Competency based recruitment is a style of interviewing.

• What is it?
• How can I prepare for it?
• How will I be measured?

What is it?

It's a style of interviewing used so that a candidate can best show how they would demonstrate certain behaviours/skills in the work place; by answering questions about how you have reacted to and dealt with previous work place situations.

By using past experience a potential employer can predict future behaviour by:

• Eliminating misunderstandings
• Preventing personal impressions
• Reducing the candidate's ability to "fake"

You will be asked to give an example of a situation or task which led you to take a certain course of action. Probing questions will then be used to determine the course of action you took and what changes were created by those actions and the effects of those actions on others.

Traditional job descriptions are now quite out-dated. Most organisations will analyse a role by breaking it down into key competencies. For example the competencies of a lawyer may be planning and organising, innovation, personal drive, problem analysis and decision making. If an organisation uses this type of interviewing, it is very likely that your job will be defined on this basis and your performance in it will be managed through competencies. For example your appraisal may well be linked to evidence and real-life examples of having demonstrated these competencies.

The simple answer is you can't. You can prepare for the interview in the normal way by researching the company, making sure you are able to talk through the work and skills that you have described on your CV. You will be given the opportunity to market yourself for the role in the normal way. However, most candidates will find this type of interviewing much more interactive and enjoyable and it is likely that the interviewer will be able to encourage you to be much more open than in a traditional interview.

• How will I be measured?

Usually the interviewer will have a number of pre-planned questions to ask you. For each of these questions they will ask for real-life evidence where you have demonstrated the behaviour or skills. They will know what the desired behaviours are and will look for positive and negative indicators. Examples of competencies and related questions are as follows:

Competency & Definition Planning & Organising: prioritises; sets stretching but realistic targets and deadlines; plans ahead and has a structured approach to the work Suggested Questions Desired Behaviours Describe a project you have managed/been responsible for:·   How did you plan your time? (& others time?) How did you deal with obstacles? Have you ever managed a project which you knew would run over the timescale? What did you do? What could you do differently next time? In your current job, how do you schedule your time and set priorities? How did you prepare for this interview? Prioritising Working in a structured and methodical way Maintaining candidate details Planning ahead to ensure timely delivery of results Managing time effectivelyMaintaining accurate management information, administrative records etc Negative Indicators Works late but unproductively most of the time Seldom completes a task unless they do all of the work themselves Reactive approach Inflexible in modifying plan/priorities Is easily fazed by obstacles/interruptions

Competency & Definition Team Skills: the ability to work with other people constructively to improve the effectoveness of the team

Competency & Definition Professional Knowledge & Judgement: has an extensive knowledge of his/her own field or department; understands the business and uses this to provide credible advice Suggested Questions Desired Behaviours What examples are there during the past 3-6 months where you have made an important decision which turned out to be correct? Have you made any poor decisions in the past 6 months? Tell me about it/them? How do you gather information on clients?   How have you used that information to influence a client or candidate? When did a client last ask you for advice (other than re a live assignment)? Sound understanding of current law Sound understanding of clients Managing the flow of information to clients effectively Providing commercial and practical advice to clients Providing the client with credible advice Negative Indicators Inaccurate understanding of client's situation Assumes professional responsibility beyond level of competence/experience Abdicated decision-making to othersIgnores side issues as irrelevant

Competency & Definition Leadership: Takes control of situations and events; recognises and rewards others performance; motivates; coaches and develops others