Interview Technique
Many of Hunter Jameson’s clients assess talent using competency and capability based interview frameworks. The rationale behind this approach is the belief that past experience is the best gauge of future performance and a strong predictor of future behaviour. Interview questions are designed to elicit detailed examples of where you have applied relevant skills and capabilities or displayed behaviours and values that are deemed paramount by the hiring organisation.
Overview of Capability Based Interviewing
Capability based interviewing is a structured interview approach which aims to gather evidence of how well a candidate will perform in particular types of role. This is achieved by asking candidates to describe past experiences of when they have demonstrated particular competencies or job relevant behaviours. In order to be able to fully understand your appropriateness for a specific role type it is important to talk about specific past experiences rather than your general way of working. It is also important that you describe what you actually did, rather than talking about the performance of a team you were a member of.
The following are typical formats for capability based interview questions:
“Can you provide an example of a situation where you have had to deal with a potential conflict with an internal or external client and how did you resolve it?”
“Can you tell us about the biggest change that you have had to deal with. How did you cope with it?”
“Describe a situation where you have had to explain something complex to a colleague or a client. What issues did you encounter and how did you deal with them?”
“Demonstrate how you vary your communication approach according to the audience that you are addressing?”
“Tell us about a project or situation where you felt that the conventional approach would not be suitable. How did you derive and manage a new approach? Which challenges did you face and how did you address them?”
Things to think about
Before attending the interview:
- Think about what kinds of behaviours may be important to perform well in the job
- Think about times in the past when you have demonstrated your abilities e.g. successful projects you have worked on, convincing a difficult audience, analysing a large amount of information.
- Think through exactly what you did in these scenarios and separate your own actions from those of any team you were a part of.
During the interview:
- Listen carefully to the question and make sure you provide an example of what is being asked, not just telling the interviewer what you want them to know.
- Talk about a specific example, not about how you generally act.
- Talk about what you did and how you did it
