Competency Based Interviewing (CBI)

Course Modules

Module 1: Structuring Competency-Based Interviews

Objective: To teach participants how to structure a competency-based interview to ensure a fair and objective evaluation of candidates.

Key Learning Points:

• Why structure matters: Ensuring fairness and consistency in the interview process.
• Understanding the Competency Framework: Aligning competencies with the job description.
• Creating a Structured Interview Plan: Identifying key competencies and matching them with interview questions.
• The STAR Technique: Ensuring candidates answer questions in a structured way (Situation, Task, Action, and Result).

Activity:

Exercise: Review a job description and develop a competency framework. Identify 3-4 competencies critical for the role and design relevant interview questions.

Module 2: Competency-Based Job Description

Objective: To enable participants to develop job descriptions that are aligned with competencies necessary for successful performance in the role.

Key Learning Points:

• What is a Competency-Based Job Description?: How to define the competencies required for the role.
• Writing Clear and Measurable Competencies: How to articulate skills and behaviours needed for the job.
• Using Competencies for Selection and Development: How a competency-based job description supports both recruitment and ongoing employee development.

Activity:

Exercise: Break into groups and create a competency-based job description for a given role, incorporating key competencies and measurable skills.

Module 3: Values-Based Interview Questions

Objective: To teach participants how to create values-based interview questions that align with the organization’s values and culture.

Key Learning Points:

• What are Values-Based Questions?: Questions that assess a candidate’s alignment with organizational values and culture.
• Creating Values-Based Questions: Crafting questions that draw out personal values and ethical behavior in candidates.
• Linking Values to Competencies: How personal values influence competency-based performance.

Activity:

Exercise: Identify 3-5 core organizational values and create interview questions designed to assess candidates’ alignment with those values.

Module 4: Acquiring Evidence – Questioning & Listening Skills

Objective: To develop questioning and active listening techniques to acquire accurate, relevant evidence during the interview.

Key Learning Points:

• Types of Questions: Open-ended, probing, and clarifying questions.
• Effective Questioning Techniques: Using behavioural and situational questions to gather evidence of competencies.
• Active Listening: Techniques for focusing on the candidate’s responses and probing deeper to gather concrete examples.
• Managing Silence: Using silence effectively to encourage candidates to provide more detailed responses.

Activity:

Exercise: Role-play questioning techniques, with one participant acting as the interviewer and another as the candidate. Practice using probing questions to dig deeper into responses.

Module 5: Conducting a Competency-Based Interview

Objective: To teach participants how to conduct a competency-based interview effectively, focusing on consistency, fairness, and assessing candidates accurately.

Key Learning Points:

• Creating a Comfortable Environment: Setting the stage for a positive and professional interview experience.
• Interview Flow: How to open, manage, and close the interview, ensuring all competencies are assessed.
• Avoiding Bias: How to ensure objectivity in the interview process.
• Using the STAR Method: How to guide candidates to structure their answers using STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result).

Activity:

Exercise: Practice conducting a mock interview where participants ask competency-based questions, follow up with probing questions, and use the STAR technique for structured responses.

Module 6: Question Types During the Interview

Objective: To familiarize participants with different types of questions used in competency-based interviews and their purpose.

Key Learning Points:

• Behavioural Questions: How to ask about past experiences that demonstrate key competencies.
• Situational Questions: How to ask hypothetical questions that assess how candidates would handle future situations.
• Competency-Based Probing Questions: How to ask follow-up questions to gather more detail about a candidate’s experience.
• Values-Based Questions: How to assess alignment with the company’s values and culture.

Activity:

Exercise: Review a set of example questions and categorize them as behavioural, situational, or values-based. Discuss the purpose of each type and when to use it.

Module 7: Making the Selection Decision

Objective: To guide participants through the process of evaluating candidates and making a selection decision based on evidence gathered during the interview.

Key Learning Points:

• Reviewing Evidence: How to evaluate responses objectively by focusing on the evidence of competencies.
• Scoring Candidate Responses: Using a competency-based scoring system to rate responses.
• Final Decision Making: How to assess the overall fit of a candidate, considering both competencies and values.
• Documenting the Decision: Best practices for documenting the selection decision to support transparency and compliance.

Activity:

Exercise: Practice evaluating a candidate’s interview responses using a scoring rubric. Discuss the pros and cons of each response and reach a final decision.