Competency interviewing - not as scary as it is painted

Competency interview, otherwise known as behavioral interview, is nothing more than one of the types of conducting recruitment process. It involves evaluating the competence of a job candidate, during the interview skills, knowledge, behavior and experience are tested.  Competency interviewing assumes that the practice gained so far is an excellent measure of our future behavior. Unlike the traditional interview, which focuses on general questions, the competency interview focuses on specific examples from the candidate’s past.

While it might seem that a discussion of our previous work experience is not difficult and demanding we should also prepare for it in an appropriate manner.

At the beginning, don’t forget to analyze the requirements and skills your new position requires. Carefully check what the new job will involve, check out the company and the scope of its activities. If you have the opportunity, prepare references from previous employers and copies of your resume.

Take care to prepare yourself to answer questions that may be asked during the interview. Talk about your competence, achievements and challenges you have experienced on the job so far. Prepare examples that show the recruiter your skills and experience and how you used them in your previous position.  Talk openly about how you dealt with challenges, how you came to solve the problems posed to you in your previous job. If you failed to complete a task you can talk about what steps you would take now to complete it successfully. Your future employer will want to understand how you solve the challenges posed to you, not just your achievements.
To better structure your answers at the beginning, start by telling how the situation that you use as an example looked like. Introduce the recruiter to the task to be performed from it, and then talk about the action you took, how it went and why you chose it. This part of the interview is the perfect time to talk about your skills. At the end, present what was the result of your decisions.
During the interview, be confident, assertive and speak boldly. Focus your answers on the job and your experience with it, but don’t exalt yourself and let the recruiter be the lead person in the conversation. Your future employer knows full well that you are stressed, so don’t let small mistakes weigh down the rest of the discussion; self-control during the interview should be your middle name. 

Preparation for a recruitment interview is very important, but you must not forget to be natural and authentic.  Be confident, positive and ready to present your skills.

Good luck during the recruitment interview!