The job market is perhaps more competitive than it has ever been. Many senior professionals have said they’ve not experienced such a difficult and tumultuous market since the financial crash in the late 2000’s.
We’ve written posts about optimising your CV to get more relevant interviews, but that is only the first step in securing your next role. The next stage in your job search is how to master answering interview questions, but this can be the most problematic part of the job search. You can be asked obscure and irrelevant questions which we can’t really assist with, but people also struggle to provide depth or content about what they do or what they have done. Knowing how to effectively answer competency questions to stand out from other interviewees is crucial to securing a job.
What are Competency-Based questions?
Competency-based questions are use to evaluate specific skills or experiences you possess in relation to the role you are applying for. . These competencies often include expertise specific to the role like using certain tools, carrying out tasks, undertaking specific responsibilities, or delving in to your soft skills such as; teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and leadership. The goal is to assess whether your previous experiences and behaviours align with the job’s demands.
Interview questions related to previous experiences and skills are to assess your knowledge, achievements or behaviours to predict your future performance or success in the specific role you are applying for.
Interviewers will often ask questions designed to elicit evidence of your competencies. These questions often start with phrases like “Tell me about a time when…” or “Give an example of…”. The focus is on your personal contribution to situations rather than the outcomes achieved by a team.
These are used to provide a clear and measurable way to assess your performance and level of responsibility in previous positions, and to determine your suitability for the role’s requirements.
Preparing for questions and evaluating your own successes, failures, strengths, weaknesses and learnings will ultimately determine your success within interview processes and securing your next role.
Preparing for a Competency-Based Interview
The key to preparing for an is understanding what the role is looking for. Review the job description, and identify the core competency, responsibilities or the requirements they are looking for. Make some notes of relevant examples from career experience that relates to this.
Take the notes you’ve compiled to and begin to delve deeper using either the STAR or CAR technique.
Analyse what impact your successes had for previous employers, and why it was beneficial for the business.
Refine your answers. Try to think to of relevant experiences in the past 18 – 24 months relevant to the role that demonstrate how your experiences relate to the required competencies. The more specific and recent the examples, the better.
Try to rehearse you answers so you can communicate your experience clearly, confidently and naturally.
STAR and CAR Technique for answering interview questions
Both the CAR and STAR methods are effective for answering competency interview questions, and each has its own merits. Depending on the depth of response you are looking to give should help you choose which will be more effective to different questions.
The STAR method is a structured approach to answering interview questions. It helps you provide clear, concise, and compelling responses by breaking your answer into four key components:
Situation: Describe the context within which you performed a task or faced a challenge. Be specific about the situation to set the stage for your story.
Task: Explain the actual task or responsibility you had in that situation. What was your goal?
Action: Detail the specific actions you took to address the task or challenge. Focus on what you did, rather than what the team did.
Result: Share the outcomes or results of your actions. Highlight what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience.
The CAR method is another effective technique for answering interview questions (and my preferred technique). It stands for Context, Action, Result and helps you structure your responses in a clear and impactful way.
Context: Describe the situation or task you were involved in. What was the background, and what were you responsible for?
Actions: Explain the specific actions you took to address the situation. Focus on your role and contributions.
Results: Highlight the outcomes of your actions. What impact did you have? What were the measurable results?
Consider the type of questions and the interviewer’s style. If the interviewer asks for detailed examples, STAR might be more suitable. For more rapid-fire questions, CAR could be better.
Some people find the STAR method more comfortable because it helps them set the scene before diving into their actions. Others prefer the CAR method for its simplicity and directness.
We prefer the CAR method as it helps you provide structured and memorable answers that demonstrate your problem-solving skills and achievements, which makes preparing for interview easier.
Try to think of examples that demonstrates the value you can bring to prospective employers.
Answering Competency-Based Questions: Real-Life Examples
Let’s look at some examples of how to answer common competency-based questions effectively.
Example 1: Marketing - Results Orientation
Question: "Tell me about a time when you acted to improve the performance of a business."
Response:
Context: "In my previous role as a marketing manager, I noticed that our customer engagement metrics were declining despite an increase in our marketing budget."
Actions: "I analysed our marketing strategies and identified that our content wasn’t resonating with our target audience. I initiated a series of A/B tests to refine our messaging and realigned our content strategy with customer feedback."
Results: "As a result, we saw a 25% increase in engagement within three months, leading to a 15% boost in sales. This not only improved our performance but also justified the marketing spend to senior management."
Example 2: CRM – Project Leadership
Question: “Can you describe a time when you were involved in a CRM platform migration?”
Response:
Context: “Our company decided to migrate from an outdated CRM system to a new, more robust platform to improve customer data management and streamline processes. The project required not only internal coordination but also collaboration with an external agency responsible for the technical aspects of the migration.”
Action: “As the project leader, I developed a comprehensive project plan and timeline. I coordinated with the internal team to conduct a data audit and clean up inconsistencies. I also managed the relationship with the agency partner, ensuring clear communication and alignment on project goals. We held regular meetings to track progress, address any issues, and ensure that both teams were on the same page. Additionally, I organised training sessions for staff to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.”
Result: ““The migration was completed on time and within budget. The new CRM system improved data accuracy and operational efficiency, reducing customer service response times by 20%. The collaboration with the agency partner was highly effective, resulting in a seamless integration with our existing tools. User adoption rates were high due to the comprehensive training and support provided. The project was considered a success, and the new system continues to support our business growth.”
Thinking of the results with an outcome will make them easier to recall in interviews.
Remember to think of times you’ve needed to show soft skills, from managing and communicating with stakeholders, working as part of a team, leading others, dealt with difficult situations. These are also critical to roles.
Conclusion
Preparation is key to interviewing well. Reviewing past achievements, successes and responsibilities makes it easier to articulate answers to questions clearly, concisely and confidently. Preparation has been proven to help reduce interviews anxiety and boost confidence.
Providing well thought out answers, will help you stand out from candidates who are under-prepared. Your advantage comes from providing context of what you have done and why your experience will help you in this role.
While you can’t predict every question, preparation helps you think on your feet. Understanding the company and the role allows you to adapt your responses to unexpected questions more effectively.