In this article, we explore the nuances of preparing for competency interviews, a common style of interview in the life sciences and healthcare hiring process. We provide practical advice on typical questions, using the STAR method to structure your responses and how to showcase the competencies that matter most to employers.
From highlighting your critical thinking skills to showing emotional intelligence, alongside your academic and practical skillset, this guide aims to equip you with the tools you need to successfully navigate this style of interview. We will outline how to effectively convey your suitability for roles to advance your career and present yourself as a competent and compelling candidate during the interview process.
What are competency interviews?
This style of interview focuses on the specific behaviours and attributes that are important to an employer. Competency, or scenario interviews as they are sometimes called, go beyond assessing your ability to perform a role based on your qualifications by also giving employers an opportunity to understand how you are likely to react based on your past performance in similar situations.
For instance, you may be asked to talk about how you use emotional intelligence, critical thinking or interpersonal skills in the workplace and show your capabilities in these areas.
How to prepare for a competency or scenario interview
For this style of interview, preparation is vital. To prepare effectively, you need to reflect on your past professional experiences, consider the challenges you faced, tasks you were responsible for and importantly, the outcomes or results you achieved.
It is helpful to refer to the job description and prepare stories that showcase your skills and directly relate to the competencies the employer is interested in. If you are working with a staffing agency, your consultant will talk you through the specific hiring process and offer best practice guidance, as well as deeper insight into what the employer is looking for in their ideal candidate.
Working with a recruitment consultant is a good way to get the inside story and give you an edge over other candidates.
How to structure your answers for a competency or scenario interview
A useful method for structuring your interview question responses is the STAR framework. It allows you to organise your answers to ensure you cover all the steps you took and the result.
Situation: Start by describing the context of your story.
What challenge or situation were you presented with?
Task: Explain your specific role or responsibilities.
What part did you play in the scenario?
Action: Describe the steps you took.
What did you do to influence the situation?
Result: Share the outcome of the actions you took.
How did your actions contribute to the result? What was your personal contribution?
Using quantitative data to evidence your success is a great way to show employers the results you achieved and the positive outcomes for stakeholders and the organisation.
For instance, if you are asked about problem-solving, you might describe a situation where you implemented a system that improved patient safety or simplified a complex process to save time without compromising on quality.
What are some examples of common interview competencies?
During a competency or scenario interview, there are several common competencies employers might ask you to demonstrate. You could be asked to talk about:
Decision making: Draw on times when you have been under pressure and had to make difficult choices.
Communication: You need to show your ability to effectively convey information verbally and in writing. Talk about active listening and engaging in meaningful conversations to improve results and out comes for stakeholders and the organisation.
Problem solving / Critical thinking: Employers want to know how you identify issues, analyse challenges, and come up with effective solutions. You need to show your ability to use critical thinking to resolve problems in practical, real-world situations.
Empathy/Emotional Intelligence: Showing that you can empathise with others and understand their feelings is critical for building trust with co-workers and patients, for example. You need to show you understand their concerns and can provide care that addresses emotional needs effectively.
Demonstrating empathy is also important for building team relationships and in leadership roles. It shows you relate to individual team members’ perspectives and their personal motivations.
Resilience: When challenging situations occur in the workplace, prospective employers value your capacity to remain effective, calm and keep a positive ‘can-do’ attitude. This relates to your own stress level as well as that of your colleagues or team.
Example questions and model answers
Communication
Can you describe a situation where you have used effective communication to manage a difficult or complex problem at work?
Candidate Answer:
Situation: In my current role as a project coordinator at a pharmaceutical company, we faced challenges related to cross-department communication, which was impacting on delivering a critical project to deadline.
Task: It was my responsibility to make sure communication between the research and development team and the marketing department was aligned to project goals, key milestones and timelines.
Action: To overcome miscommunication, I arranged weekly cross-department meetings so each team could update their progress and raise any concerns or issues. I also created an online shared working space for documents, updates and ongoing feedback.
Result: My approach greatly improved communication across the project group, reducing misunderstandings, helping to build trusted relationships and accelerated the project's progress. As a result we completed the project a week ahead of time, this led to a 15% increase in project efficiency compared to previous quarters.
Time management
Describe a busy time at work and how you managed your time to meet all your deadlines.
Candidate Answer:
Situation: In my previous role, the company was rolling out a new healthcare IT system and I was responsible for managing multiple areas of the project.
Task: I had to make sure software was tested, system training was carried out for various teams and user feedback collection was all completed on schedule.
Action: I started by prioritising tasks based on urgency, daily goals and used project management software to keep track of activities. In addition, I delegated certain responsibilities to other team members to keep everything on track.
Result: As a result, we met project milestones on time and the new healthcare IT system was rolled out smoothly, with excellent user adoption, which improved errors in handling patient data by 35%.
Empathy
Can you share an experience where showing empathy significantly influenced patient experience or a team project?
Candidate answer:
Situation: When I worked as a nurse in a busy city hospital, I cared for a patient who was very anxious about their upcoming surgery.
Task: It was my responsibility to support the patient emotionally, in addition to preparing them physically for the surgery.
Action: I spent extra time with the patient, actively listening to their concerns and explaining the procedure in a compassionate and easy to understand way. I arranged for the patient to speak with someone who had successfully undergone the same procedure to offer them reassurance.
Result: Taking time to listen and explain the surgery clearly helped the patient feel more relaxed and less anxious. They were extremely grateful for my personalised care and they reflected this by leaving me very positive feedback in their patient satisfaction survey.
Common pitfalls with competency or scenario interviews
The biggest mistake candidates make is failing to provide specific examples. By offering vague answers, you make it difficult for employers to gauge your suitability for the role compared to other candidates.
Another common pitfall is not preparing sufficiently for questions about your non-technical skills that could be vital for the role, such as teamwork or communication.
Conclusion
If you have been invited to attend a competency or scenario interview, thoughtful preparation and practice are key.
Within life sciences and healthcare, mastering this style of interview is essential to confidently demonstrate your skills and suitability for a role. By preparing well and practising interview question responses using the STAR method, you will be able to clearly articulate your experiences in a comprehensive and persuasive manner.
Each interview you attend requires practice and reflection to increase your chance of success in securing a role that reflects your expertise and career ambitions. If you are working with a staffing agency, your consultant will be on hand to talk you through the hiring process and offer practical advice. Your specialist consultant will explain the interview format and structure, coach you on detailed responses and guide you on how to show your suitability tailored to the level and of role.