Competency Based Interviewing: The Highest Standard in Interviewing

Despite the various advancements in human psychology and assessment of talent and competence, such as psychometrics and multi-rater evaluation, interviews remain the preferred method for ‘getting to know’ a candidate. Having said that, most interviews fail to achieve their intended level of reliability due to poor pre-interview preparation, improper questioning or the infamous reliance on first impressions and gut feelings. This course is designed to mitigate all the common mistakes untrained interviewers commit when meeting with job candidates. The workshop aims at highlighting why interviews have a high impact on hiring decisions and the steps that can be put in place to increase their reliability while ensuring legally defensible levels of fairness and consistency.

The course is workshop-based. A small percentage of the time is used to debunk some of the common myths related to interviewing and the rest is dedicated to activities and exercises aimed at ‘test-driving’ the skill of competency-based interviewing. The workshop relies on the use of role-plays and scenario interviews to ensure the translation of knowledge to skill is at maximum levels.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define the importance of interviewing as a method of selection, brainstorm common mistakes untrained interviewers commit and define ways to overcome them
• List main types of selection interviews and when and how to use each
• Design a competency-based interview guide using competencies and values and use it to collect ‘code-able’ data from interviewees
• Conduct a probing interview designed to uncover behavioral characteristics of applicants
• Use data collected from interviews to complete a gap analysis and decide on the most suitable candidate

This course is targeted at anyone involved in assessing candidates prior to hiring. It is of particular benefit to line managers involved in interviewing candidates for vacancies in their respective functions. The course is ideal for professionals in human resources, especially those working within the functions of recruitment, selection and workforce planning.

• Recruitment
• Short-listing
• Interviewing
• Questioning and probing
• Note-taking
• Report writing
• Decision making