Competency Based Interview Questions

Employers want to ensure potential employees are competent enough to fulfill job duties, so most interviewers utilize competency based questions to determine whether job candidates have the skills and necessary training to perform required tasks. Interviewers utilize behavioral, theoretical, and leading questions to assess competency and the following skills:

• Self-management – Employers seek employees with the ability to multi-task, remain self-motivated, and learn new skills quickly 
• Functional – Employers seek employees with effective organization, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Content – Employers seek employees with formal training, education, and trade skills that can be documented with professional certifications

Information about effectively answering competency based questions, in addition to skills most employers value is provided on this site.

Examples of Competency Based Questions in an interview

Leadership Competency: Leadership Interview Questions

• Are you open to new ideas? When do you discuss your ideas with team members? What factors do you consider when making decisions?
• Explain a situation when you took a risk. What motivated you to do so?
• What actions do you take to motivate and involve team members?
• Explain in detail how you boast team member morale.
• Explain in detail how you accomplished a goal?
• Explain when you utilized a creative solution to resolve a problem.
• Have you ever mentored a colleague?
• Explain in detail a situation where you helped two parties come to a compromise.
• What qualities do leaders possess? How is leadership demonstrated?
• What do you do to motivate others? How do you remain self-motivated?
• Should leaders be granted authority? What do you do to change the opinions of others?
• Discuss leadership weaknesses you possess?
• What separates a leader from a manager?