This is an educational video prepared by the BPP Legal Awareness Society, and is an animation of two adults, not students, talking about what teamwork is and how to prepare for a job interviews which are competency-based. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. FMN Sports is not a real media distribution channel. Similarly, XNN does not exist as a brand of computers to knowledge of the author, and therefore the laptop shown is not a representation of a genuine computer made by XNN. Note that they are not promoting any product, service or cause. Please note that the video shown here is the intellectual property of the BPP Legal Awareness Society and as such does not represent the view of any employees or official representatives of BPP. This video may not be distributed without explicit permission from the Society. This may be sought on the website http://legal-aware.org by posting a comment on this video. This video is nothing to do with BPP Learning Media.
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Transcript
Angie:
Nice to see you again Belinda.
Belinda:
You too, Angie.
Angie:
Yep. What have you been up to?
Belinda:
Not much. I’ve been working for this radio show for several years now, and loving it. But I’ve got a job interview next week, and I’m bricking myself. It’s to be a journalist for my local newspaper. It’s a long time since I went to university and I don’t know what to do with my life!
Angie:
Haha. You’re not that old. Are there any issues you’re dodgy about?
Belinda:
Teamwork
Angie:
What?
Belinda:
Sorry?
Angie:
Pardon, I meant?
Belinda
Teamwork
Angie:
No probs. Teamwork is likely to asked about in your interview after what’s called a “competency-based” question. Competency-based selection methods are based on the assumption that past behaviour is the best predictor for future behaviour.
Belinda:
Where do these selection methods usually appear?
Angie:
Competency-based questions are now common on both application forms and at interview. These questions are looking for evidence of skills that are used in the job and often start with “Describe a situation where you had to ……” or “Give an example of when you ….”. It’s not enough to just say what you can offer. Just like a jury in court a selector will need convincing. You do this by giving evidence. You should give examples. Selectors are less interested in what you’ve done that how you’ve done it.
Belinda:
Brain block. Brain block. Help!
Angie:
When have you planned and organised an event, taken the initiative or lead a team. How do you cope with failure? Do you give up, or keep trying until you succeed. Or perhaps try an alternative route to your goal. Keep a log of what you have done, so you can remember any evidence you can use.
Belinda:
What competencies is the selector looking for, other than teamwork? It all sounds Double Dutch to me. Or should I say Greek?
Angie:
This will vary according to the job but competencies of importance to many recruiters of new and recent graduates include: communication skills, negotiation, persuasiveness, teamwork, decision-making, problem solving, planning and organization, and leadership. It’s probably worth having these in mind when you’re approaching any relevant question in your interview.
Belinda:
Can you give me any examples?
Angie:
Typical competency based commercial awareness questions include:
- Tell me of a time when you were given the task of improving a service or product?
- Tell me about a time you provided excellent customer service.
- Tell me of a time when you have been responsible for a budget.
- Give an example of when you worked in a team
- Give an example of when you worked under time pressure
- Give an example of when you worked as a leader.
- Give an example of when you persuaded someone to your point of view
Belinda:
Shucks
Angie:
I beg your pardon
Belinda:
Shucks. What can I do to prepare?
Angie
Read the employer’s web site and/or job description, and note the skills and competencies they require. You should note down any examples you can think of when you have put these competencies into practice. These examples could come from vacation or part-time work; university clubs and societies; voluntary work, study at school or university; holidays and travel or personal and family experiences.
Belinda:
And then what?
Angie:
Then you should compose a paragraph or so for each situation, outlining what happened, how you approached it and what the outcome was. Questions they might expect to face at most interviews (e.g. asking for an example of teambuilding, or showing that they are a fast learner) are difficult to answer well if you are not used to them, and haven’t prepared a list of examples to draw from. A good answer on teambuilding outlines difficulties you may have had with other team-members and show that you understand what you need to do to overcome that, rather than simply tell the interviewer that the team worked together really.
Belinda:
What if I can’t think of any suitable examples?
Angie:
Try and be as open as possible: the examples you give don’t have to be high-level. Planning and organising a week’s independent travel in your local village is as valid an example as a trek through the Himalayas. If you really can’t think of anything, consider how vital that competence is to the employer. If, for example, leadershio is a key factor, and you have really never taken the lead in anything, are you applying for the right job? Would you be happy in it?
Belinda:
Oh dear. Oh my dear. Thanks for your help though. I’m going to ask my careers advisor too. I value your time.
