Are competency-based interviews a thing of the past?
I recently assisted a client with hiring a HR Business Partner and when chatting through the interview process and format, they mentioned that they prefer to conduct conversational type interviews rather than competency based interviews. This got me thinking, are competency based interviews a thing of the past? And is it better to have a more conversational style interview? This was music to my ears, and the candidates’, as competency questions and answers can come across as rehearsed and unauthentic. Candidates and clients alike, like to get to know each other on a professional and personal level and by having a more conversational style interview can weed out any uncertainties and is a much more honest approach. Having carried out some research on this, I came across two more personal styles of interviews that I think could be more current and suitable for today’s environment. Soft-Skill Assessments - Soft skills are the non-technical skills needed to do a job. Individuals with soft skills can work well with others, come up with new ideas, and thrive in their environment. Examples of soft skills include integrity, adaptability and communication. As recruiters, we have to find candidates who have both hard and soft skills, but soft skills can determine if the candidate will be a good fit for the position. In order to assess a candidates soft-skills, interviewers should ask behavioural interview questions, such as; Was there ever a time when you saw a co-worker do something wrong? What did you do? Hard skills are evident on a candidates CV but [...]
