Competency Based Interview Questions

Hello, this is Paul from Wright Executive. I’m often asked by candidates and job seekers about the best way in which they should prepare for job interviews. Many of the candidates I work with often haven’t come across the concept of behavioral based or competency-based interview questions or techniques. This is when a hiring client will ask you, as the job seeker, to give a very detailed account of a specific event or situation, and how you were involved, and what the outcome of that was. This often challenges candidates and job seekers. And without prior and proper preparation, this can cause them some problems during the interview.

So, I always recommend to candidates and job seekers to use the STAR technique, S-T-A-R. S stands for situation, T for task, A for action, R for results. So, the first thing you need to do is listen to the question carefully, and then when you respond, to give a very clear outline of the situation. Detail the background. Provide some context to where and when were you at the time. The task, describe the challenge and expectations, what needed to be done, and why. Then it’s the action. Talk about the specific action that you undertook. What did you do? How? What tools did you use? And lastly, the results. Explain the outcome. What was your involvement and how did you achieve a positive result and an outcome? Quantify this as best you can in dollars saved, time saved, and give a very clear account of what the overall result of the action that you took was. This will give your interviewer a very clear understanding of your ability and will put you in a stronger position to move forward.

For any further questions, please visit my website at wrightexecutive.com.au. Thank you.