Competency based interview is designed to test the caliber of a candidate for handling the job and specific situations.

1. HOW HR’S CAN MASTER COMPETENCY BASED
INTERVIEWS?
Competency based interview is designed to test the caliber of a candidate for
handling the job and specific situations. Generally these interviews include
questions that can demonstrate the skills of employees, companies are looking
for. For example, HR’s may ask candidates to discuss the project, which they
have succeeded or even failed. Answering these questions will help the
interviewer to get an idea if a candidate can really fit in the role.
Here are a few things HR’s can look at before trying a Competency based interview
A. Purpose
Generally when an organisation asks competency-based questions, they are looking for the candidates who can deal
the challenges of the job. At the same time they will also check how the candidate will behave with the other
members of the team, how they use their skills and experience effectively. In these interviews, answers may differ
from candidate to candidate, thus evaluation needs to be done on how creatively someone has applied their thought
process.
B. Preparation
The best way to prepare the competency-based interview is to reread the job description, job requirement and to
know exactly what the organization is looking for in the new employee. The output of the interview should be an
accurate idea whether the candidate possesses those qualities or not. HR’s can do a little scribbling of their own set
of questions & answers to make a benchmark.
C. The STAR approach

2. The best way to approach the competency-based interview is STAR approach – Situation, Task, Action, Result
Situation followed by Task
Generally HR’s can give a situation, which can be related to a current project or team behaviour or any hypothetical
situation. The information given should be clear and useful to the story. Finally assign some tasks to the candidates
to accomplish the final outcome.
Action
Action is the most important section of the STAR approach where candidates are expected to exhibit and highlight
their skills and thought process applied. After giving the story make it clear to the candidates as to what they are
expected to do. HR’s also need to
 Give precise details to remove any need of assumptions
 Give technical informations if it is crucial
Result
In competency based interviews, the evaluation of each candidate has to be done on the basis of how they acted on
the given situations. HR’s need to be focused on few things while picking their relevant candidates. Always look for
how candidates analysed the situation and how they broke it into easy or smaller solutions. Refute them back on
why they are suggesting this particular solution. HR’s can use this chance to ask the candidates what they have
learned from that situation
D. Drawbacks of Competency based Interviews
Even competency based interviews could not keep away from drawbacks. For the situations related to projects
handled in previous organisations, few candidates might create their own false story and showcase their role larger
than it actually was. It is recommended for HR’s to do background verification from the previous employer, to
justify your hiring decisions.
Applicant Tracking System is an online candidate management system, that has helped making Competency based
interviews more efficient and effective. The online Manage Interview feature allows recruiters to set the pre-defined
parameters to help interviewers evaluate candidates on those lines. Additionally, interviewers can write and save
their suggestions about each candidate in the system itself.