My name is Richard McMunn.

And, in this training video tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to pass a competency-based

interview with flying colors.

I'm going to give you some brilliant tips, and I'm also going to give you a structure

for answering these kinds of questions.

Even more so, I'm going to give you about 27 sample competency-based interview questions

each with answers as well, suggested answers that you can use during your interview.

Okay, let's get straight into it.

So, a very warm welcome to this tutorial.

As I say, my name is Richard McMunn.

That's me there on the right-hand side.

I've been helping people like you, for over 20 years now, successfully pass their interviews

and I love doing it.

In this video, we are predominantly going to focus on competency-based interview questions.

Please don't forget to subscribe to the channel by clicking the red button below, and you

won't miss out on any future training that I create.

And also if you do like this video as you progress with, I would very, very much appreciate

it if you gave the video a thumbs up because that will motivate me to do more.

I will also give you a link to download these slides for free as we progress through the

video, so it's important you watch it from beginning to end, and I will also give you

some free online interview training once we reach the end of this tutorial.

Okay, let's get straight into it.

So, what is a competency-based interview?

Before we get into the questions and answers, let's figure out what this is because this

will help us succeed.

A competency-based interview is basically a systematic approach to interviews with each

question asked targeting a specific skill or competency required to perform the job

competently.

So, you're going to be asked questions relating to your behavior in specific circumstances,

which you then need to back up with specific examples.

So, let's take a look at a sample competency-based interview question with a sample answer that

you can use.

So, for example, this is based on the competency of teamwork, and the question is: when have

you worked as part of a team to complete a difficult task?

Quite a common competency-based interview question.

So, here's my response.

"In my previous job, I volunteered to work with five other members to complete a difficult

project that had fallen by the wayside due to a contractor going out of business.

Now, the task required all five of us to work closely together to integrate a new software

system with the client's website.

We only have four days to complete the task in accordance with the specification and the

client's requirements.

Time is of the essence, and we needed to work hard to get everything done to a professional

standard.

Now, we started out by reading the client brief carefully and then I decided to take

the lead and allocate specific tasks based on each team member's capabilities and area

of expertise.

We then set time scales for each team member to reach, which would ensure the task got

completed in time.

Throughout the five-day working period, we all supported each other as and when required

in order to motivate each other through regular communication.

The end result was the project was completed on time and to a high standard, much to the

satisfaction of the client."

Now, you'll see what I have done there is I've structured this using situation, task,

action, and result.

And you'll see it's quite a comprehensive response.

Now, when you are responding to competency-based interview question, it's very important that

you give them lots of detail and you'll see that I'm being very specific in the answer.

So, I'm using situation, task, action, result.

And as we progress through this training video, we're going to focus very much on the STAR

technique - situation, task, action, result.

Now, you don't need to take notes because you're going to be able to download these

slides, okay, and then use these, so I'll give you the link as we progress through this

video.

So, we're going to focus on the STAR technique.

So, before we get into more competency-based interview questions and answers, three really

important tips that I want you to use when preparing for your interview.

Here we go.

Tip Number 1 is, as I mention, use the STAR method when answering all of the questions.

Okay, so you when you sat down in the interview, think to yourself, "Right, before I respond,

I need to follow STAR.

I need to tell the interview panel what the situation was that I was in.

I then need to tell the panel the task that needed to be done.

And this is important, I then told the panel what action I took and also what action other

people took if there were other people involved.

And then finally I told the panel what the result was following my actions."

And that result should be positive.

The outcome should be positive.

And if you follow this structure, I guarantee your success rate will increase dramatically

because you are being specific about the situation.

Tip Number 2: Use a job description for the role that you're being interviewed for to

predict the interview questions.

So, let's say this is a sample job description.

It says you're able to work in a pressurized and changing environment.

You can deliver outstanding customer service.

You're able to work effectively as part of the team.

And you also take responsibility for your own work and its impact on others.

So, we get that job description and then we basically predict the interview questions.

So, one of them would be: when have you completed a difficult task under pressure?

Another interview question would be: describe a time when you delivered brilliant customer

service.

Another interview question would be: when have you successfully completed a task or

project as part of a team?

And then finally: when have you taken responsibility for completing a difficult task that would

impact on other people?

Now, if you want me to predict the interview questions for you for your particular interview,

just tell me what interview you've got coming up in the comment section below the video,

and I'll jump on there each day.

I'll give you five questions to prepare for.

Third tip: Be prepared for probing questions.

Now, these are common in competency-based interviews.

So, let's say the interview question was: when have you worked as part of a team to

complete a difficult task?

You tell them your answer and then they could say, "Well, why did you complete the task

in that way," and you would have to respond.

They might say, "What did you learn from the situation?

And would you do things differently next time or if the same situation arose again?

Why do you think the other people acted as they did?

And also how did your reactions help the company?"

So, think about probing questions.

And if you want me to give you probing questions, just drop them in the comment section below

the video and I'll tell you then for your particular interview.

Okay, I'm now going to move on to the questions and answers for the following competencies.

We've already looked at teamwork.

We're going to look at responsibility, so you taking responsibility.

We're going to look at problem solving, organization, a commitment to developing yourself, also

how you make decisions, openness to change, communication, leadership, commercial awareness,

customer service, conflict resolution, career motivation, trustworthiness and ethics, results-driven,

and also safety-conscious.

Now, there's a huge number here of competencies.

You're not going to be assessed against all of them, but if you watch this video from

beginning to end, then I'm sure you know already you're going to be much more fully-prepared

than every other single candidate out there.

So, we're going to work through each of these methodically, okay, in detail to make sure

that you pass your competency-based interview.

So, let's take a look.

We've looked at teamwork already.

Let's take a look at responsibility.

So, a sample competency-based interview question for responsibility would be: when have you

taken responsibility for a difficult task at work?

And you'll notice on the left, and I'll do this for every question, I've put the STAR

to help you prepare for your own response.

So, here we go.

"During an office meeting, my supervisor asked for a volunteer to work over the forthcoming

weekend.

One of our customer service agents had gone off sick unexpectedly, and he needed someone

to take on their duties at short notice.

My supervisor needed someone to quickly learn the responsibilities of the person who had

gone off sick.

It was a difficult task, but I felt I had the responsibility to help the company in

its hour of need.

I started out by canceling my plans for the weekend and then focused on learning the role

of my colleague so I could perform the job to the best of my ability.

I decided to undertake an online course during working hours to learn as much about the role

as possible.

I also asked my supervisor a number of specific questions to make sure I knew exactly what

I was supposed to be doing and also what was expected of me.

The end result was, I am pleased to say, a success.

I worked for the entire weekend in a customer service role, and the feedback we received

from our customers was astounding."

So, it's easy to structure your response to these interview questions if you follow the

STAR technique.

Okay, so that's teamwork, responsibility, let's now take a look at a combined response

for problem solving and also the competency of conflict resolution.

Here we go.

So, the question is: describe a time when you solved a difficult problem at work?

So, we're looking at problem solving and conflict resolution here.

Situation.

"Whilst at work, I noticed two work colleagues had not been getting on for some time now.

Although the situation hadn't yet impacted on the performance of the company, I was concerned

things could escalate unless someone stepped in to resolve the problem.

I felt someone needed to get a hold of the situation with a view to resolving it amicably

and as quickly as possible.

It was my task to get the two people together, find out what the issue was with a view to

sorting the situation out so we could all move forward as a team.

I initially sat down in private with each person individually to ask them what was going

on.

I managed to gather some useful information which led me to believe the problem was all

down to a simple miscommunication.

It transpired that one of them felt the other person had done been doing their properly,

which resulted in the other person having an increased workload.

I got them both together in a private room and ask them to talk sensibly about it whilst

I facilitated the discussion.

Although it was uncomfortable at times, they both were relieved to get the situation resolved.

Now, the end result was that both work colleagues cleared the air, shook hands, and agreed to

talk about things openly in the future, if a similar situation arose again."

So, you've identified a problem there and you volunteered to sort it out, so that's

a great one for both problem solving and conflict resolution, and I'm sure you've been a situation

like this before at work where you've noticed people haven't been getting on and perhaps

you then resolved it.

Okay, so that's problem solving, conflict resolution.

We're making really good progress.

Let's now take a look at commitment to development.

Don't forget.

If you're liking the video and you're enjoying these questions and sample responses, please

do give the video a thumbs up.

Okay, here we go.

Next question: when have you learned a large amount of job-specific information?

This is commitment to development, the competency of commitment to development.

Here we go.

"In my previous job, I had to learn a large amount of new, job-relevant information both

as soon as I started the role and also as part of an ongoing commitment to personal

development.

As part of the criteria for being accepted into the job, I was required to undertake

an intensive two-week training course to learn all about the job and the standard I was expected

to perform to.

Now, learning the new role would mean I needed to be attentive, committed and also dedicated

to carrying out some studying in my own time, which I was fully prepared to do.

At the end of the two-week training course, I was going to be tested via an online exam,

so it was vital I paid attention and was committed to learning the new skills.

I set about quickly learning the new role by watching training videos, shadowing other

team members, and also asking plenty of questions along the way during the course.

I also took comprehensive notes as I learned, so I could refer back to them at any stage

if I became stuck or if I needed a reminder.

In the evenings, whilst at home, I spent time testing myself in preparation for the exam.