURCES:

    Examiner.com

    Bye-bye to career employment for Baby Boomer men
    Examiner.com - Oct 1, 2008
    "Career employment – meaning employment with a single employer from middle age to retirement – is no longer the norm. So if workers are to remain in the ...


    Job 'mismatch' deplored
    Blacktown Sun, Australia - 5 hours ago
    Blacktown TAFE hosted the first Blacktown Employment and Careers Expo. The TAFE, Blacktown Council and the Blacktown Regional Economic and Employment ...


    Agencies Step Up For Jobless As Economy Slumps
    Tampa Tribune, FL - 9 hours ago
    "The biggest thing I have observed is that you have a lot of people who have gone through much of their careers going from one job to another by word of ...


    Secrets of Finding Work Past Age 50 Is the Topic of Next Experts ...
    PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - 1 hour ago
    ... such as career transition, changing careers and industries, choosing a career direction, job search, as well as offering guidance for self-employment, ...


    The death of office politics
    Business Standard, India - 11 hours ago
    Today’s 20- and 30-year-olds disdain careers in large companies as “so last century.” They have eviscerated organisational politics everywhere with one ...


    Workers bust employment stereotypes
    NEWS.com.au, Australia - Oct 5, 2008
    While garbage truck drivers continue to earn more than childcare workers there's no financial incentive for men to switch to careers into female dominated ...


    Launch of Choice – MTA Tourism Career Awareness Programme
    Malta Independent Online, Malta - 22 hours ago
    ... fourth and fifth year students to careers in the tourism industry, showing that the tourism industry can be a source of gainful and rewarding employment ...


    Overt bias against women has become less common on the job
    Buffalo News,  United States - 10 hours ago
    Child care remains a big issue for women, with surveys showing women still feel that they are the primary caregivers and that this can hurt their careers. ...


    The big letdown
    The Gazette (Montreal), Canada - Oct 4, 2008
    About a year ago, the career coaches at Youth Employment Services Montreal began noticing an increase in the number of depressed and anxious job seekers ...


    Manufacturers face lack of new workers
    Green Bay Press Gazette, WI - 20 hours ago
    We manufacturers have to get people, and especially young people, to realize that careers in manufacturing are good for their future and that many of the ...

    careers employment - Google News

    home | site map
    © 2006
    web www.worldbizinfo.com