Competency Based Interviewing

Competency Based Interviewing
Competency Based Interviewing Questions
Team Work
- Can you give me an example of when you have worked as part of a team to achieve a goal? What made the team successful?
- How can you make a difference to the team that you work in?
- Do you enjoy working as part of a team? Why? Are there any aspects of working as a team that you don’t like? Why?
- Give me an example of when you have had to share your workload with the rest of your team.
- Give me an example of when you have successfully motivated a team to achieve great results.
- Give me an example of when you have influenced someone over whom you have no direct control. What was the result?
- Give me an example of when you have influenced your peers.
Problem Solving
- Can you give me an example of when you have solved a problem in an unusual way? What made you solve it that way?
- What is the most difficult work related situation that you have been faced with. How did you cope? What was the outcome?
- As a manager what staff related issues do you need to deal with?
- What types of problems do you typically deal with in your job? What steps do you take to overcome these problems? What was the outcome?
- How do you ensure that you have all the information you need to complete a project/job?
- Give me an example of when you have used a mistake that has been made to your own advantage and learned from it.
Results Focus
- How do you know that you are successful
- Give me an example of where you have taken a risk in order to move a project forward
- How do you make sure that you learn and develop continuously?
- What is the greatest asset that you could bring to this role?
- What are your personal and long term career goals
- What motivates you and why?
- What makes you feel under pressure? How do you deal with pressure?
- Give me an example of when you have achieved something through your personal drive and commitment. What did you learn from the experience?
Leadership
- Describe a situation when you have been responsible for a team of people. What problems did you come up against and how did you overcome them?
- Who would you describe as an inspirational leader? What characteristics do they have which you admire?
- The Company believes its employees are one of the keys to its success. How would you as a manager portray this belief to your team?
- How do you develop your current team and how do you assess their level of competence?
- How do you motivate your team?
- How do you train and develop people, please give examples
- How do you prioritize your team’s workload?
- Give me an example of a time when you have had to deal with a performance issue.
- How do you measure the effectiveness of your leadership style?
- Give me an example of when you have dealt wit conflict in a team?
- What kind of mentoring/coaching style do you have?
- Give me an example of when you have maximized the potential of a team. What was the result? What problems did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
Managing Change/Adaptability
- People are normally resistant to change. How do you manage this?
- Think of a time when you have been thrown in the deep end or had the goal posts moved on a project. How did you cope?
- Working in this industry has its positives and negatives. How will you need to change your lifestyle to be successful? How do you feel about that?
- Give me an example of when you have successfully managed change?
Planning and Organizing
- What preparation did you do for this interview?
- What preparation do you do before you present information to clients?
- What do you think project-planning entails?
- When taking on a new position, how do you prioritize what you tackle first?
- Why do you think attention to detail is important to your job? What could the possible consequences of carelessness be?
- How do you plan your day-to-day activities?
- How do you ensure that you meet project deadlines
- What deadlines do you typically have to work towards in your job?
Strategic Thinking and Awareness
- How do you strategically plan ahead?
- How do you balance the short term and long term needs of the business
- How do you stay abreast of the latest technological advances in our industry?
- What are our competitors doing at the moment?
- What do you think is the biggest opportunity facing the IT industry in the future?
- What is your current strategy for your area of responsibility
Customer Focus
- How do you get your team to think like a customer
- How do you foster a customer-focused environment on a project?
- How do you anticipate customer needs in light of market developments
- What customer service would give the Company the competitive edge?
- How do you currently assess/evaluate customer satisfaction?
- Talk me through the most difficult customer situation you have dealt with and the outcome.
- How do you maintain high standards of customer service in your current role
- Customer service is a priority for the Company. What steps would you take to ensure your department was offering the best in the industry?
- Why is good customer service important?
Profit Delivery
- What value/profit do you think your role can add to the Company?
- As a manager in the company, you could have a huge amount of influence over profit in your department. What do you believe are your key tools for increasing profit?
- What actions have you taken in the past to increase your team/ projects profit margin?
- How do you control operational costs
- How do you ensure the maximum profitability of a project?
- How do you review and evaluate project performance?
- Give an example of how you have increased profit. What action did you take?
Stress Tolerance/Ability to succeed under pressure
- Give me an example of when you had to work under very pressurized conditions. What made the situation so pressurized? How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?
- What deadlines have you had to work against before? How did you ensure that you met these deadlines?
- Tell me about a work situation in which the pressure grew to an unacceptable level. What steps did you take to ease the pressure? What was the outcome of this?
Tenacity
- Tell me about a situation in which you have really wanted something that has been denied you by your company/boss. Did you take any steps to persuade them otherwise? If so, what did you do and what was the outcome?
- You are desperately trying to get a client visit with a potential customer who is currently using your competitor’s services but s/he will not meet with you. What steps could you take to persuade him otherwise?
For more information on Competency Based interviewing have a look at our Successful Interview Skills