Revealing The Secret To Answering Behavioral/Competency Based Questions In A Job Interview

Revealing The Secret To Answering Behavioral/Competency Based Questions In A Job Interview

By Esther Kamau
This year alone, I have taken over 140 professional from different fields through a one on one personalized mock interview session.
These have been professionals from entry level, middle level, management and senior management professionals from areas such as Medicine, Sales, Accounting, Supply Chain, Human Resource Management, Procurement, ICT, Customer Service, Hospitality, Quantity Survey, Admin among others.
Having gained a good understanding of what employers are looking to hear form candidates during an interview, I can tell you for sure that this is where many candidates and maybe yourself go wrong.
I’m certain by now you are aware of common interview questions employers ask such as: tell us about yourself, why should we hire you, what value will you bring to our company etc.
And this questions will more often than not always appear in an interview.
But did you know that interviews have taken a very interesting approach nowadays?
Yes, interviewers are no longer pegged on your qualifications and technical skills alone; they are now more concerned with how you have handled or would handle real-life work situations.
And this are what we call “Behavioral or competency” based questions…
In the simplest explanation possible, behavioral/competency based questions examine your past performance to predict future performance.
They analyses how well behave in certain work scenarios.
It is this kinds of questions that ultimately determine whether or not an employer thinks you are the best fit for the job during an interview.
This Will Interest You >>> How To Effectively Answer Competency Based Questions In A Job Interview
The secret about effectively answering behavioral/competency based questions is this…
They always test your SOFT SKILLS!
And what are soft skills?
Have you ever heard of communication skills, team work skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills etc?
Now you know!
So today you and I are going go through 3 examples of commonly asked behavioral/competency based questions…
1. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career?
Sample these two examples:
Candidate A:
“I have experienced a challenge in the past where I had to work under a lot of pressure and had to deliver on tight deadlines on a project last year.”
Candidate B:
“Last year I experienced a very big challenge while working under a lot of pressure and under a tight deadline. I was charged with leading the team but unfortunately I overlooked some areas and we were not able to finish the project in the given time. However, I learnt from my mistakes and knew what to do to succeed. So when I was given another chance to lead my time I actually delivered before time, we met our target and the team worked well together.”
One of the mistakes I have seen candidates make while answering this question is forgetting to mention how they have overcome that particular challenge.
And that is where Candidate A went wrong. They mentioned the challenge but didn’t tell us how they overcame it.
Candidate B went further to state the same challenge but showed us what they learnt and how that challenge improved their performance.
2. Tell us about a time you had to work with a difficult team member
This is not the opportunity to demonize a member of your team you don’t like.
Before jumping at the chance to speak ill of a team member, remember a number of soft skills are being tested here such as: your team work skills, communication skills and problem solving skills.
Sample this…
“Yes, I have worked with a difficult team member before. We were working together on a project/task and we couldn’t seem to agree on a number of things. This team member felt their ideas were being disregarded and so they were not pulling their weight in the team. However, I liaised with my other team members and suggested it would be a good idea to let him take the lead and incorporate more of his ideas. We tried them out and he was able to see for himself what ideas worked and what did not. Hence we were all now able to work together and we ended up meeting the set target.”
3. How do you organize or prioritize your work?
This question is obviously testing your organizational and prioritization skills.
The employer wants to a practical account of how you prioritize your work in order of urgency and importance and urgency.
They want to see how well you also manage and allocate your time.
Now you know…
So the next time you are called for an interview, don’t be shocked when you hear these questions.
And before you even respond, examine the soft skill they are testing.
I hope I’ve helped! But just in case you need a one on one mock interview session to discover how best to answer competency based questions, you can send me an email on esther@corporatestaffing.co.ke and we will schedule an appointment.
I will also help you discover how to respond to other common HR questions as well as take you through on other questions to expect in a job interview.
Esther works as a Communications Officer at Corporate Staffing Services Ltd., a leading HR and Recruitment firm offering mock interview coaching services, trainings and job placement services.

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