Competency based interviews are a very common interview format, especially popular in large companies with standardised interview processes.

What is a competency based interview?

Competency based interviews require you to give examples from your past experience when you have demonstrated a particular skill (or competency). They often appear in the form of “Tell me about a time you…” questions.

In this article I’m going to reveal the strategy I use to make these interviews less of a memory challenge and more of a victory lap.

What is the goal of a competency interview?

But first, let’s consider why this is considered to be a useful interview format:

1. Interview consistency. If you have to interview 10+ people for a role, being able to ask them all the exact same question makes them easier to compare at the decision making stage.
2. Past behaviour is a good indicator of future performance. If you can show evidence of good decision making, conflict resolution, customer service, problem solving etc, in your past, it is likely you’ll bring those traits to your next role.
3. Lower bias in questioning. If you ask a predefined set of questions, you reduce the risk of introducing unfair bias to the interview process. You give everyone an equal chance to showcase their experience.

So why do some hiring managers consider them to be less that useful?

1. Interview-induced amnesia. The stress and nerves of an interview can cause a candidate to completely freeze up when put on the spot (something I hope this article will prevent happening to you). I’ve seen people with years of experience in the service industry be unable to think of a single time they delivered good customer service.
2. They disproportionately disadvantage younger/less experienced candidates. These questions become easier to answer the more life and work experience you have. Some may argue that’s a good thing — that more experienced candidates are better and should be preferred. I don’t think it’s that simple, and I don’t think experienced candidates should get that kind of systematic head start in the hiring process.
3. They focus too much on past performance and not enough on future potential. When it comes to making junior engineering hires, hiring managers are hiring for potential and focusing so heavily on what a candidate has done in the past has limited scope for assessing what they might be able to achieve in the future.

A winning strategy

So. How do we beat these interviews without memorising the answers to 100 possible questions? It’s a two step process:

1. Identify what the question is really asking you
2. Roll out your prepared answer for that underlying question

Step 1: Identify what the question is really asking you

There are hundreds of possible competency questions that an interview may throw at you. Far too many to prepare answers for all of them, and this is what causes your mind to go blank.

But those hundreds of possibilities collapse down into just a handful of categories and one of your prepared real-life examples may provide a solid answer for all of the questions under that category.

Let’s consider a few examples:

• “Can you provide an example of a time when you encountered a conflict within your team? How did you approach resolving it?”

• “Tell me about a challenging situation where you had a difference of opinion with a team member. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?”

• “Describe a time when you had to mediate a disagreement between two team members. What steps did you take to address the issue and ensure a resolution?”

• “Share an experience where you had to collaborate with a difficult team member. How did you manage the situation and maintain a productive working relationship?”

At first glance these might all appear to be different questions…but they’re not. The underlying question the interview is really asking you is:

Tell me about a time you demonstrated conflict resolution skills

That’s the competency they are assessing (hence the name of the interview). The specifics of the question are largely just window dressing. If you have 2–3 prepared scenarios regarding conflict resolution and the times you have demonstrated it, you’ll always have an answer for the dozens of possible questions under that category.

Another example? Why not:

• “Tell me about a time when you actively contributed to the success of a team project. What was your role, and how did your contributions positively impact the outcome?”

• “Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with a diverse group of individuals to achieve a common goal. How did you navigate different perspectives and ensure effective teamwork?”

• “Tell me about a time when you took the initiative to foster a collaborative environment within your team. What actions did you take to promote cooperation and enhance team dynamics?”

• “Tell me about a project where you had to work under tight deadlines. How did you collaborate with your team to ensure timely completion and manage the workload effectively?”

So what’s the underlying question here? What’s the competency being assessed by these questions?

It’s teamwork, right? When the questions are stacked up like this, it might seem trivial, but in the heat of an interview, you can get lost in the specifics of the question. And the underlying question?

Tell me about a time you worked effectively within a team

Have 2–3 scenarios prepared that address team working and you’ve covered an entire category (and by far the most commonly assessed one at that).

So what are the major categories and most commonly encountered underlying questions?

1. Team working: “Tell me about a time you worked effectively within a team”
2. Communication skills: “Tell me about a time you had to communicate complex/difficult information to a specific audience”
3. Problem solving: “Tell me about a time you solved a complex problem”
4. Customer service: “Tell me about a time you delivered good customer service in a difficult situation?”
5. Time management: “Tell me about a time you had to organise your time effectively”
6. Learning/Development: “Tell me about a time you had to learn something new to complete a task/objective”

There’s many more, but those are the ones that come up all the time in my experience. So your job is to have 2–3 prepared answers to these 6 underlying questions. Why 2–3? Because sometimes interviewers ask two questions from the same category and you don’t want to repeat yourself.

Step 2: Roll out your prepared answer for that underlying question

So now we have a dozen or more prepared answers to the underlying questions that we are expecting to be asked. How can we take our answers to the next level?

Tip 1: Use The STAR Method. The STAR method is like your trusty guide to acing competency interview questions. It’s all about breaking down your answer into four simple parts: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. First, you set the scene and talk about the Situation you faced. Then, you mention the Task or challenge you had to tackle. Next comes the exciting part — the Actions you took to tackle the challenge head-on. And finally, you wrap it up by sharing the Results you achieved. The STAR method helps you tell a compelling story that highlights your skills, problem-solving abilities, and the impact you made.

Let’s see the STAR method in action:

“Tell me about a time you worked effectively within a team”

And the answer:

Situation: I was part of a team in college working on a group project for our marketing class.

Task: Our task was to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign for a fictional product and present it to the class.

Action: To work effectively within the team, we divided the project into smaller tasks and assigned responsibilities based on each team member’s strengths. We held regular meetings to discuss our progress, share ideas, and address any challenges. I actively listened to my teammates, provided support when needed, and encouraged open communication. We also utilised collaborative tools to streamline our workflow and ensure everyone was on the same page.

Result: As a result of our effective teamwork, we were able to create a well-coordinated and impactful marketing campaign. Each team member played a crucial role in contributing their ideas and executing their assigned tasks. Our presentation received positive feedback from both our classmates and the professor. Working effectively as a team not only enhanced the quality of our project but also fostered a positive and supportive group dynamic.

That’s an answer worthy of a gold STAR — if I do say so myself.

Tip 2: “Tailor” your answer. Where possible, select the prepared answer in your collection to best fit the specific question being asked. If you have been asked a conflict resolution question about a co-worker, it is better to pick a scenario about a co-worker than, for example a conflict resolution involving a customer — another reason to have at least 2 answers for each category.

A bonus tip

But what if you can’t tailor your answer or if the question is too specific to use any of your pre-prepared answers? Here’s my secret tip…Offer an alternative question and answer that instead. To continue with the conflict resolution with a co-worker example, let’s say I’ve never quarrelled with a co-worker, or at least, I don’t have an answer ready for that, but I do have a conflict resolution scenario with a customer ready to go…ask the interviewer if you can answer that question instead — and then answer it. Not only does it sidestep awkward silences, it shows adaptability, flexibility and gives you an opportunity to showcase your experience in a different way. I’ve done this in many interview situations, and nobody has ever pulled me up on it or refused to let me answer my alternative question.

So to finish up — let’s look at how that alternative question exchange might look like:

Interviewer: “Can you provide an example of a time when you encountered a conflict within your team? How did you approach resolving it?”

Candidate: “Hmm…nothing is immediately springing to mind right now, but perhaps I can tell you about a time when I had to resolve a conflict with a customer instead? — during my last role ”

And if you do find yourself completely stuck for an answer — don’t panic, just say “nothing is coming to my mind right now, perhaps we can continue with the next question and if an answer pops into my head later, we can circle back”. It happens to everyone.