Dealing with competency based questions

Competency-based questions are commonly used by employers to check that candidates have the competencies or qualities that are required for a particular job, usually detailed in the job specification or advert. Admissions tutors may also use them in interviews, particularly for more vocational courses.

The interviewer is looking for evidence that you have the skills that they need and so may ask questions such as:

• Give an example of when you worked in a team to complete a task. What was your role and what did you contribute?
• Tell us about a situation where you’ve had to overcome a difficult problem.
• Describe an occasion when you have had to manage your time to achieve a deadline. What happened and how did you meet the deadline?
• Can you give an example of when you have done work that required a high degree of accuracy? How do you ensure that your work is accurate?
• Outline a situation where you’ve had to communicate complex information in an easy-to-understand way.
• Tell us about a time when you have had to deal with someone who was angry or upset. How did you deal with it?

If you can think of other competency-based questions, post them in the comments below.

STAR stands for:

• Situation - provide some brief details about the situation you were in when you used a competency so that the reader can understand the context of the example.
• Task - outline what your objective or purpose was during that situation, again to put your answer into context.
• Action - describe what you did in that situation and how you approached it.
• Result - state the outcome, for example: Were the objectives met? What did you learn/gain from being in that situation?

Sometimes the selector will probe further by asking ‘What would you do differently?’ or ‘What did you learn from the experience?’

Some examples of using STAR

Launch this interactive exercise to look at three sample competency-based questions and read our analysis of the answers given. You can also download these examples and save them to your portfolio.

When asked this type of question, try to use realistic and recent examples from your work experience, education, volunteering and sport and leisure activities.

Simple examples can be very effective when taken from everyday situations. Remember, interviewers don’t expect you to have sailed the Atlantic or crossed the Antarctic.