3 Most Common Competency Based Questions Asked By Recruiters

Due to their effectiveness at helping determine candidate’s eligibility for open positions, competency based questions are becoming increasingly common. When faced with one, you should keep in mind that the employers are looking to test parameters like knowledge, experience, skills and attitude. The following competency based questions help recruiters assess whether your interpersonal skills, experience and education are balanced or not. They also helps them determine whether the position is a right fit for you and vice versa.

When answering these questions you have to keep in mind the STAR strategy —Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This will help you describe the situation and the context you were in while the specific task was assigned. You can then proceed to talking about your approach or strategies while completing that task, ending you answer with the impact it created.

Give an example of a project in which you were involved that required your teamwork skills

With this kind of a question, the employers are looking for a team player; someone who can lead a team if needed or someone who can work with a team and can get along with people who might have a difference of opinion. They are also looking for individuals who add value to the team, contribute effectively and respect other point of views.

While answering this kind of question, remember to talk about skills such as negotiating, listening and working together. It will let employers see skills in addition to team work, presenting them a clear image of how you behave in teams.

 How do you deal with stressful situations?

By asking this question, employers are looking at how efficiently you can manage high-pressured situation. When answering questions that may test your approach during stressful situations, you can talk about emergency situations at your last workplace and how you contributed towards devising solutions. You may also talk about when the resources or finances were short for an execution of a project, and how were you able to manage it.

 Give an example of a significant decision you made in your last position.

If you have made a significant decision in your last position, which for example, lead to a direct increase in sales, you can use that as an answer to this question. If you haven’t been able to do that so far in your career, you can talk about how creative you are when it comes to dealing with crisis at the workplace or taking steps individually that effects the general work environment.

During competency bases interviews, remember to pick the right story for the right question. You can talk about anything you want to, but picking a relevant story for the relevant question is how you will get the targeted job.  

It is helpful to create a profile on professional job portals such as Jobs Log when looking for jobs. This will help you reach out to potential and relevant recruiters and see their hiring strategies beforehand. Create a candidate profile today!

Sources:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/interview-tips/competency-based-interviews

https://www.totaljobs.com/advice/how-to-handle-competency-based-interview-questions