Interview competency based questions

There are many questions that you could be asked in an interview situation, covering a variety of different themes. The questions listed here are to help you practise your interview skills they are not an indication of what you will be asked.

Relationships

  • Team working is key in our team, give me an example of when you do this.
  • Tell us about a situation where you played an important role in a project team (not as a leader), and how you managed the relationships with your colleagues.
  • Tell me about a time when you have led on a piece of work, and had to rely on others to achieve the task.
  • Describe a situation in which you were a member (not a leader) of a team, and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?

Communications / influencing skills

  • Tell me about a situation where your communication skills made a difference to a situation?
  • Describe a situation where you had to deal with an angry customer.
  • Describe a time when you had to influence someone who was reluctant to achieve the objectives.
  • Tell us about a time when you have had to deliver bad news and how you have managed the situation.

Ability to deal with change and flexibility

  • Describe a situation where you were asked to do something you had never done before, and how you achieved it.
  • Describe a situation where your project experienced a setback due to an unexpected change in circumstances, and how you managed this situation to a positive outcome.
  • Tell us about the biggest change that you have had to deal with, and how you managed it.

Compliance

  • How do you ensure compliance with policies across a wide number of parties?
  • Tell us about a time when you have challenged a policy or procedure?

Conflict management

  • Tell us about a time when you had to deal with a conflict within your team.
  • Give us an example where you were unable to deal with a difficult member of your team, and how you managed it.

Creativity and Innovation

  • Tell us about a project or situation where you felt that the conventional approach would not be suitable, and the challenges you faced.
  • Describe something you have done that was new and different for your organisation that improved performance and/or productivity.
  • Tell me about a recent problem in which old solutions wouldn't work. How did you solve the problem?

Decision making

  • Give an example of a time when you have delayed a decision to reflect on the situation, explain the impact of this decision.
  • Give an example of a situation where you had to make a decision which would affect the whole team?
  • Tell us about a time when you had to make a decision without knowledge of the full facts. How did you manage this outcome?
  • Tell us about a situation where you made a decision that involuntarily impacted negatively on others. How did you make that decision and how did you handle its consequences?

Delegation

  • Give an example of a project where you have made best use of delegation, and explain your process for doing this.
  • Give an example of a project or task that you felt compelled to complete on your own. What stopped you from delegating?
  • Give an example where you delegated a task to the wrong person, what learning did you take from it?

Leadership

  • Tell us about a situation where you had to get a team to improve its performance, explain how you addressed it.
  • Describe a time where you had to drive a team through change. How did you achieve this?
  • Describe a situation where you needed to inspire a team. What challenges did you meet and how did you achieve your objectives?
  • Describe a situation where you had to ensure that your "actions spoke louder than your words" to a team.

Customer Focus

  • Give an example of how you provided a service to a client/stakeholder that went beyond their expectations.
  • Explain a situation where you have improved customer service and reduced costs.
  • Describe how you meet difficult customers/stakeholders needs whilst still meeting the wider organisations objectives?

Results Orientation

  • Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a goal that has meant a lot to you.
  • Describe something you have done to improve the performance of your work.

Developing Others

  • Tell me about a time when you coached someone to help them improve their skills or job performance. What did you do?
  • Give me an example of a time when you recognised that a member of your team had a performance difficulty/deficiency. What did you do?
  • Give an example of when you have developed someone who wasn't part of your team, but who you interacted with regularly.

Time management

  • Give an example of a time when your time schedule or project plan changed because of unforeseen circumstances.
  • Tell me about a time you had many tasks to complete at the same time, and how you prioritised them?
  • Tell me how you organise your work and schedule your time?

Organisation

  • In your present job, what is your top priority? How did you establish that?
  • What methods would you use for keeping track of matters requiring your attention?

Analytical

  • Tell me about a time when you identified a new approach to a problem.

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