CORE COMPETENCIES

When you are asked questions:

Listen to what the interviewer is saying.

Take a moment to think of your answer.

Provide a full answer, giving examples relating to you example that can provide evidence to what you are saying.

Do not talk for too long, as the interviewer will have plenty more questions to ask you.

The majority of the questioning will be aimed at gaining examples and evidence from you. It is extremely important to back your answers up with evidence in order to show the interviewer how you handle certain situations or what type of person you are. Questions may be structured as the following:

Communication

Provide an example of a complex issue or business problem you had to explain to non-investment / finance staff.
How did you approach it?
What was the outcome?
What would you do differently?

Motivation

Provide a recent achievement in your work environment?
Why was it satisfying?

Personal Organisational / Planning

Provide an example of a tight deadline you had to achieve.
How did you approach it?
What was the result?
What will you do differently next time?
Give an example of a time when you have had more than one job to do at once.

Teamwork

Provide an example from work where you have to work closely with others.
What was your involvement?
What were the challenges?
How did you approach it?
What was the outcome?
How would you have improved the way the group worked?
What could you have done to change this?

Action Orientated / Achievement Orientated

How do you define doing a good job?
How do you measure it?
How could you improve your approach?

Analytical / Problem Solving

Provide an example of a time when you have had to make a difficult decision.
What were the challenges?
How did you approach it?
What was the outcome?
What would you do differently?
Provide an example when you had to analyse information and give a report.
How did you approach / prepare for it?

Initiative

Provide an example at a time when you had a project you undertook that was unusual and outside the normal job spec.
How did you approach it
What was the outcome?

Interpersonal

What type of people do you most like to work with?
How do you cope with someone like this?

Adaptability

Tell me about a time when you changed your priorities to meet others' expectations.
Describe a time when you altered your own behaviour to fit the situation.
Tell me about a time when you had to change your point of view or your plans to take into account new information or changing priorities.

Client Focus

Give an example of how you provided service to a client/stakeholder which was beyond their expectations. How did you know what they expected? How did you respond?
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client.
Give me an example of a decision you have made which benefited the client but not you.

Communication

Describe a situation you were involved in recently that required you to communicate with people at a senior level.
Give an example of a difficult or sensitive decision that you have had to communicate to others.
Tell me about a time when you really had to pay attention to what someone else was saying, in order to understand their message and be able to act upon it.

Problem Solving and Judgment

Tell me about a problem you have recently encountered.
Tell me about the last problem you could not solve.
Give me an example of a problem which required you particularly careful thought.

Results Orientation

Tell me about the last long term goal you set yourself and how you have achieved it.
Describe something you have done to improve your own performance.

Teamwork

Tell me about how you helped the last person to join your team feel part of the team.
Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work together effectively.
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?

Developing Others

Tell me about the last person you coached and how you helped improve their skills or job performance.
Describe a time when you provided feedback to someone about their performance.
Give me an example of a time when you recognised that a member of your team was performing below the required standard. What did you do?

Impact and Influence

Describe a recent situation in which you convinced an individual on your team to do something.
Describe a time when you changed someone’s mind.
Describe a situation in which you needed to change a decision which had already been made.

Innovation

Describe the last thing you did to improve performance and/or productivity on your team.
Tell me about the most mundane part of your job. What have you done to make it more interesting or challenging?
Tell me about a recent problem in which old solutions wouldn't work. How did you solve the problem?

Leadership

Tell me about a time when you had to take the lead role in a group so that it achieved its objective.
Describe a situation where you had to lead by example.
Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal.

Relationship Building

Give me an example of a client that you have developed an effective win/win relationship with. How did you go about building the relationship?
Tell me about a time when you relied on another person to help you with a work-related task or problem.
Give me an example of a time when you deliberately attempted to build rapport with a co-worker or customer.

Self-Motivation

Describe the last time you were under pressure. What did you do to keep the level of stress manageable?
Describe the last time you had to pick yourself up from a disappointment.
Tell me about how you managed your day the last time your manager was not around to help, advise, give out work or provide discipline.

Strategic Thinking

Describe how you have changed the way you normally work in response to changes in your industry.
Describe a time you created a strategy to achieve a longer term business objective.
Describe a time when you had to think strategically in order to make a difficult decision.

Initiative

Describe when you have had to make a decision by yourself about how something should be done.
Give me an example of the last time you were given a piece of work you didn’t know how to do.

Attention to Detail

Tell me about a piece of work you have done where you had to ensure the outcome was perfect. How did you approach this piece of work?
Describe the last time you were given back a piece of work to do again because it contained errors.
Give me an example of a time where you had to balance getting the job done well and getting it done quickly. How did you balance these 2 factors?

Conflict Management

Tell me about a time when you voiced a concern or disagreement to a co-worker
Describe a situation on your team which you had to deal with quickly in order to stop the situation getting worse.
Tell me about a time where someone has been unhappy with you or how you work.