There are several types of interviews from aptitude & psychometric testing to panel interviews but the one that is becoming increasingly common is the Competency Based Interview.

It may sound intimidating but the reality is that this type of interview will get the best out of you as a candidate and allow you to present yourself in the best possible light. The basic premise of a Competency Based Interview is that a candidate's past performance is the best indicator of their future performance. All of the questions will be directly linked to a particular function of the position for which you have applied. Interviewers will ask for examples of things you have actually done that demonstrate the key characteristics their organisation needs from the particular role. There are a number of categories of competency based questions and if you prepare your answers carefully, you will be in a terrific position to sell yourself in the interviews. While some are particularly geared towards senior level management roles, the basic principles will remain the same.

Remember these key points:

• Take your actual experience.
• Explain how you have performed in a certain situation.
• Detail what you have learned from the situation.
• Give an overview of how you would cope in the future given a similar situation.

Categories of Competency Based Questions:

Organisation Awareness

This is finding out how the potential employee (you) thinks and how you perceive your contribution to the company would be as a new member of their team. It's particularly relevant to senior level management. Samples of questions that would fall under this category are:

• Describe the structure of your current company and give an example of how you work within this culture to achieve your goals.
• Describe how you perceive the new company and how you would fit in.

These questions would help the employer in several ways (a) it gives them an accurate gauge of how they're perceived in the market and (b) how they're perceived as an employer. It also gives them a brief overview of the way you are accustomed to working and it will help them figure out if you would fit in with their company culture. It will also allow you as the interviewee to give some valuable insights into how you'd add value to their organisation.

Strategic Thinking

Again this is very much geared towards senior management and how you view decisions you would make both on a macro and a micro level. This shows what level of decision making you are capable of and what value you can add to the company.

Examples of questions falling under this category are:

• Describe the most challenging aspect of your current role and what you have done to adapt your performance.
• How did you go about assessing your own performance and your team's performance in that situation?

Innovation

This is particularly relevant at managerial level where the employers are looking for an individual who can make a positive profit making contribution.

• Describe something you have done that was new for your company that improved the performance of your team or the value of the work done.
• Have you done anything innovative (either produced surveys or written reports) that would be of direct interest to your target market or enhanced awareness of your company?

While it is geared towards managerial level, innovation is sought after across every role from managerial level to administration. For example, if you're in charge of ordering the stationery, take a look at suppliers for costing purposes. If you're in charge of stock control, is there anything you'd do to improve the process that would (a) increase business flow or (c) decrease monthly costs? Innovation is across the board and not just limited to managers. If you have done anything that added value to your firm, make sure that's in your CV and make sure you bring it up in interview.

Communication

This is relevant across all levels of roles. So many people use the terms "good communication skills" in their CV and when asked about their skills are unable to give good solid examples of where they used those skills. Communication is vital, not only externally but internally within the company and potential employers want to see those communication skills in interview. Samples of questions that would involve communication would be:

• Give an example of a difficult / sensitive situation that requires you to use excellent communication skills.
• How have you developed communication skills in others? (particularly good for managerial roles)
• How do you keep your clients or your reporting line informed about difficult issues that directly affect the company's bottom line?

Client Focus / Client Relationship.

This again covers all levels of staff as clients can be both internal and external. Samples of questions would include:

• Describe how you develop new client relationships or maintain existing ones.
• Describe how you keep your existing client base in the face of competition.
• Describe the process you use to keep in touch with your client's requirements.

Leadership Ability

This is very relevant for those seeking a managerial position – it will give the potential employer an insight into how you would lead a team, what your managerial style is like and how that style would blend in with their culture.

• Describe how you led a team
• How did you motivate your team?
• How did you improve your team's individual performances?
• What do you think your team would say about you?

Teamwork

For those who are not necessarily looking at a managerial level position, team work is one category in which you have a chance to shine. Organisations are quickly coming to realise that a cultural fit is just as important as the ability to do the actual job so they are looking for people to fit in easily with their existing teams.

• Describe a situation in which you were a member of a team – what do you do to make a positive contribution?
• Describe a situation where there was conflict in a team and what did you do to resolve it?

Time Management

This category isn't as often used as the others but you may still get questions on your ability to manage your workload in a timely and efficient manner especially for roles where time is of the essence, eg: project management. It also applies across all levels of roles particularly for roles that are in a support function. Samples of questions would include:

• Give a specific example of meeting deadlines
• What could you have done differently if you could have?
• Has the experience affected the way you deal with deadlines now?

The major benefits of Competency Based Interviews are that these questions will allow you, the candidate to relate your answer to a real life experience rather than giving a generic textbook answer. This will enable you to reveal the most relevant information in context to the current job opportunity and allows the interviewers to make much more effective hiring decisions.