Competency Interview

[al_Zayn]

Brothers and Sisters,

Can someone please help me with this, i wanted to know more about competency interview, this is where they ask you questions based on real life scenarios and ask you to give an example.

So they ask you questions like:

"Give an example where you went out of your way to help someone"

or "Give us an example of a situation where you had to deal with a conflict with an internal or external client",

though i can answer it, i need to know what specifics they are looking for? any particular style? any key words?

This would be better for someone to answer if they work in the recruitment department (UK to be more exact) or for those who have successfully been through many of those interviews and have landed jobs also please give an example question and answer it yourself.

also what if you can't give an example, can they reduce points?

for the help.

[not known]

Brothers and Sisters,

Can someone please help me with this, i wanted to know more about competency interview, this is where they ask you questions based on real life scenarios and ask you to give an example.

So they ask you questions like:

"Give an example where you went out of your way to help someone"

or "Give us an example of a situation where you had to deal with a conflict with an internal or external client",

though i can answer it, i need to know what specifics they are looking for? any particular style? any key words?

This would be better for someone to answer if they work in the recruitment department (UK to be more exact) or for those who have successfully been through many of those interviews and have landed jobs also please give an example question and answer it yourself.

also what if you can't give an example, can they reduce points?

for the help.

Just remember that every interview is to know the potential of an individual..

So, when they are asking you an example of how you solved such and such case. They want to see how you used your skills in the respective cases.

It's very important to give such examples. If you didn't answer, it means ur a dumb ....

By asking these kind of questions, they want to see how you solve the problem, the decisions you make, presence of mind etc..

For example, let's see ""Give us an example of a situation where you had to deal with a conflict with an internal or external client"

You might give a simple answer to them...

Simple Answer: Once our external client had a problem of mobile number swapping for the mobile sims we provided. I played a crucial role in restoring the services.

Though the above answer implies that you played a crucial role in solving the problem, but it doesn't show how you did that.. The employer wants to see how exactly you solved the problem.

Detailed Answer: Once our external client had a problem of mobile number swapping for the mobile sims we provided. I was given the responsibility to solve the issue. I first contacted the service provider and came to know that the sims provided and the number allotted to those sims didnt match because of some technical glitch. The solution was to resend the sim cards with correct mobile numbers. But by this time the old sim cards have reached all the cities of our state and only one day was left to close the sim cards delivery deadline. I immediately contacted the service provider and asked him of possibilities of activating the sim cards in their own locations. this facility was available, hence I gathered the details of all of our engineers to who sim cards had to be provided. I took the help of two of our team members and started calling each and every engineer and asked to go to the nearest store and replace the sim, for this we had to even co-ordinate with the central team of network provider and we succesfully closed the replacement of sim numbers in their respective locations only. By evening we were able to close all the replacements and thus completed the task in time."

this was just an example.. you can give more details of cases

[not known]

instead of using the terms like "I did such and such thing" or "I was the only one who completed so and so task" you should use terms like "My team did such and such thing" and "Our team worked hardly to complete so and so task"

You should your importance, but shouldn't say that everything was done by you and other's were just dummies.. it becomes a serious ego problem

plz ask if u have any further concerns..

[al_Zayn]

That has helped me alot Br AQ, i will post a couple of q's tomorrow Insha-Allah

[hayya]

Do try and answer the questions as completely as possible. The more interviews you do, the more confident you will become answering such questions.

When I first start job searching, my friend forwarded me about 21 questions and I then answered them as detail as possible (bullet points). The more points the better if your the type to forget half the answer. If you cover enough questions, then you should be able to answer most questions (they just tend to be worded differently).

Make sure you answer the question - if you dont understand, ask them to repeat the question. I sometimes ask them to repeat to make sure I've not missed off any crucials key words from the question.

If they ask you a question and you cannot think of a work related example, think of a personal one or think of something similar and word it around that. Best you answer the question then not answering it at all (I'd rather they think I got the question wrong or didnt answer it correctly due to nerves than not attempting it at all, which in my opinion is worse)

Any negativity never goes down to well, always keep it positive. For example if you were made redundant in the past, they will ask how you felt. I've been asked this twice now. YOu can say you were disappointed and hurt (dont go off swearing at the company (not that you would, but giving an example)) and then say your taking the opportunity to find something with more responsibility, better job prospects etc etc


Also, if your offered a drink, then take it, even if its just water. When your given a question where you need to think about it, then you take couple sips of water (buys you some time)


Finally, I dont think each question is based on a 'point system'. The interviews I've been, they normally ask a series of questions without writing anything down. They make notes afterwards ( I dont know) but just remember if you didnt answer one question well it doesnt mean you didnt get the job. So dont get nervoous if you realise half way through the interview you got one of the questions wrong peviously

Make an impression, stand out the crowd so that when they are reviewing the applicants, they remember you!

[Rahmaniyyah]

These competency interviews are all about the STAR method. They will basically ask you a question which will bring out a competency or two upon which they are assessing you. You can easily figure out what type of competencies they are looking for, and you will want to use key words which stand out based on that competency. For example, if they are looking for leadership, they may ask "tell us about a time in which you had to lead a group of people out of a difficult situation". Use the STAR method (below) and use key words which will be calling out to the interviewer like "planning ahead" "effective communication" "delegation" "sympathising/empathising" "learning from mistakes" "engaging the team" etc.

In all of these questions, they will ask for EXAMPLES. That means, it's something from your recent history (last 2-3 years experience). You will have to prepare at least TWO examples for each competency because you have to select which examples fits best depending on how they phrase the question - you will usually be given a list of competencies they will be assessing, or you can find it on the company website.

S - SITUATION: Explain the situation of the example which you choose
T- TASK: Explain the task which you had to complete
A- ACTION: Explain the actions YOU performed to complete the task
R- RESULT: Explain the end results of YOUR actions.

I know there was a comment above which said to use "We" instead of "I" - I have to disagree with this (for the UK - I know the bro is in India). The reason is, although team spirit is important, they are not seeking competencies of the team. They want you to use "I" for everything. Unless there's a question about teamwork, USE the word "I".

Although, there are VERY few companies nowadays which appreciate humility, or actually look for humility as a competency (maybe Medicine and Teaching only). If the company culture is humility-driven, then you should use "we" when they are testing you on the humility competency.

Anyway, here's a written example of a question which was answered for "an example of when you have worked with people who are very different from yourself":

During the winter of 2009, I volunteered to help lead a youth residential in Birmingham. One of my roles was to act as a mentor. In addition to giving a talk on the value of ethics in everyday life, I spent a lot of time interacting with the participants in small groups. It involved seeking solutions to the difficulties they were facing, with particular focus on the pressures of being drawn in by the rampant gang culture which divides communities in central Birmingham over racial lines. I also spoke with many participants individually, advising them on how to make meaningful contributions to society and how to make the best use of their education. I have since been in periodic contact with two participants, with one of them gaining entry into the Physics degree at Kings College London and the other completing A-levels now.

In the above, there was a word-limit so it is very brief. But, in a real interview, you will have no word limit. Don't waffle, but don't be too brief. Also, in your head, be very very clear on WHICH point you are talking on S, T, A, R - do them in order and do them one by one in separate sentences. In the above example, it's very clear which sentences talks about SITUATION, which ones talk about TASK, which ones talk about ACTION and which one's talk about RESULTS.

SITUATION
During the winter of 2009, I volunteered to help lead a youth residential in Birmingham.

TASK(S)
One of my roles was to act as a mentor.

ACTION(S)
In addition to giving a talk on the value of ethics in everyday life, I spent a lot of time interacting with the participants in small groups. It involved seeking solutions to the difficulties they were facing, with particular focus on the pressures of being drawn in by the rampant gang culture which divides communities in central Birmingham over racial lines. I also spoke with many participants individually, advising them on how to make meaningful contributions to society and how to make the best use of their education.

RESULT(S)
I have since been in periodic contact with two participants, with one of them gaining entry into the Physics degree at Kings College London and the other completing A-levels now.

If you have more info on the actual company or their culture, then you may be able to get more specific advice..

[mh16388]

just done lie if you havent encountered a situation in real life. tell them how it is. if they say what you think you would have done then ofcourse you can use your imagination : D
lying, haram as it is, also lands you in trouble during the interview because whn you make up facts as you go along they are bound to contradict questions they will ask later in the interview. so just tell them you havent been in any such situation if you havent been in. it wont do any harm in sha Allah

[whodat]

Assalaam Alaikum,

I would tend not to answer with "My team". You should emphasize on yourself, as it is "your" interview. The employer wants to see what your past behaviour was as it is likely to be a predictor of your future behaviour. As well, they will have criteria preselected that you will be measured against. Never lie or embellish because a good interviewer should be probing your story to extract detail that could be minute. A good place to start is look for competency dictionaries online, these will define common behaviours recruiters use.

[FususAlHikam]

Unfortunately the way the interview process goes if you tell the truth ("I dont know this") or tell one flaw about yourself which you are already aware of, you are a goner, no job. They have certain things they want to hear and anything outside of that doesnt fly. My boss told me these things are just liability, your boss isnt going to analyze your personality 10 months into the job to see if what you said earlier in your interview about yourself is true. These questions are just for the interview and then trashed away once you are hired. The thing that really counts is how well you do your job duties, the command you have over your skill set, your knowledge base etc.

[FususAlHikam]

Basically, everything you hear in tasawwuf dars you have to go against during the interview. Its not so hard.