How do you feel about competency based quesions in an interview?

[birdies]

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

Love the chair getting stuck story, not sure what I would have done in your situation! From a recruitment perspective, do you judge it based on the STAR method? Or do you give it a bit of leeway?

I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of the STAR method, so it's not something we have a strict criteria for. When we ask that type of question in our interviews it really is just to judge whether people can

• Identify the type of difficult situation we're asking about (some people really fail to grasp this)
• Show that they knew or know how to respond to it appropriately
• Ideally show some extra initiative or creative thought on their part
• Talk through the situation a little - so we might say if X had happened in that scenario, then what would you have done? This can give us an idea of whether someone knows when it's a good idea to escalate a problem.

[Hollow]

I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of the STAR method, so it's not something we have a strict criteria for. When we ask that type of question in our interviews it really is just to judge whether people can

• Identify the type of difficult situation we're asking about (some people really fail to grasp this)
• Show that they knew or know how to respond to it appropriately
• Ideally show some extra initiative or creative thought on their part
• Talk through the situation a little - so we might say if X had happened in that scenario, then what would you have done? This can give us an idea of whether someone knows when it's a good idea to escalate a problem.

That's seriously great information and advice! Thank you

[Alcremie]

Yes, they are very rehearsed AND redundant. Like, if it's a customer service job, sure, some of the questions should be STAR based. However, I think it's over-used. Especially when it comes to interview length. A couple of STAR-like questions are helpful and at times very necessary, but at some interviews they would ask the a question that was very like another one 5 questions ago. This went on for an hour. I didn't find it productive after the first 15 minutes of the interview. If anything, if the interview goes too long like that it is a good indicator that they do not know how to hire correctly and an insight on what you could potentially be working with if hired.

[♥ Blissey ♥]

i had a graduate-level class last semester focusing on industrial and organizational psychology, so i got to spend a lot of time learning about interview techniques from an academic perspective. i probably have notes on the STAR method, but i don't feel like digging them up lol.

competency questions are designed to gauge your character as an employee in a way that is less obvious than "do you lie?". because pretty much anyone is smart enough to say no to that, even if it's (ironically) not true.
emphasis on "as an employee". generally people do not live to serve their bosses. but employers want you to act like you do. being able to maintain and extend that act is key to being seen as a worthwhile hire.

like, say they're trying to gauge your integrity. they ask a question about what you should do if you found out a co-worker is stealing supplies.
most people wouldn't really give a shit, unless we're talking things that are really expensive and/or large. but staplers, pens, notepads, etc - not a big deal.
what the employers want you to say is that you would turn the co-worker in, then lick the employer's boots, then let the employer fuck your wife.

or, to make it a non-work related example, say they want to gauge how organized you are. instead of asking "are you an organized person", which most people say yes to, they ask about what condition your closet is in.
as in, do you organize things by type or color, do you just hang things anywhere, do you take care not to store clothes so that they wrinkle, etc.
doesn't matter what your actual closet looks like, tell them that everything is color-coordinated, sorted by type, nothing is crammed together, etc.

to answer the question: i do not like them, but i also do not like interviews. i HATE them. they are my personal hell, as an autistic person.
they're like masking turned up to 10000. an hour of bootlicking and bold-faced lies. they make every bone in my body ache, and my blood boil.
like, even though i have ~insider knowledge~ on how interviews should work, i can't guarantee that i won't cave under pressure and let something slip. i just can't lie to people like that.

[Hollow]

Yes, they are very rehearsed AND redundant. Like, if it's a customer service job, sure, some of the questions should be STAR based. However, I think it's over-used. Especially when it comes to interview length. A couple of STAR-like questions are helpful and at times very necessary, but at some interviews they would ask the a question that was very like another one 5 questions ago. This went on for an hour. I didn't find it productive after the first 15 minutes of the interview. If anything, if the interview goes too long like that it is a good indicator that they do not know how to hire correctly and an insight on what you could potentially be working with if hired.

Agreed with this wholeheartedly, I've done multiple competency interviews that have spanned on for nearly an hour, I feel that they are redundant in most jobs but understandable in a retail setting as they are behavioural questions, but at the end of the day if i'm applying for an office based position, don't you wan't to know what sort of person I am? They would have to work with me for a long time after all! Why not ask personality/experience/skill questions that relate to the job? Why can't they be fun?!

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i had a graduate-level class last semester focusing on industrial and organizational psychology, so i got to spend a lot of time learning about interview techniques from an academic perspective. i probably have notes on the STAR method, but i don't feel like digging them up lol.

competency questions are designed to gauge your character as an employee in a way that is less obvious than "do you lie?". because pretty much anyone is smart enough to say no to that, even if it's (ironically) not true.
emphasis on "as an employee". generally people do not live to serve their bosses. but employers want you to act like you do. being able to maintain and extend that act is key to being seen as a worthwhile hire.

like, say they're trying to gauge your integrity. they ask a question about what you should do if you found out a co-worker is stealing supplies.
most people wouldn't really give a shit, unless we're talking things that are really expensive and/or large. but staplers, pens, notepads, etc - not a big deal.
what the employers want you to say is that you would turn the co-worker in, then lick the employer's boots, then let the employer fuck your wife.

or, to make it a non-work related example, say they want to gauge how organized you are. instead of asking "are you an organized person", which most people say yes to, they ask about what condition your closet is in.
as in, do you organize things by type or color, do you just hang things anywhere, do you take care not to store clothes so that they wrinkle, etc.
doesn't matter what your actual closet looks like, tell them that everything is color-coordinated, sorted by type, nothing is crammed together, etc.

to answer the question: i do not like them, but i also do not like interviews. i HATE them. they are my personal hell, as an autistic person.
they're like masking turned up to 10000. an hour of bootlicking and bold-faced lies. they make every bone in my body ache, and my blood boil.
like, even though i have ~insider knowledge~ on how interviews should work, i can't guarantee that i won't cave under pressure and let something slip. i just can't lie to people like that.

Totally fair! I've felt that I've had to be very fake with these types of questions, and at some points I had to make up some of my stories to fit the question. I really feel like they are such a rigid way of interviewing that doesn't gauge the person in front of them. It's just a points based system and i well and truly despise it x'D

[Alister]

I ask these sorts of questions a lot in interviews but I'm not familiar with the STAR system and there's not a point system. It's also a more professional-level role. For some context, I'm hiring right now to fill a financial analyst role. "Financial analyst" is a massively generic title that can speak to a lot of different types of work experience so my intent with getting into the competency questions is to really dig into whether or not a candidate has the specific type of experience I'm hiring for, but in a way that doesn't ask a bunch of leading questions because I need to get an honest assessment for all our sakes.

"Tell me about a time that something got really stressful on a tight deadline and how you dealt with it" one candidate could answer they were in the middle of monthly close and some software crashed and they had to stay up all night to hit the deadline and one could tell me they had an annual planning presentation coming up and a business partner decided at the 11th hour they didn't agree with the proposed budget or staffing plans. Both of those are legit answers for people who have worked as analysts but they're two very different functions within a finance org, and only one of them would be relevant for my team.

[Hollow]

I ask these sorts of questions a lot in interviews but I'm not familiar with the STAR system and there's not a point system. It's also a more professional-level role. For some context, I'm hiring right now to fill a financial analyst role. "Financial analyst" is a massively generic title that can speak to a lot of different types of work experience so my intent with getting into the competency questions is to really dig into whether or not a candidate has the specific type of experience I'm hiring for, but in a way that doesn't ask a bunch of leading questions because I need to get an honest assessment for all our sakes.

"Tell me about a time that something got really stressful on a tight deadline and how you dealt with it" one candidate could answer they were in the middle of monthly close and some software crashed and they had to stay up all night to hit the deadline and one could tell me they had an annual planning presentation coming up and a business partner decided at the 11th hour they didn't agree with the proposed budget or staffing plans. Both of those are legit answers for people who have worked as analysts but they're two very different functions within a finance org, and only one of them would be relevant for my team.

the STAR method is a method that allows you to break down your answer for a competency based question, with answers like these you get scored from skilled, talented and unskilled (this is from my own experience and is probably different for most people)!

This is still super insightful, do you look for something very specific for a position like this?

[Alcremie]

Agreed with this wholeheartedly, I've done multiple competency interviews that have spanned on for nearly an hour, I feel that they are redundant in most jobs but understandable in a retail setting as they are behavioural questions, but at the end of the day if i'm applying for an office based position, don't you wan't to know what sort of person I am? They would have to work with me for a long time after all! Why not ask personality/experience/skill questions that relate to the job? Why can't they be fun?!

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Totally fair! I've felt that I've had to be very fake with these types of questions, and at some points I had to make up some of my stories to fit the question. I really feel like they are such a rigid way of interviewing that doesn't gauge the person in front of them. It's just a points based system and i well and truly despise it x'D

I can't get the exact numbers, thanks to Indeed being an ass. I did 1000+ applications, 17 interviews 6 of which I didn't do. 2 offers. SO MANY applications had pre assessments that gauged how much of an asslicker you are. Searching for jobs was an absolute soul sucker. I also hate interviews and some I was a nervous wreck for most of them. Finally got a job and only had one question she asked me the rest was her telling about the job perks lol. So glad I finally lucked out. We are all introverts working remotely so I really got lucky there. I feel like too many interviews are scenario questions and not personality questions, absolutely. I found this more often with bigger corporations. All to see if you are an ass licking robot. Smaller companies would ask better questions.

STAR based interviews are hell but man, I do not like the look of recruiting in the near future. There is an increase of the 1-way interview. So for anyone who is not neurotypical it is going to be an absolute nightmare, more than it is now.

[Hollow]

I can't get the exact numbers, thanks to Indeed being an ass. I did 1000+ applications, 17 interviews 6 of which I didn't do. 2 offers. SO MANY applications had pre assessments that gauged how much of an asslicker you are. Searching for jobs was an absolute soul sucker. I also hate interviews and some I was a nervous wreck for most of them. Finally got a job and only had one question she asked me the rest was her telling about the job perks lol. So glad I finally lucked out. We are all introverts working remotely so I really got lucky there. I feel like too many interviews are scenario questions and not personality questions, absolutely. I found this more often with bigger corporations. All to see if you are an ass licking robot. Smaller companies would ask better questions.

STAR based interviews are hell but man, I do not like the look of recruiting in the near future. There is an increase of the 1-way interview. So for anyone who is not neurotypical it is going to be an absolute nightmare, more than it is now.

Congrats on the job!!! I've been on the job hunt for the last 6 months, it's been hell. I agree with what you've said, it's incredibly soul sucking, it's like I have to be an entirely different person with those questions D: My first ever competency based interview was such a train wreck, I literally did not know how to answer the questions, I was floored. I walked out of that and was like lmao I totally did not get that job x'D

[♥ Harvest Goddess ♥]

Name a time you ____ questions always make me uncomfortable.

I get oddly nervous? Like my qualifications and skills aren't enough of an asset you have to see how I handle questions that don't pertain the roll.

It's like when I was applying for a chiropractic office and they had me take an online assessment that was algebra, when I went to the working interview I had no algebra, but because I didn't pass the algebraic portion they didn't move forward with hiring.

It was disheartening.