Page 41 - NEDBANK YES BOOKLET

Competency-based interviews

Competency-based interviews, also called structured, situational or behavioural
interviews, are based on the premise that past behaviour predicts future
behaviour. The interviewer asks questions about specific situations and the
candidate answers by describing how they have handled similar situations in
the past.
If you’re not used to answering competency-based interview questions, the
STAR method is a useful way of communicating key points clearly and concisely.
Use a wide variety of examples where possible, including during school or higher
education, any previous employment or work experience, and in your daily life
in general.

S Situation Identify the situation or problem you encountered or solved.
What was the task or targets (who, what, when, what’s
T Task required).

A Action Detail your specific action (what did you do, how did you
do it).
R Result Explain the results and quantify the impact (savings,
accomplishments, recognition, etc).
Examples of key competencies and competency-based questions include:

1 Communication skills
• Describe a situation where you had to explain something complex to a
colleague or a customer. What problems did you encounter and how did you
deal with them?
• Tell us about a situation where your communication skills made a difference
to a situation.
• Tell us about a situation when you failed to communicate appropriately.

The right candidate will be expected to:
• have empathy;
• be able to handle customer and colleagues well;
• adapt their communication style to different situations and people;
• influence and persuade stakeholders and decision-makers;
• select the right information, for the right person at the right time; and
• be able to help colleagues or members of the public understand complex
information and ideas.
38 39