Interviewing can be traumatic for applicant and interviewer, which makes preparation important if the results are to be meaningful and well prepared…
Net Natives bring clients closer to the applicants through our online flat fee recruitment services, we think that recruitment should be an open process and want you to learn how to be better recruiters. We have already provided an extensive list of sales questions, but you should also use competency based questions in any interview scenario.
Competency based questioning as a technique
Competency based interviewing seeks to determine how a candidate is likely to behave in the future, based on how they have behaved in the past.
Competency based questions seek evidence of how a particular problem, circumstance etc. has been handled in the past.
Below is a list of competency based questions to cover most scenarios you would require when interviewing…
Example: Tell me about a time when you had to plan an event?
Question: What steps did you take? What were the results?
- Ability to Set Priorities
Example: Could you tell me a time when you were really busy with study, work or other commitments?
Question: How did you handle it? What did you do?
Example: Have you ever been in position when you had others helping you?
Question: How did you distribute tasks?
Example: Describe a situation that challenged your interpersonal skills?
Question: How did you manage the situation?
Example: Can you think of a time when you have been involved with a group of people / team that was unhappy about something or who were faced with a specific challenge?
Question: What was the problem / issue? What you do? What was the outcome?
- Ability to deal with people at all levels
Example: Describe a situation where your work was criticized?
Question: Describe the situation. What happened?
Example: Tell me about a particularly difficult problem you have been faced with?
Question: How did you address this? What was the outcome?
Example: Can you think of a time when you didn’t know what to do to solve a problem?
Question: What was the situation? What was the outcome?
Example: Give me an example when something was being done poorly?
Question: What did you do? What was the outcome?
Example: Can you tell me a time when you missed an important detail in the workplace?
Question: What happened? What was the outcome?
- Communication Skills / Communicating with appropriate impact – oral and written / Communication & Influencing
Tell me about a time that you had to convey a complex message. How did you choose to do this? Who was the audience? What were the results?
Give me an example when you had to persuade someone around to your way of thinking.
- Teamwork / Working Together / Sharing and Collaborating
Is there an example where you had to resolve conflict within your team?
Talk about an example where you have had to work with a colleague who had a very different style to you? How did you do this?
- Customer or Client Service / Demonstrating a passion for Client Service / Delighting your customers
Where have you “gone the extra mile” for a client. What was the outcome?
Talk about a client relationship that you had to turn around?
- Stakeholder Management / Building and Sustaining Successful Business Relationships
Let’s talk about a project you have been involved with where you had to manage stakeholder groups. How did you go about this? How did you measure your success?
Have you an example where you have had to challenge the actions of a colleague?
Have you ever been asked to do something you were uncomfortable with? How did you deal with this?
- The Development of Others / Leading or Coaching – formal and informal
Give me an example where you had to give some difficult feedback.
Give me an example where you have worked to improve an individual’s performance. What was the outcome?
- Your Own Self Development
Give me an example where you received some difficult feedback. Talk about how you set personal objectives.
What are your objectives for your next role?
- Being Results Driven / Delivering Results
How do you define success? How do you achieve it?
- Organisational Skills / Planning & Organising
Give me an example where you had to manage a specific project to deadlines.
Give me an example where you had to deal with two conflicting priorities.
An example where you were faced with unreasonable deadline?
