Have you experienced the disappointment of hiring candidates who do not fit your company culture or deliver the expected results?

If so, it is time to consider Competency-Based Interviews, a technique that can help you evaluate a candidate's knowledge, skills, and attitudes to determine the right fit for your organization.

Understanding Competency-Based Interviews

Competency-based interviews focus on the skills and attributes directly related to job performance. Instead of asking hypothetical questions, interviewers target real-world scenarios to assess how candidates have demonstrated vital competencies in their past experiences. For technology professionals, this means evaluating technical expertise and soft skills like problem-solving, communication, and teamwork.

During the interview, selectors can identify specific patterns in the candidate's behavior, such as their approach to group or leadership relationship conflicts. This helps the selectors assess whether the candidate fits the company's values and has the required problem-solving skills.

How to prepare for a Competency-Based interview

You should create an environment in which candidates feel comfortable discussing their experiences. The competency interview is different from the traditional interview because it takes a behavioral approach. You needs to gather all the necessary information to ensure a fair assessment to select the right candidate by following these steps:

• Know the company's values: you must know the organizational culture and values.
• Detail the necessary skills: After understanding the company's values, it is time to detail the skills required for the position. Creating an "ideal professional" persona can help you eliminate communication noise and work towards a single goal.
• Create a welcoming atmosphere: To facilitate a competency-based interview, the recruiter/hiring manager must create a warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes the professional feel free to show who they are. This allows you/the recruiter to assess based on reality consistent with the professional's mindset.
• Ask the right questions: You/The recruiter needs to ask questions that bring up situations experienced by the candidate and that show some of their personality and character. Quantifying the answers on a numerical scale can help in comparing different responses.

 

The Core Competencies in Technology

In the dynamic field of technology, specific competencies are highly valued. These may include:

1. Technical Proficiency: Assessing a candidate's expertise in relevant programming languages, tools, and platforms.
2. Problem-solving: Evaluating how candidates approach and solve complex technical challenges.
3. Adaptability: Gauging the ability to adapt to evolving technologies and industry trends.
4. Communication Skills: Assessing how well candidates can articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
5. Collaboration: Understanding the candidate's ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.

 

How to Conduct Competency-Based Interviews

1. Identify Key Competencies: Clearly define the competencies crucial for success in the specific technology role.
2. Develop Targeted Questions: Craft questions that prompt candidates to provide specific examples of when they have demonstrated each competency.
3. Listen for STAR Responses: Pay attention to the Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) structure in candidate responses. This helps in understanding the context, actions taken, and outcomes achieved.
4. Use Technical Assessments: Incorporate practical exercises or technical assessments to evaluate hands-on skills.

 

Examples of Competency-based interview questions

These questions aim to uncover specific examples from a candidate's past experiences, allowing you to assess their competencies and suitability for the technology roles you are staffing. Here are a few examples tailored for technology professionals:

• Technical Proficiency: Can you describe a complex technical challenge you faced in your previous role? What programming languages, tools, or technologies were involved, and how did you overcome the challenge?
• Problem-Solving: Share an example of when you had to troubleshoot and resolve a critical issue under tight deadlines. What approach did you take, and what was the outcome?
• Adaptability: Technology is constantly evolving. Can you provide an example of how you stayed updated with emerging trends and implemented new technologies to improve a project or process?
• Communication Skills: Describe a situation where you had to explain a complex technical concept to a non-technical stakeholder. How did you ensure clear communication, and what was the result?
• Collaboration: Give an example of a project where you collaborated with cross-functional teams. How did you ensure effective communication and coordination among team members with diverse skill sets?
• Attention to Detail: Discuss a project where a small detail made a significant difference. How did you ensure accuracy, and what impact did it have on the project's success?
• Leadership (if applicable): Have you ever taken a leadership role in a technical project? Describe the challenges you faced, how you motivated your team, and the ultimate outcome of the project.
• Conflict Resolution: Technology projects can encounter conflicts. Share an experience where you had to resolve a disagreement within your team. How did you approach the situation, and what was the resolution?
• Continuous Learning: In the rapidly changing tech landscape, continuous learning is crucial. Can you provide an example of how you proactively sought to expand your skills or knowledge in a specific area?
• Project Management: Describe a project you managed from conception to completion. How did you plan and organize the project, and what strategies did you use to ensure it was delivered on time and within scope?

 

The Benefits

Competency-based interviews offer several advantages:

• Accuracy in Assessment: By honing in on specific competencies, you gain a more accurate understanding of a candidate's potential for success in a given role.
• Consistency: The structured nature of competency-based interviews allows for a consistent evaluation process across all candidates.
• Informed Decision-Making: Armed with detailed insights into a candidate's capabilities, you can make more informed decisions about placements.

In conclusion, competency-based interviews are a valuable strategy for companies seeking to match professionals with the right opportunities. By focusing on the competencies that matter most in the tech industry, these interviews provide a comprehensive view of a candidate's potential to excel in their role. We hope this article will help you design a more assertive recruitment process to attract top talent and build a great team.

 

 

Every company wants to attract talent for their Job Openings. Most of them make mistakes in their Job Descriptions while communicating with candidates about their business challenges. We see all Job Descriptions: Funny, Long, Boring, and Effective. If you read job descriptions online, you will realize that some are not attractive or unsuitable to connect great professionals to their opportunities.

 

• If this is a remote meeting, your appearance should be the same as for a face-to-face interview. I think a good impression is essential. We interviewed people who were in their pajamas :)
• Bad-mouthing the boss and the previous company is not a good idea.
• Arrogance, after doing very well at the beginning of the selection process. We've already had cases of a professional who did very well in the first two stages, arrived arrogant for the final conversation, and was rejected. In a second example of arrogance, we already had cases of professionals who entered an interview to say that they were "evaluating the market." The recruiter and the company felt they should not spend time with a professional who was not interested in the company and the opportunity.
• It's not a good idea to say you're an anxious person only, but instead, conclude your thoughts by sharing situations and solutions that you engineered for problems individually and working in a team. When asked about flaws, discuss the points you need to develop in your career and tell practical cases.
• Start answering before listening to the recruiter's question. Don't be wordy; consider the size of the answer. You must balance being direct and objective and getting lost in too-long responses.
• Be imprecise about salary. Please be open about how much you must pay for your current lifestyle.
• We enjoy it when the interview feels more like a chat and the candidate is relaxed, but we should not exaggerate the humor.
• Unforeseen events happen, but rescheduling more than once is a bad sign. Demonstrates disinterest and coolness.
• Ask only a little for fast feedback for the interview. We had cases where the candidate asked the company twice daily for feedback. The Hiring Manager and the team need to get organized for the new employee's arrival.
• Please don't worry about disapprovals. It happens. You will find the right opportunity soon. Thank the company for the interview opportunity, and move on. In a 30-60 minute interview, there needs to be more time for the recruiter to make a complete and detailed assessment of your profile and give you detailed feedback on all the points a candidate needs to improve.
• Go into details of your personal life. Be careful not to spend too much time detailing family issues for the recruiter.
• If you are not an English speaker but are applying for a job requiring Fluent English, do not refuse to speak in English when the recruiter asks. Instead, please turn the conversation to English in your following response.
• Political views and religion are not good interview subjects. Well, not only for an interview today. These topics can kill family and friends' parties :)
• Please don't lie or give vague answers about your availability to start, be honest, as the company will do the planning and rely on you at the time.

• Plan your day to be ready at least 15 minutes before the interview (for remote and in-presence meetings). Inform the company as early as possible if you need to reschedule.
• Test your internet, and be in a place with an excellent connection. Find a comfortable environment. Do a test in advance on the platforms (Zoom, Meets, Teams, there are several, and sometimes you need to download an application). You can close unused browser tabs, keep your phone silent and turn off notifications.
• Pay attention to the delay that can happen due to the internet. Speak more slowly, give the interviewer time to listen, and follow up with questions.
• Research on Company (Google News) and Interviewer (find connection points on LinkedIn).
• Practice and think of answers to generic questions. For example, Why are you considering a career move? Why did you start working as a Developer? Are you okay with working on a hybrid model for two days at the office?
• Record yourself speaking (check posture, and expressions, if you smile and show confidence)
• Tell your professional story succinctly. Talk about mistakes and successes. Shows the good side and also learnings. For the recruiter, it's fantastic to talk to transparent professionals who know their strengths and points where they need to improve. Be honest.
• Whenever possible, insert real cases and numbers in your answers. You can say, for example, that you participated in a small team of 3 that developed a mobile app from scratch and reached 1 million users in 1 year. This is different from I have one year of mobile app development.
• Please make eye contact, and look at the interviewer.
• Understand the position's challenges and skills required, and ask questions. It is a moment where both sides need to decide whether it makes sense to continue the conversation.
• Inform at the end of the interview if you are in other processes so the recruiter understands the time they have to proceed with the hiring.
• Show energy and interest and ask questions. Sometimes we had situations where clients hired a professional with less experience but showed a willingness to learn, supplanting a more senior professional.
• You can search for contacts in the company to understand the culture. Do you know if the communication is more formal or informal? How do people dress? How do leaders treat their teams? What is the speed of change and the company's workspace?
• I'd like you to please understand a little about how competency-based interview works. They are trendy among recruiters. You can find an article about it on our blog.
• Think and prepare an answer to the question: where are you heading your career?
• When asked if you have any questions at the end of the interview, stop and think for a few seconds. If there is a point of doubt, this is the moment when you have the company's attention.
• Please speak up if you feel the opportunity is for someone else, and already tell the recruiter.