Let me give you an example…

Training in competency-based interviewing is a mainstay of Oakwood’s old CIPD Certificate in Personnel Practice and new CIPD Certificate in Human Resource Practice programmes. The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) model, and its key underlying question – ‘What did you do?’ – are practical routes towards valid recruitment practices.

But on LinkedIn at the moment, a friend and Associate of Oakwood, Mike Todd, has made a really insightful comment:

To be effective competency based interviewing very much depends on the candidate being prepared for the questions and being able to recall appropriate examples of behaviour. There is a danger you can end up recruiting candidates who are the most articulate with good recall. Fine if they are the competencies you need ...not so good if they are not. There are many very capable people who take their skills for granted. They are unconsciously competent.

Ask a learner driver for an example of when they last drove well and it is likely they will have an example immediately to mind. Ask a highly experienced driver the same question and they might struggle for an answer as they take the skill of driving for granted. Evidence from competency based questions has to be weighed up against information from other sources…

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=46136440&gid=3753338&commentID=33725240&goback=%2Enmp_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1&trk=NUS_DISC_Q-subject#commentID_33725240

Question: how does the organisation aiming to be a best practice recruiter get over the problem of some of its high potential applicants not having the articulacy or the practice (or the confidence) to excel in a competency-based interview?

Answer: train them! Make sure all applicants know the plan or agenda for their interview or assessment day. Tell them what will happen and when. Explain the competency model your organisation uses and invite them to prepare to describe a number (ten?) of specific situations or events at work where they made decisions or took actions that demonstrate their level of competency. At least, put the information on your organisation’s website and in each letter or email inviting the candidates to interview. At best, offer free interviewee training sessions to prospective candidates and the wider community as part of your corporate social responsibilities.

And remember, just as the key question for interviewers is ‘What did you do?’, the most important phrase for interviews to use is ‘Let me give you an example…’