Hints & Tips

• Competency-based questions are asking for an example in your past when you have evidenced a particular behaviour. Typically, these will focus on the core competencies of the role. These questions are usually framed “Tell me about a time when …”
• Situational-questions are ones which ask what you would do in a hypothetical scenario. These questions are along the line of “What would you do if …”

• Research the organisation – look on our website, have an understanding of what we do.
• Research and practice the STAR model (or similar) when answering interview questions.
• Prepare your responses – Try and think of times you have displayed some of the core values of the role in your work history. Think of questions you may be asked and your responses to them. Practice and prepare answering any potential questions that may come up.
• Ensure that the outcome reflects positively on you, even if the result was not favourable.
• Be specific about your actions and ensure you go into enough detail to evidence your positive behaviours. It is important you provide enough detail which evidences how you positively affected the outcome.
• Choose a specific event and avoid talking too generally, this helps focus your response on your particular actions during that event. Focus on one particular occasion that fits the question being asked.

• For virtual interviews (via Microsoft Teams), please make sure you have tested that the link and your device work, prior to the interview. This may mean downloading the Teams app to your device.
• Log on a few minutes early, if that helps to relax you. You will reside in the lobby and the panel will let you into the meeting, once the interview is due to start.
• If you do experience any problems with technology, which prohibit you joining the video interview, you will find a number, just below the Teams link, to join on an audio only call. Please dial this number, followed by the Phone Conference ID, to join the meeting.

• STAR is a very useful technique when answering Competency-based questions. The technique allows you to structure your response to the interview question, whilst ensuring you include all of the important parts.
• STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result.
• When answering using this technique, ensure you spend sufficient time explaining your Actions, as this is the section in which you demonstrate the positive behaviours being assessed.

Situation – Describe the Situation or event that you were in.

Task – Explain the Task that needed to be completed.

Action – Explain the Actions that you took to positively affect the outcome. Ensure particular attention is spent on this. Explain your thoughts and motives and focus on what YOU did, specifically.

Result – Explain the Result of your efforts.

• STAR is a structure to help you tell a story. Every story has a beginning, middle and end, and using STAR helps provide this structure to your example.
• To get the best out of the STAR technique, you should have a collection of answers that reflects your working history and pre-empt the questions you think you might be asked. Typically, the interview will focus on the core-competencies of the role.
• Your example should focus on a particular event or occasion. Make it as specific as possible and avoid talking to generically.
• This is not something you should do on the day of the job interview. It will take a couple of days to prepare answers that you can recall. If you are struggling to come up with a suitable example during the interview, take a moment to think about it. It’s better to take a few seconds to provide a good answer than to use an example that doesn’t fit.