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

[Hollow]

*if this is in the wrong section please movie it to SPAM, I just want to have a general discussion (and rant lmao) about interviews*

Hey!

A question and discussion for you all!

How do you feel about competency based questions, especially in an interview? How do you nail it? Do you use the STAR method? (STAR - Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Competencies are the absolute bane of my interviewing existence. In every way possible. I just can NOT. I understand this method very very well and it's a pain in my arse. I personally don't feel like it's a good way to gauge someone's experience and skill for a job. Most "Tell me about a time" question has no relation to the job I'm interviewing for, it's like they are purposely made to be tricky, like why? Why can't you gauge me based on my personality and experience? It's like they only want to hear the STAR method, if you don't answer in such a way then rip lmao.

I personally don't feel like it's the best way to judge someone's personality or job skills? I suppose that's not the point of them? Idk? Help me understand ;u;

Idk lmao.

What do you all think? Have you ever encountered these types of interviews? What do you think? Am I just over reacting at this point lmao. yes, yes i am

[Rebel_Minx]

The last time I heard this type of questioning in an interview was early this year. ButbI thought the questions were fair and I could see why how I answered would help determine if I was a good fit for the team. I was interviewing for a gas station position, sales clerk. So, maybe it is less fair questioning for more substantial career type jobs? I'm not sure.

[Hollow]

Yeah perhaps! I think I've become so frustrated by this style of interviewing, I don't remember the last time i had one where it was (fun) but also engaging. I find competencies really non-genuine in an interviewing format?

[kittyray]

I hate these because it all feels so...rehearsed? I know all interviews are rhearsed to some degree, but with STAR stuff it's like it's all about thinking of some generic stories which you can fit to several questions and then convincing the interviewer that it actually applies.

[Hollow]

I hate these because it all feels so...rehearsed? I know all interviews are rhearsed to some degree, but with STAR stuff it's like it's all about thinking of some generic stories which you can fit to several questions and then convincing the interviewer that it actually applies.

this

THIS

Exactly this right here. I simply CAN NOT. I literally have to BS my way through the STAR method, I've seen people get positions they were not fit for based on the competency system, it really doesn't pick out people that can do the job? I know that sounds super harsh but that's just my experiences with what I've seen ;u;

[Jesuslovescats]

Yeah perhaps! I think I've become so frustrated by this style of interviewing, I don't remember the last time i had one where it was (fun) but also engaging. I find competencies really non-genuine in an interviewing format?

You nailed how I feel about this: non-genuine.

[Hollow]

I also forgot to mention, competency based interviews are based on a point system as well.

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You nailed how I feel about this: non-genuine.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that feels that way, it's such a rigid system!

[birdies]

To be honest, I think just about all interviews include these now. It's best to prepare a couple of scenarios you think might come up and then it's usually quite easy to fudge the situation to fit.

I sometimes go completely left field on these questions too. When I interviewed in my current job I told them about a time my chair got stuck and trapped me under a desk and I had to free myself - absolutely nothing to do with the job but it was memorable and made them laugh.

Having done quite a lot of recruitment, these questions can be helpful. When I'm hiring for a team where I need colleagues to be able to work and make decisions independently, but know when it's time to escalate a situation to management, chatting through a few tricky situations they've dealt with in their current work can help me see if they're able to think on their feet and make appropriate decisions. Talking about how you handle difficult situations can be a really good insight into your personality.

Hiring is really difficult. I've hired two people in the last couple of years who had personalities that seemed like a great fit, but who turned out to be very different in a work environment. Anything I can use to help me gauge whether someone might be the right fit for the role is fair game.

[DarkSkies]

Ohh at the beginning I though we were talking about the knowledge tests lol (which I'm always afraid because I'm more on the practice stuff than theory).

But yeah the STAR approach was on my last interview especially because the position required quick damage control. It wasn't a problem for me because I'm working on a company that also requires fast response with similar business orientation, and they already knew my background because someone knew someone else on my company and you know, they shared info (I understand the point, still I kinda felt weird about it tbh...)

It was going well but I didn't continue at the end for personal stuff. I'm still job hunting and I can't help but feel sometimes that I'm unprepared even though I had some years of experience. I guess a combination between fear of change and wanting to study more to feel better with myself and competencia and all that work world stuff

Sorry I needed to rant a bit

[Hollow]

To be honest, I think just about all interviews include these now. It's best to prepare a couple of scenarios you think might come up and then it's usually quite easy to fudge the situation to fit.

I sometimes go completely left field on these questions too. When I interviewed in my current job I told them about a time my chair got stuck and trapped me under a desk and I had to free myself - absolutely nothing to do with the job but it was memorable and made them laugh.

Having done quite a lot of recruitment, these questions can be helpful. When I'm hiring for a team where I need colleagues to be able to work and make decisions independently, but know when it's time to escalate a situation to management, chatting through a few tricky situations they've dealt with in their current work can help me see if they're able to think on their feet and make appropriate decisions. Talking about how you handle difficult situations can be a really good insight into your personality.

Hiring is really difficult. I've hired two people in the last couple of years who had personalities that seemed like a great fit, but who turned out to be very different in a work environment. Anything I can use to help me gauge whether someone might be the right fit for the role is fair game.

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?

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Ohh at the beginning I though we were talking about the knowledge tests lol (which I'm always afraid because I'm more on the practice stuff than theory).

But yeah the STAR approach was on my last interview especially because the position required quick damage control. It wasn't a problem for me because I'm working on a company that also requires fast response with similar business orientation, and they already knew my background because someone knew someone else on my company and you know, they shared info (I understand the point, still I kinda felt weird about it tbh...)

It was going well but I didn't continue at the end for personal stuff. I'm still job hunting and I can't help but feel sometimes that I'm unprepared even though I had some years of experience. I guess a combination between fear of change and wanting to study more to feel better with myself and competencia and all that work world stuff

Sorry I needed to rant a bit

No problem! I rant about this topic a lot x'D I hope the job search goes well for you, and I'm glad your able to nail those competencies!