How to answer competency-based questions/ use the STAR method?

Firstly, what are competencies? Essentially, competencies refer to the skills, abilities, and behaviors. Employers identify competencies that are crucial to their organisation and the specific role they’re seeking to fill, e.g. communication, problem-solving, data analysis, etc.

Competency-based questions are one of the most common forms of interview questions. If we’re going for interview, beginning a job search process or even just in discussions with a recruiter, we need to be clear on how to answer these types of questions. Sometimes, we will be informed prior to the interview if there will be competency-based questions, but oftentimes hiring managers will include a section of them without informing us or they will just layer them into other questions.

Competency-based questions are used to assess a candidate’s suitability for a job. This is based on our ability to demonstrate that we can complete key tasks for the job we are interviewing for. Regardless of industry, being able to answer competency-based questions is essential for applicants. Proficient responses to competency-based question are clear, well-structured and, most importantly, very specific & detailed. They highlight our abilities and the value that we can bring to a role based on past examples.

To ensure we effectively respond to these questions, the STAR method is most commonly used:

1.     S = Situation: Introduce the general example & set up the rest of our response. What happened, what was our role at the time, and what was the request/challenge?

2.     T = Task: What needed to be done as a result? What had we decided that we needed to do?

3.     A = Action: This needs to be very specific - How exactly did I ensure these tasks were fulfilled? How did I approach each task and complete each action? Not the wider team, me specifically – what did I do to address the issue? We need to be very detailed in outlining exactly what we did, this is when we answer a competency-based question well.

4.     R = Result: Conclude the example. What was the overall outcome of the situation and specifically for us?

Example: Tell me about a time when you used your problem-solving ability to improve a work process.

1.     Situation - “When I was a HR Intern, the tracking of onboarding employees was done in a word document, this was mainly due to the HR manager being too busy to transfer the information into a better application.”

2.     Task - “My challenge was to identify a better solution and then transfer the data across to it.”

3.     Action - “So, I researched the various tools that we could use by looking up videos and advice online, contacting HR colleagues I had in other companies to see what they were using, and by asking a representative of the CIPD what they recommended. I then created a list of the possibilities with a list of pros and cons and brought them to the HR Manager. Ultimately, we decided on using Excel for various practicality & budgetary reasons. From there, I worked an extra hour for a week and gradually transferred over all of the onboarding data from our 2023 & 2024 Word documents to excel. I ensured that I brought all the data across and added a few additional columns for extra detail that I thought would be beneficial. I also added various formulas to make sure the sheet ran smoothly and we got cumulative data”.

4.     Result - “The outcome was that the onboarding process became easier, smoother and had less errors. The excel sheet was much easier to use than the word doc. It flagged when we had upcoming onboarders and unsuitable cross-department clashes. The HR Manager commended me for my work on it”.   

People can find the STAR methodology a bit complicated. If we find this to be the case, then to simplify it can be easier to just think of our response structure as: Introduction – Body – Conclusion.

1.     Introduction: Introduce the general example & set up the rest of our response. What happened, what was our role at the time, and what was the request/challenge?

2.     Body: What needed to be done to address the challenge? What had we decided that we needed to do? This needs to be very specific - How exactly did I ensure these tasks were fulfilled? How did I approach each task and complete each action?

3.     Conclusion: Conclude the example. What was the overall outcome of the situation and specifically for us?

Remember to stay authentic when responding to competency-based questions. Use real-life examples and connect them to our personal experiences, reactions, or emotions. If we blank or can’t display a competency, just admit to that. The appearance of making something up is much worse than not being able to talk to one of the competencies linked to the role, there are likely many and hiring managers won’t expect we can demonstrate them all perfectly.

Regardless, the essential thing to remember is that we need to specifically detail what exactly we did to address the challenge/exhibit the competency. We also need to prepare prior, identify the competencies that the employer is seeking and identify the ways we have exuded these in the past, then practice these out loud. These questions are designed to ensure that our competencies align with the role’s and company’s. Preparing correctly offers us a great chance to get ahead of other candidates during competency-based interviews. The smoother and clearer we can provide responses will impress upon the hiring manager that we are a standout candidate.

You can find extensive examples of sample questions & answers here: Indeed, Target Jobs & Michael Page

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