Competency based interview; large utilities company
Discussion
Ask for the person specification and/or competency framework ahead of the interview if possible.
You'll usually get around 6-7 competency based questions. In the public sector one of these is virtually guaranteed to be a diversity awareness type of question. The rest might be things like teamworking, working under pressure, time management/organisation skills, customer focus/communication skills and so on. Look at the person specification etc for clues.
Frame your answers using the STAR format
Situation/Task - briefly describe the issue/problem and what needed to be done.
Action - describe in a decent amount of detail what YOU did (either on your own or within the team) to address the issue or meet the goal. Use non-technical language where possible or explain jargon if necessary, as HR staff may not otherwise understand (this will often get you extra points for communication skills/style)
Result - what was the result? Did it all work out? Was the client happy, the problem fixed or the deadline met? If not what did you learn from it and how have you done (or how would you do) things differently since?
Any buzzwords or phrases in the person specification that jump out at you (e.g. delegate, teamworking, prioritise) should be squeezed into your examples as it will make it easier for the interviewers to understand how your example answers their question.
You'll usually get around 6-7 competency based questions. In the public sector one of these is virtually guaranteed to be a diversity awareness type of question. The rest might be things like teamworking, working under pressure, time management/organisation skills, customer focus/communication skills and so on. Look at the person specification etc for clues.
Frame your answers using the STAR format
Situation/Task - briefly describe the issue/problem and what needed to be done.
Action - describe in a decent amount of detail what YOU did (either on your own or within the team) to address the issue or meet the goal. Use non-technical language where possible or explain jargon if necessary, as HR staff may not otherwise understand (this will often get you extra points for communication skills/style)
Result - what was the result? Did it all work out? Was the client happy, the problem fixed or the deadline met? If not what did you learn from it and how have you done (or how would you do) things differently since?
Any buzzwords or phrases in the person specification that jump out at you (e.g. delegate, teamworking, prioritise) should be squeezed into your examples as it will make it easier for the interviewers to understand how your example answers their question.
Oldbanger is absolutely spot on. Particularly regarding star format and public sector diversity question. Some other questions, and the areas they relate to.
Customer focus
Detail a time you went above and beyond in reaching and exceeding customer requirements.
Performance, drive and results
Detail a time that you were given conflicting duties that interfered with your priorities. How did you manage these and what was the outcome?
Describe a time when you overcame challenging objectives to meet a goal on time.
Collaborative working
Detail a time you built relationships with a view to achieving a goal.
HTH.
Describe a time somebody disagreed with a decision you made. How did you overcome this disagreement, and what was the outcome?
Customer focus
Detail a time you went above and beyond in reaching and exceeding customer requirements.
Performance, drive and results
Detail a time that you were given conflicting duties that interfered with your priorities. How did you manage these and what was the outcome?
Describe a time when you overcame challenging objectives to meet a goal on time.
Collaborative working
Detail a time you built relationships with a view to achieving a goal.
HTH.
Describe a time somebody disagreed with a decision you made. How did you overcome this disagreement, and what was the outcome?
x type said:
If the utility company has a website , have a damn good read of that as well , it may not all be about Competency
neighbour of mine had an interview with my local utility company and they asked a fair bit about the company goals etc. all to be found on their website
Yes I agree with this as well. Plus it's worth googling the company name to see what's in the news about them and about the energy industry as a whole.neighbour of mine had an interview with my local utility company and they asked a fair bit about the company goals etc. all to be found on their website
I've been interviewing in the last couple of weeks and it's shocking how few candidates could answer basic questions about the company and thus fell at the first hurdle. Amazingly, internal candidates were the worst!
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