Competency / Behavioural Interviews
Competency-based interviewing is also known as behavioural interviewing but the two do differ slightly, given that the former focuses on how you carried out an action and the latter focuses on your behaviour whilst carrying out the action.
A competency can be defined as a cluster of the knowledge, skills and attributes (KSAs) or personal characteristics an individual must possess and appropriately use for optimum success performing specified work.
A behaviour based interview works on the principle that past behaviour to a given situation will be similar, if not the same as future behaviour to the same situation. This type of interviewing is a common technique used by many employers in which the questions asked assist the employer in making predictions about a potential employee's future success based on actual past behaviours. In short the questions asked by the interviewer revolve around specific situations from the past instead of being based on responses to hypothetical questions.
In behavior-based interviews, you will be asked to give specific examples of when you demonstrated particular behaviors or skills.
The employer is looking for specific examples and not general answers about behavior. You must describe in detail a particular event, project, or experience and how you dealt with the situation, and what the outcome was.
Three quarters of all interviews conducted are competency based. Most job specifications will also include an area such as key competencies required for the role. Some of these will be listed as essential. It is important to know the job spec person requirements and have a clear range of responses ready and practised.
Some companies will break down competencies into KSAs for interview purposes. Let’s break down knowledge, skills and attributes:
Knowledge:
What you actually know about a given subject? How much knowledge do you have? In the context of environment, this could mean species knowledge, knowledge of green issues, etc.
Skills:
What skills do you possess to carry out the role? Do you have the tools to manage people? Do you have the skills to project manage? Do you have the skills to build something?
Attributes:
An attribute is a characteristic or a quality that you may possess. An attribute could be calm, confident, outgoing, personable, driven, competitive, etc.
Examples of behavioral interview questions:
• Describe a time when you were faced with a problem or stress at work that tested your ability to cope?
• Describe the most creative work-related project you have completed?
• Give me an example of a problem you have faced at work, and tell me how you solved it?
• Tell me about a situation in the past year in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker?
• Give me an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in reaching a decision?
• Give me an example of an important goal you had to set or one that was set for you and tell me about your progress and any hurdles in reaching that goal?
• Tell me about a situation in the past year in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker?
• Give me an example of when you had to show good leadership.
There is a specific format to answering competency/behavioural questions using a technique called S.T.A.R. We recommend that use this as the template for all of your answers as this will enable you to give clear, concise, and informative answers to the questions without veering off the track. It is very easy to lose focus on these types of questions and this method will keep you on the path:
S.T.A.R.
When asked a question follow below:
Describe the Situation you were in or the Task you needed to accomplish
Describe the Action you took.
Why you took the action?
What were the Results?
Be specific with your answers and not general or vague.
Never describe how you would behave. Describe how you actually did behave. If you later decided you should have behaved differently, explain this. The employer will see that you learned something from the experience.
