Competency-Based Interviews, Revised Edition: How to Master the Tough Interview Style Used by the Fortune 500s

by Robin Kessler

Overview

People interviewing for jobs today often fail because they are using yesterday's strategies. Technology is becoming more sophisticated and virtual assessment centers are being used to assess how strong candidates are in key competency areas. Global competencies are being used to help organizations choose people for international assignments or simply to work on diverse international teams.

The best employers are constantly changing the way interviews are done. This newly revised edition of Competency-Based Interviews offers you a new and more effective way to handle the tough new interviews so that you will emphasize the knowledge, skills, and abilities that you have and that employers demand.

Preparing for a competency-based interview will give you the strategy you need to:

• Be selected for the most competitive positions
• Win the best job at a new organization
• Get a great first job or internship
• Be chosen for that critical promotion in your current organization
• Take control of your career path
• Increase your salary
• Secure more interesting assignments and more interesting work

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781601632210
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	06/22/2012
Series:	Competency-Based Series
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Robin Kessler is currently president of The Interview Coach, a human resources and career consulting firm in Houston, Texas. She has more than 20 years experience improving interviews, resumes, presentations, and organization communications as a human resources professional, consultant, career coach, and adjunct professor. Kessler is author of Competency-Based Interviews and Competency-Based Resumes, the first books to teach people to write their resumes and prepare for interviews considering the competencies employers are looking for. She has trained managers and employees to write effective, competency-based statements on their performance reviews and to communicate about competency-based accomplishments. She has her B.A. and M.B.A. from Northwestern University.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Understand Competency-Based Interview Systems

When we were students most of us realized the importance of understanding what the teacher or professor was looking for — which assignments were required and which were optional. If we are playing sports, we need to understand the strengths, vulnerabilities, and game plan of our opponent, even if we are the number-one seed in the tournament. When we give a business presentation, we need to understand the needs and interests of the audience before we start developing the speech. Figuring out what other people are expecting is critical to success in most if not all aspects of life. In an interview, we simply have to convince them that we will fit well in the organization and have the skills needed to do the job.

Before you start preparing for an interview, it is important to understand the method of interviewing that will be used by the interviewer. Some organizations are still fairly traditional in their approach to interviewing. Many hiring managers still make decisions about candidates based simply on whether or not they like them. In addition, they may focus on whether the candidate meets their basic requirement on credentials, such as grades and class standing. Many law firms and more traditional companies are still interviewing candidates this way. Some hiring managers use hypothetical questions that ask what a candidate would do in a given scenario. People who like this interview style believe it gives them a chance to see how candidates think on their feet, but many others believe that it is not as effective as finding out how individuals have performed in the past. This type of interview, which has been used by consulting firms for years, includes questions based on hypothetical and real cases, and can be used to assess a candidate's ability to answer difficult case-study questions under pressure while the interviewer assesses his or her strengths in key competency areas. (SeeChapter 13 for details on case-study interviews.) That said, most organizations with good reputations have realized that the old-style interviews aren't terribly effective in helping them choose employees. They've changed to the newer, competency-based interview style because they believe in staying current. According to Dr. Amy Conn, a senior consultant for assessment solutions at Personnel Decisions, Inc., one of the consulting groups working closely with Fortune 500 companies to develop and improve competency-based systems, "Competency-based interviews are clearly the most widely used approach to an interview." Recognizing how the labor market has changed — and learning how to make those changes work for you — can be the difference between success and failure.

What's Changed?

The most sophisticated employers are primarily using competency-based interview systems to select candidates. If you haven't interviewed recently or if you come from a different culture, you probably know you need some help to do well in the interview. Some candidates think they know what to expect in the interview, and it may take a few bad experiences before they decide their old approach is not working as well as it used to. But even if you are articulate, think well on your feet, have the best credentials, and are confident you are a great candidate, preparing for any interview is important. Remember that how well you perform on the interview gives the interviewers an idea of the quality of work they can expect from you in the future. Whether you are writing a resume, preparing for an interview, or getting ready for a performance review, becoming more aware of what competencies the employer is looking for is the first step toward success. The next step? Learn how to prove to the employer that you are strong in these critical competency areas.

How Does a Competency-Based Interview Work?

Very simply, a competency-based interview is a highly structured interview that involves the use of behavioral questions to help the interviewer assess the candidate based on critical competencies that have already been identified by the employer. Key questions help the interviewer(s) determine how strong candidates are in specific competency areas.

Key Definition

Competency-based interviews are highly structured and use behavioral questions to help the interviewer assess candidates based on critical competencies identified for the position.

* * *

Whether you are a candidate who wants to work for an organization using competency-based systems or an employee currently working in a competency-based company, it is important to recognize that it may be time to change your own approach to the process. Retool and retrain. Adjust the sails. Add a warm-up period before running. It's time to accept the fact that in today's most sophisticated organizations, almost all are using competency-based interviews.

The most commonly used competency-based interviewing style involves asking candidates primary questions targeted to the critical competencies for the position. Almost every major consulting firm working to help organizations identify competencies, including Lominger, Personnel Decisions International, Hay Group, and Hewitt Associates, encourages its clients to use structured, competency-based interviewing approach that they have developed. One well-known example of this approach is targeted selection interviewing, which was developed by the consulting firm Development Dimensions, Inc. The firm markets targeted selection on its Website by saying it uses behavioral interviewing and helps organizations:

* Identify the competencies needed for all key positions.

* Build interviewing skills and confidence for more accurate selection decisions.

* Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the employee selection process.

Another approach starts with the manager asking a question about a major accomplishment and then asking follow-up questions to probe for additional information about competencies, strengths, and weaknesses. An example of this approach can be found in Lou Adler's The One Question Interview. In both styles, managers are taught to ask candidates behavioral questions, based on the theory that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. In other words, past success is the best predictor of future success. The managers are then asked to assess how competent the candidate is in several critical areas. Both interview styles are covered in more detail later in this chapter.

Key Definition

Behavioral questions are based on the theory that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.

* * *

In order to perform well in a competency-based interview, we need to first understand the two basic interview styles that consider competencies.

Most Typical Approach to Competency-Based Interviews Example: Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has worked with competency-based interviewing for more than 15 years. It has developed interview guides for its senior leaders/executives, for its people, for its individual leaders (professionals and managers), and for campus interviewing. According to Susan Millard, former Vice President for Strategic Talent Management at Johnson & Johnson, "Predicting future success on the job and the competencies that matter the most to performance, and operating with the highest ethical standards are critical to assure we have the talent needed to power our growth and culture at J&J." The company's 2005 recruiting event with 700 MBAs and managers was as successful as it was because interviewers used their updated competency-based Global Leadership Profile Interview Guides and were able to identify some particularly strong candidates. These interview guides review how the interviewer should prepare before the interview, suggest ways to open the interview, ask the interviewer to review the candidate's background and ask questions, and provide several behavioral questions for each critical competency for the position that interviewers can choose from. The interviewer is asked to rate the candidate on competency and communication skills.

Though every competency is very important, I chose to show you the Results and Performance Driven example, because it represents one of the most frequently used competencies. Other organizations sometimes use different words to describe the same competency, such as:

* Achieves Results

* Drive for Results

* Performance Bias

* Achieves Goals

Results and Performance Driven

(For explanations of the ratings for the previous chart, see Chapter 3.)

Another Approach

Another current approach to interviewing starts with one question and asks the candidate a series of follow-up questions to probe for additional information. This interview technique provides an interesting and different way to assess a candidate by listening for evidence of the candidate's competency (and critical competencies) in his/her answers. The basic technique can be found in this excerpt from an article by consultant Lou Adler, whose firm, Adler Concepts, teaches interviewing skills to major clients. He encourages interviewers to first ask the candidate to think about his or her most significant accomplishment, and then to tell the interviewer about it. Interviewers are then directed to probe for the following information about the accomplishment from the candidate, a process that takes about 15 to 20 minutes:

* A complete description of the accomplishment.

* The company you worked for and what it did.

* The actual results achieved: numbers, facts, changes made, details, amounts.

* When it took place.

* How long it took.

* The importance of this accomplishment to the company.

* Your title and role.

* Why you were chosen.

* The three or four biggest challenges you faced and how you dealt with them.

* A few examples of leadership and initiative.

* Some of the major decisions made.

* The environment and resources available.

* How you made more resources available.

* The technical skills needed to accomplish the objective.

* The technical skills learned and how long it took to learn them.

* The actual role you played.

* The team involved and all of the reporting relationships.

* Some of the biggest mistakes you made.

* How you changed and grew as a person.

* What you would do differently if you could do it again.

* Aspects of the project you truly enjoyed.

* Aspects you didn't especially care for.

* The budget available and your role in preparing it and/or managing it.

* How you did on the project vs. the plan.

* How you developed the plan.

* How you motivated and influenced others, with specific examples to prove your claims.

* How you dealt with conflict, with specific examples.

* Anything else you felt was important to the success of the project.

Adler encourages interviewers to conduct this type of interview because he believes "the insight gained from this type of question would be remarkable. Just about everything you need to know about a person's competency can be extracted from this type of question."

Comparing These Two Types of Interviews

Both types give the interviewers substantive, useful information about candidates. Both ask the interviewers to determine how strong the candidate is in critical competency areas important to be successful in the position. The most common approach looks at several of the most critical competencies and asks the candidate to answer behavioral questions targeting these competencies. The other approach digs deeper into just one or two accomplishments and asks the candidate to look at these accomplishments from different perspectives, including competencies.

So why does all this matter? If you can figure out which type is being used in an interview, you'll be able to give the interviewer better answers. By following the advice in this book, you'll be prepared for both types of interviews — and any variations that may be developed in the future. You need to start thinking about how to prepare for these types of interviews. However, this book will place greater emphasis on helping you to prepare for the first type because it is so much more common.

When you use accomplishments to prove you are strong in each relevant competency during an interview, you can expect follow-up questions to probe how much you know or simply to clarify something that is unclear to the interviewer. It's a good idea to figure out ahead of time how each accomplishment can provide evidence in more than one competency area. As you think about each accomplishment, brainstorm possible follow-up questions you could be asked in order to obtain information about several key competency areas. If you do that, you will be ready for either type of interview. Be smart, be savvy, and figure out what you can expect before the interview.

Key Points for Chapter 1

"Competency-based interviews are clearly the most widely used approach to an interview."

— Dr. Amy Conn, Personnel Decisions International

CHAPTER 2

Identify Key Competencies

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.

— Woodrow Wilson

I believe in being smart as you can before the actual interview. Taking the time to learn what the organization is looking for before the interview is critical if you want to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job. If you need to borrow the information from other people, as Woodrow Wilson likely would have done, or by doing online research, take the hint from Nike's ad campaign: Just do it. (Nike, by the way, is another company that works with competencies.)

Countries sharing the same language can have different priorities regarding competencies, and within each country different organizations will have different needs — and different competencies. Organizations develop their own lists of competencies and often work closely with consultants to benefit from their expertise in competencies and competency modeling. Conservative companies tend to emphasize very different competencies than more progressive organizations, such as Ben and Jerry's or Starbucks. Think of the difference between United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, for example. Or IBM and Apple. That said, competencies tend to be consistent with the corporate culture that senior managers are trying to create. What is the best way to figure out what the hiring manager will be looking for in the interview? Competencies are a great place to start.

Some organizations list competencies for their positions in their online advertisements. Key competencies (also called success factors, dimensions, and values) may also be part of recruiters' job descriptions. Other organizations may not explicitly list their competencies, but they are still looking for candidates who have the competencies needed to be succesful in those positions. Whether or not a company formally identifies such competencies, however, all companies are looking for people who have the competencies needed to be successful in their position.

* * *

For example, Boeing listed an opportunity on an industry-specific jobsite called PowerJobsDirect.com in March of 2012 for a human resources general manager position in Vienna, Virginia. They included a list of the competencies required for the position and broke them into categories:

Boeing Leadership Attributes: General Competencies:

[ + ] Charts the Course [ + ] Building Organizational Talent
[ + ] Delivers Results [ + ] Customer Focus
[ + ] Finds a Way [ + ] Establish Strategic Direction
[ + ] Inspires Others [ + ] Managing Conflict Technical Competencies:
[ + ] Lives the Boeing Values [ + ] HR Practices/Processes
[ + ] Sets High Expectations [ + ] Influencing Others

When competencies are not explicitly identified, you need to identify them on your own, before the interview. The four major steps to identifying a company's competencies are:

1. Think about the obvious competencies for the position.

2. Look at advertisements and postings from competitors.

3. Compile a list of competencies from other sources, including employment Websites, advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and journals, professional associations, and the organization's Website.

4. Select 10 to 15 competencies that would be the most critical for the position you are interested in from Appendix A.

If you already work for an organization and need to interview for a promotion or a new position, you may be able to find the relevant list of competencies for the position:

* On the company Website.

* On performance appraisals for employees currently in the position.

* In employee handbooks or other company manuals.

* By asking a colleague or friend working in that department.

One of the main ways you can show how strong a candidate you are is by doing your homework. Take the initiative — be resourceful, and make every effort to find out what the company values most. Even if the organization hasn't stated this explicitly, you can still make an educated guess about the most critical competencies.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Competency-Based Interviews"
by .
Copyright © 2012 Robin Kessler.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Understand Competency-Based Interview Systems 19

Chapter 2 Identify Key Competencies 29

Chapter 3 Know What Interviewers Are Trained to Look For 41

Chapter 4 Expect Competency-Based Behavioral Questions 51

Chapter 5 Prove Competencies With Examples 59

Chapter 6 Present Yourself as a Strong Candidate 69

Chapter 7 Consider Other Important Interview Tips 79

Mid-Book Review 89

Chapter 8 Look at Case Studies for Ideas to Make Your Interviewing Stronger 101

Chapter 9 Understand How a Typical Competency-Based Interview Flows 115

Chapter 10 Learn From Other Interviewees 123

Chapter 11 Stay Current With Interview Technology and Practices 137

Chapter 12 Develop Global Competencies for the Future 151

Chapter 13 Send a Thank-You Note, Follow Up, Get the Offer, and Negotiate 163

Chapter 14 Actively Manage Your Career in Competency-Based Organizations 171

Chapter 15 Use Competency-Based Resumes to Get Your Next Interview 179

Chapter 16 Think Long-Term and Make Change Work for You 189

Appendix A List of Core Competencies 193

Appendix B Competencies for Case Studies 205

Appendix C Examples of Illegal Interview Questions 211

Notes 213

Bibliography 215

Index 217

About the Author 223

Editorial Reviews

"This book will provide any candidate with a successful game plan to tackle even the most difficult competency-based interview."
—Dennis Donovan, former Executive VP of Human Resources, Home Depot

Reviews

"This book will provide any candidate with a successful game plan to tackle even the most difficult competency-based interview."
—Dennis Donovan, former Executive VP of Human Resources, Home Depot

From the Publisher