Examples of Competency Based Interview Questions

1. Competency Based Interviews
Competency based questions are designed to uncover strengths, attitudes and approaches to
certain work situations. They are generally questions which are posed by either asking how would
someone approach a particular situation, or by asking the candidate to draw from past experience
in order to explain how they have approached this situation in their previous experience.
Competency based questions provide an excellent opportunity to highlight achievements and
focus on strengths. As far as possible, answer should always be based on actual experience and
include real-life examples.
Strategic thinking – the ability to take the wildest possible perspective; see the broader issues
and the impact of these on the business as a whole
How have you translated the company strategy into your departmental strategy? How did you
approach this? What have been the results?
What are the major challenges facing your organisation? How can these challenges be
overcome? What effect will these have on customers?
How much do you know about the competition? What do you feel they do better than us? What
could we do to combat this?
Analytical thinking – the ability to gather, understand and interpret information; simplify
complex problems and see casual links
Can you give me an example of a difficult and complex problem you have had to deal with
recently? Why was it difficult? How did you go about resolving it?
Describe the last time you had to identify the key cause of a problem. How did you analyse the
information in order to solve the problem? What factors did you have to consider?
Have you recognised the existence of a problem before your boss or others in the organization?
Creative thinking – the ability to generate original ideas and / or utilise existing solutions/ ideas in
new and innovative ways
Give me an example of a time where you have been innovative in order to solve an anticipated
problem. Where did the idea come from?
What new solutions have you identified to address some of the common problems your
organisation faces? Describe a specific solution. How was this received?
Can you tell me about a time when you anticipated a market change and recommended an
innovative solution? How did you come up with the solution? How did you go about implementing
the solution?
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2. Self-development – the ability to identify own strengths and areas for development and to
apply opportunities for learning and development
Can you tell me about a situation where you have had to learn something you found difficult to
master? How did you go about it?
How do you keep up to date with the professional & technical aspects of your job? What have
you done recently to improve your knowledge or expertise?
Can you give me an example of a time when you put new knowledge from a development
activity course or seminar into practice? How has it helped you?
Influencing & Persuading – the ability to draw from a range of strategies to convince others in
a way that results in agreement or behaviour change
Tellme about a situation where you had to overcome considerable resistance to make
something happen. How did you overcome the resistance? What was the outcome?
Tell
us about a time when you really needed to influence a key person or group to adopt your
way of thinking> how sis you approach the situation? What techniques did you use?
Tellme about a time when your ideas were criticized by your colleagues. How did you defend
your views? What did you do to try to change their viewpoint? How successful were you?
Communication - the ability to express ideas clearly and ensure that they are understood,
adopting styles and techniques that are appropriate to the audience and the type of information
Give me an example of when you have had to communicate facts and information clearly. How
did you make sure you did this well? How was it received?
What has been the most complex thing you have had to communicate? How did you approach
it? What was the feedback?
How do you ensure that your team is aware of developments and changes within the business
that affects them? When did you last do this? What was the situation?
Managing relationships - the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships
How have you gone about building positive relationships with the people in the team in which
you work? What specific actions have you taken? How have you maintained these relationships?
Give me examples of a time when you needed to find out the concerns and prioritises of the
people with whom you work. What specifically did you do? What was the outcome?
What other departments do you have to work with in your job? What things do you need to think
about when working with them? What do you are the benefits of working with them?
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3. Planning & organising – the ability to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for
self and others. Prioritise plans and monitors activities, taking into account all the relevant issues and
factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources
Can you describe an occasion when you completed a project to time and agreed budget?
What monitors and controls did you use?
Give me an example of a time when you had too much work to do. What plans did you make to
tackle the situation? What was the outcome?
What methods do you usually use to keep informed of what is going on in your area of
responsibility? What reports do you use? What controls do you have?
Leadership – the ability to outline a vision for the future and to motivate and manage people to
achieve it
Can you tell me about a situation when you championed a significant change in direction /
approach or new idea? What did you do that worked well? What was the response? What would
you do differently?
Give me an example of when you have led and motivated a group to achieve a collective
goal? How did you approach this> what issues did you face? What was the out come?
Tell
me about a time when you communicated a strategic perspective or company vision to your
team? How did you inspire them? How did you ensure delivery?
Decision Making - the ability to take the initiative commit oneself originate well reasoned action
and be responsible for the consequences
What was your most difficult decision in the last six months? What made it difficult>
On which decision did you deliberate the longest? Tell me about it.
When have you declined to make a work related decision? Why?
Team Working – the ability to work with others towards shared goals
Give me an example of when you have helped and supported others in a team. How did you do
it? What were the results?
Give me an example of a successful team or group that you have been a member of – other
than your immediate team? Why was it successful? What did you achieve? How was it achieved?
Give me an example of a difficult team you have worked with in a non-leadership role. What
were the difficulties? How did you overcome them?
lynn@assessment4potential.com | 07801 689801 | www.assessment4potential.com