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  • Hi, everybody!

  • It's Richard McMunn from the interview guidance company PassMyInterview.com and in this video

  • training tutorial I'm going to teach you how to pass any kind of competency-based interview,

  • and in particular I'm going to give you some sample questions and answers that you can

  • use during your competency-based interview questions.

  • So, if you have any kind of interview coming up please watch the video from beginning to

  • end because I guarantee it's really going to increase your chances of success!

  • So, just quickly, that's me there on the right-hand side, Richard McMunn, I've been helping people

  • like you for over 20 years now to successfully pass their interviews and as I say, we're

  • going to focus on a competency-based interview.

  • Just a couple of things, and please make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel by clicking the

  • red button below the video.

  • That way you will not miss out on any of the weekly interview training videos that I'm

  • uploading to this channel.

  • Also, if you like the content and the supplied answers that I'm going to give you to all

  • the competency-based questions, please do give the video a like, a thumbs up, because

  • that as always motivates me to do more for you.

  • OK, let's get straight into it.

  • So, before I give you an abundance of interview questions and answers for your competency-based

  • interview, there’s a couple of really important things I want to cover that I think are going

  • to help you first of all.

  • So, what is a competency based interview?

  • So, in a nutshell, a competency-based interview is used to assess your skills and experience

  • based on the requirements of the role you are applying for.

  • So, what do I mean by that?

  • Well, each job that you go for will have assessable competencies.

  • So, for example, if you were going for a customer service role, one of the competencies might

  • be you areable to deliver excellent customer serviceand therefore the competency interview

  • questions could be: “Can you give an example of when you delivered excellent customer service?”

  • orCan you tell me about a time when you dealt with a difficult customer?” orDescribe

  • a time when you went above and beyond what was required to help a customer?”

  • Another example, let's say you were going for a project management role or a management

  • role.

  • The competency could be that you arecapable of managing difficult projectsand the

  • interview question based on that competency would be: “Describe a time when you successfully

  • managed a difficult project?

  • What did you specifically do to make it a success?”

  • Or: “Talk me through how you would manage a project from beginning to end?” or the

  • interview question: “Describe a time when you motivated a team to complete a difficult

  • task?” and you will notice there that these interview questions are asking you to provide

  • a specific situation.

  • And that's really important.

  • I'm going to come onto that in just one second's time.

  • So, another job, let's say you were going for a team leader role, for example, one of

  • the competencies would be that you areable to manage groups of peopleand the interview

  • question would be: “Describe a time when you managed an underperforming member of your

  • team?” orDescribe a time when you motivated a team to complete a difficult task?” or

  • Describe a time when you made a mistake as a leader?”

  • So, these are interview questions based on the competencies.

  • So, you will notice as I say, that these interview questions are asking for examples.

  • Now, this is really, really important, so please do pay attention.

  • Tell the panel in your interview response what you did in a given situation as opposed

  • to what you would do.

  • So, you are going to do that by using the STAR technique, which were going to go into

  • detail and I'm going to give you a number of interview questions and answers.

  • I'm going to break them down for you using the STAR technique.

  • So, here's the star technique method.

  • So, when you sit down to answer the questions, think about STAR.

  • Really simple, and then you will start off your interview question response with the

  • SITUATION, so you say: “The situation was that I was in was XYZ.”

  • And then you'll move on to the TASK, you say to the panel what had to be done.

  • So, I was required to do this and then you tell them what ACTION you took.

  • So, tell the panel the panel what action you took.

  • And then finally, tell them the RESULT of your actions and a tip here is to make sure

  • the result is positive.

  • Now, what you might do if you really want to go into detail is tell the panel what you

  • learned from the situation and also what you would do later on if the situation occurred

  • again.

  • Okay, let's now take a look at some sample competency based questions and answers which

  • are created using the STAR technique.

  • So, questionDescribe a time when you worked under pressure to solve a difficult problem?”

  • a common competency-based question.

  • Now the competencies that are being assessed here are your problem-solving skills, your

  • resilience and also your adaptability.

  • So, here's a sample response for you using the STAR technique.

  • Here we go.

  • “I was working in the office on a project for my manager when she came in and announced

  • the client whom I was working on the project for had changed their mind about the project's

  • specifications.

  • I only had seven days left to complete the project as the timeline for completion remain

  • the same.

  • I needed to start the project again from scratch and in order to meet the deadline I needed

  • to ask another member of the team to assist me with some technical aspects of the change

  • to the specification, and after finding a suitably qualified person to help me, I briefed

  • them on what was required and more importantly the timeline.

  • We both set to work on the project with enthusiasm, rigor and determination.

  • As the deadline was approaching I had the feeling I was not going to complete the project

  • on time, so I decided to work from home the hours needed to meet the target.

  • I'm the type of person who does not like to let my employer down, so I didn't really mind

  • putting in the extra hours.

  • My colleague and I managed to finish and deliver a project to the client with literally two

  • hours to spare.

  • I feel proud of the fact we managed to complete the project to the specifications despite

  • the numerous challenges we faced along the way.

  • The client was more than pleased with the work and they used the company again for future

  • projects, which was great!”

  • Now of course, that is an in-depth response to that question.

  • But for competency-based interviews, they need to be in-depth.

  • And if you follow this scenarioSITUATION, TASK, ACTION, RESULT for every question then

  • you will pass your interview, I can assure you.

  • And on that basis, before I move on to the next question, if you want to tell me the

  • name of your interview in the comments section below this video, I'll give you a list of

  • competency-based questions to prepare for.

  • Here we go.

  • Next question of your competency-based interview.

  • Describe a time when someone within your team was underperforming?”

  • Okay, so what they're looking for here is for you to take control and resolve it.

  • You're not going to go to your manager, but you're actually going to sort it out yourself.

  • So, the competency being assessed here is your team working skills, your communication

  • skills because you'll have to communicate with the person, and also persuasion techniques.

  • You have the ability to get them to come on board and come on and help the team again.

  • So, here's my sample response for you for your competency interview.

  • Describe a time when someone within your team was underperforming?”

  • Here we go.

  • “I was working with a team of five people.

  • We all got on generally very well as a team, we were efficient and always managed to get

  • the job done to a high standard.

  • However, I can specifically remember wanting to ask why my colleague Andrew appeared disinterested

  • in the project and he was taking more breaks than he was entitled to.

  • As a confident member of the team, I felt it was my responsibility to stop this as soon

  • as possible.

  • Other people within the team were taking note of his lack of enthusiasm.

  • So, I was keen to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

  • It was my job to find out what the problem was and to also get Andrew back performing

  • to a good standard.

  • I chose my time carefully and I asked to speak to him in private, to express my concerns.

  • I was entirely honest with him about my concerns, but I also asked him if he was okay and if

  • he had if he had any problems at home.

  • As it transpired, his partner of seven years had just left him, and he wasn't feeling that

  • great.

  • I empathized with him but suggested that he should try focusing on the team task to take

  • his mind off his home problems, and he agreed to my suggestion.

  • I kept in close contact with him over the next few weeks, just to make sure he was okay

  • and also to provide support when needed.

  • As the weeks and months progressed Andrew eventually got back to his usual self and

  • the team thrived as a result.”

  • So, if you were interviewing me and I gave you that response, that’s giving you loads

  • of evidence of where I am meeting the assessable competency which isDescribe a time when

  • someone within your team was underperforming?”

  • Next question: “Can you tell me a situation when you embraced change within an organization?”

  • Now this kind of question is becoming more and more popular because change helps a business

  • to grow.

  • But some people don't like change.

  • So, the competencies that are being assessed here are that you are open to change and that

  • you are strategically aware.

  • What I mean by that is, that you are aware that the organization has to change in order

  • to improve profits and increase turnover, but you are also committed to development.

  • So, here's my answer for you, using the STAR technique: “Can you tell me a situation

  • when you embraced change within an organization?”

  • Here we go: “I'd been working with a previous employer for more than six years and we haven't

  • really experienced any change during that time.

  • The business was performing well.

  • Most people saw no reason to change anything.

  • One day, a new manager joined the company and he started to implement change across

  • the board which appeared to upset most of the staff.

  • To be truthful, I was really looking forward to the change as I personally felt things

  • needed to alter.

  • I feel change is a positive thing because it encourages innovation and personal development.

  • In addition to embracing the change myself, I try to encourage other staff members just

  • to give it a try, simply because I felt they would come to enjoy it.

  • Whenever I was sat in the canteen during breaks and I overheard our staff members complaining

  • about the change, I used this as an opportunity to persuade them that the changes might actually

  • be a good thing.

  • Each time I would list the benefits of the change and eventually people started to change

  • their views.

  • After six or seven months the company was thriving even more.

  • The changes that were implemented meant that some members of staff were given promotions

  • due to the expansion.

  • I felt proud that I'd embraced and supported the change and I tried to alter the views

  • of some members of staff.”

  • That, in my opinion, is a fantastic response to the change competency question!

  • OK, next one: “Tell me about a time when you changed how you did something following

  • feedback from someone else?”

  • This question is designed to assess the competency of you again, being open to change, but also

  • assesses how you will continually improve and develop and also your adaptability.

  • Really important that when somebody takes you on and when you're being interviewed they

  • want to know whether you will take on board feedback and criticism, with a view to improving.

  • So, here's my suggested answer for you for the competency question: “Tell me about

  • a time when you changed that you did something following feedback from someone else?”

  • Here we go: “During an appraisal my line manager identified that I needed to improve

  • in a specific area.

  • I was working as a call handler for a large independent communications company.

  • Part of my role involved answering a specific number of calls per hour.

  • If I didn't reach the target, then this did not allow the company to meet its standards.

  • I found that I was falling behind on the number of calls answered and this was identified

  • during the appraisal.

  • I needed to develop my skills in the manner in which I handled the call.

  • M line manager first of all played back a number of recorded calls that I dealt with

  • and it was clear that I was taking too long.

  • I was spending too much time on trying to deliver a high-quality service to the customer

  • as opposed to working through the calls as fast as possible so that I could answer the

  • next one.

  • Despite the customers being more than pleased with the level of service and care I was providing

  • this approach was not helpful to the company.

  • I immediately took on board the comments of my line manager and also took up the offer

  • of development and called handling training.

  • After the training, which took only two weeks to complete, I was meeting my targets with

  • ease.

  • The changes I implemented ensured the company was meeting its targets and therefore helping

  • more customers along the way.

  • I am the type of person who will embrace feedback because I see it as a tool for helping me

  • to improve and develop which obviously can only be a good thing.

  • Now, a really solid response to that competency question!

  • Now here's a difficult question!

  • A difficult one and I'm going to give you a brilliant answer that you can use.

  • So, the competency interview question: “Describe a time when you turned a negative situation

  • into a positive one?”

  • So, the competencies that are being assessed here are your problem-solving skills, your

  • communication skills and your negotiation and persuasion skills.

  • Here we go.

  • Here is my suggested answer for this tough competency-based interview question: “Describe

  • a time when you turn a negative situation into a positive one?”

  • Here we go.

  • “I was working in a customer service department when one day we received quite a serious complaint

  • from a customer.

  • The goods they had received were faulty and they appeared very upset about the situation

  • to the extent they had left a negative review online and also posted about their experience

  • on social media.

  • Although the situation was negative I started to think how I could turn this to our advantage.

  • I immediately engaged with the customer, apologized and arranged a telephone call with her.

  • During the call, I explored the possibilities of the customer helping to review new products

  • for us before we put them live on our website.

  • I offered to send them free review products, so they could test them and then give us their

  • feedback before we made the products available to the general public.

  • I saw this as a win-win situation simply because the customer would feel valued and engaged

  • and we now had someone to help us review our products, and the customer was more than happy

  • to help.

  • Not only did they remove their initial negative feedback online, but they went on to help

  • us review products by providing us with honest and invaluable feedback.

  • Since then, our online feedback score as a result of the situation, has increased dramatically

  • and that's a great way of using a negative situation to improve it.

  • So, if you'd like a copy of these slides and more answers to these kind of questions, get

  • access to my online interview training course right now by clicking the link directly below

  • the video which will go to the website www.PassMyInterview.com.

  • Like I say, there's over 50 training videos on there all with sample answers that you

  • can download and use during your interview.

  • I hope you've enjoyed that tutorial and I've also put another link in the description below

  • the video to my LinkedIn.com page so you can connect with me on LinkedIn and say hi!

  • If you have enjoyed that video, I really hope you have, please do give it a thumbs up like

  • say don't forget to SUBSCRIBE.

  • I love seeing your comments as well below telling me what interviews you got come up!

  • Loads of people are passing their interviews using the tutorials I’m providing.

  • I love to see that, so don't forget to say hello in the comments section below.

  • Guys, thank you for watching.

  • I genuinely wish you all the best for passing your interview.

  • Thank you!

Hi, everybody!

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