Competency Based Questions - STAR TECHNIQUE

Hi there! How is the job hunt going? Do not forget to send any questions you might have to rrecruit@outlook.com.

Today's post is about Competency Based Questions. Recruiters' usually use competency based questions to evaluate candidates' abilities; what you can do. Sometimes a whole interview or application form is designed to evaluate your level of competence.

A common example of a competency based questions would be 'Tell us about a challenge you faced in your previous work experience and how you dealt with it.' Recruiters know that a lot of candidates just want to hand in their CV's and get a call back, sometimes these questions are also added to the application forms to eliminate lazy candidates like this.

Competency based  questions are usually based on a situatuion. The recruiter is searching for certain key competencies which may be; ability to work in a team, ability to think critically or ability to deal with difficult clients, it is not enough for you to state that you possess these abilities on your CV. What we want is for you to demonstrate your capabilities with real life situations you have previously handled.

One common technique of answering this type of questions either on your application form or at the interview is the STAR TECHNIQUE.

For instance in answering the question 'Tell us about a challenge you faced in carrying out your duties and how you dealt with it'.  You begin with explaining the background to the challenge.

The Situation. What was the challenge and if possible how did you come by it?

Task. Secondly you explain what goal you were trying to achieve, how important was this task and what was the consequence of not fulfilling it?

Action. After considering your alternatives what action did you decide to take? Why did you decide to take this course of action and how did you do it? What skills did you employ in carrying it out?

Result. What was the outcome of your action? Did you solve the challenge, or not? Whichever result it was what did you learn from this challenge? There is a hidden lesson in every challenge we face as humans, therefore mention how have you grown from this experience and how you would deal with such challenges in the future.

This technique give your answers a logical flow, it helps you organise your response. Most times candidates give general answers, they just mention the challenge and what they did. As we stated in our previous post What do you do?- I am a Banker! always go into details. That is what we want to hear or read. Be specific.

If you have noticed competency based questions usually deal with a situation; 'Tell us about how you have dealt with a difficult co-worker'. The situation here is a difficult co-worker and the recruiter might be trying to evaluate your ability to work with different kinds of people. Perhaps this a key competency they are searching for.

If you encounter such questions on an application form be prepared to answer such questions at the interview. However  have more than one example to give. Always make a note of what you have said or filled in.

So remember to always tackle these questions the STAR way.. or rather like a STAR. Keep practising.

RR