Competency Based Interviewing - Things I wish I had known beforehand

I have just been advised that I fluffed a competency based interview (CBI) yesterday and hope that this post will help others faced with a similar situation

It was part of a half-day assessment centre for an interesting role. Apparently I aced the first part which was a case study consisting of 40 minutes preparation and then another 40 minutes or so of grilling over your answers. This was something of a rush, in all senses of the word and looking back I was probably still coming down from the adrenaline and somewhat drained when I faced the competency based interview.

I am not making excuses about fatigue, but I recognise the possibility and will take that lesson forward into any similar situation in the future. I do wonder if I had had the CBI first if the result would have been different?

The feedback is that I did not convince them of my structured approach during the CBI and in reflection I can see that I was still answering about WHAT I had achieved in each situation rather than HOW and WHY. The sickening things is that I always have a process, even as it adapts to the situation.

I should have done more preparation on CBI style answers, and wish I had, as that would have helped considerably. I have since googled on the subject and found this resource . It is well worth looking at BEFOREHAND, if you are told you will face a competency based interview.

I will not lift it all here, but a couple of  pieces are worth highlighting.

In terms of answer structure this a useful piece:

The STAR model provides a memorable and structured method to frame your answers:

• Situation – describe the situation or problem encountered

• Task – describe the task that the situation required of you

• Action – describe the action that you took to overcome the obstacle presented

• Result – describe outcomes including achievements, what was learned from any negative outcomes, and what you would do differently next time.

Competency-based answers are focused around real life examples, to validate these examples it is important to include as much specific detail as possible. For example, company names, colleagues and managers names and job titles, and dates (month and year). Once you have prepared a couple of answers, ask the following;

Who – was involved, manager, customer, colleague? What – was the situation, the issue, the outcome? When – did this happen, in the process? Where – were you working, were you in the process? Why – did you choose this course of action, was this objection raised? How – did you prioritise your tasks, action your plan, resolve the situation?

NB The "What" here does not refer to achievement!

I commend others to download the paper and refer to it before an interview. It would have helped me and I am sure it will help you.