Competency-Based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style And Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job

by Robin Kessler

Have you ever wondered why you didn't get a job offer after an important interview? People interviewing for jobs today often fail because they are using yesterday's strategies. They haven’t realized that the best employers have changed the way interviews are done, and it now takes a different strategy to succeed. Competency-Based Interviews shows today's candidates a new, more targeted way to prepare for the tough interviews based on the competencies that the most sophisticated employers are looking for. Competency-Based Interviews offers you a new and more effective way to handle the tough new interviews so that you will emphasize the knowledge, skills and abilities that you have and that employers need. Most sophisticated U.S. and international employers are using competency-based systems to recruit, interview and select employees. Corporations such as American Express, Anheuser Busch, BP, Coca-Cola, Energizer, Federal Express, IBM, and Pfizer are all looking for specific competencies. Preparing for a competency-based interview will give you the strategy you need • Be selected for the most competitive positions.
• Win the best job at a new organization.
• Get a great first job or internship.
• Be chosen for that critical promotion in your current organization.
• Take control of your career path.
• Increase your salary.
• Get more interesting assignments and more interesting work Most interviewees don't know how to be successful when they are being interviewed by an organization looking for key competencies. Few candidates answer questions so they demonstrate their own critical competencies. Competency-Based Interviews will teach you what you need to master this tough new interview style and give the interviewers the answers that will win you the job.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

255 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2006

Reviews

[Deirdre Honner · Rating 4 out of 5]

do a fair amount of interviewing for my job. I enjoy interviewing people for the positions we have posted. One comment I hear on a fairly regular basis is this: You can't tell how good a candidate is for the job just by their resume.

Yup.

So many people do not know how to interview.
Too many people show up for interviews having NEVER PRACTICED A WORD of what they are trying to convey.
For most people, this lack of preparation and articulation will cost them the job.

Enter Competency-Based Interviews.

This small book (210 pages) is packed, and I do mean packed, with nuggets, gems, and case studies needed to help the job seeker answer questions well.

There are fabulous step-by-step instructions on assessing jobs, creating interviewing questions (for you to practice), and then coaching feedback on the case studies.

I love this book. It's relevant, practical, and immensely helpful for job seekers and hiring managers as well.

Get it. Read it. Practice. And practice so more. Good luck.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not paid for this review. Views and endorsement are my own. That being said, this is a FABULOUS book. Highly, highly recommend it.

[Karmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful. Books like this are rare. I read 2006 edition, and it's unbelievably how relevant this still is.
I would recommend this book to all employees who still feel lost with this "new" approach.

[Jo * Smut-Dickted * · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK but I couold sum up the book with the following: Pay attention, Listen well, and HAVE A GOOD STORY. Towards the end I wanted to scream everytime I read the good story needed writing. It's more than that. This book needed a LOT more story examples. I don't think it did as good a job telling you what type of story works best as some others I've read. Overall it got an extra star because it did explain this type of interview well and it did help me. Not the best book - but there is not much out there in book form on this topic. I don't want to sit at my computer for hours looking for free web stuff and sorting through it - there are times I just want a solid book!

[Chantel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of typos in this book and that was distracting. Otherwise, the data at the beginning was really good and helpful. I did not find the case studies as helpful though. Reading through full pages of how not to answer a question and then a few sentences on what was wrong with it was counter intuitive in this situation. I'm trying to retain all the advice from the author but waiting until the end to point out the flaws is confusing. I have interviewed for three jobs since reading this book and have been granted two of them. So, I think the results speak a bit for the book's value.

[Taya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an interview come up on fairly short notice. I'm finishing university this spring so this interview was my first real career job. I was very excited but wanted to get some insight for what to expect. Picked this book up at the library and gave it a really quick skim and it definitely had some good pointers for approaching a competency based interview. I'm not sure if I've got the job yet but I think this is a good read for anyone new to the job market, back to the job market or looking for a promotion!

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some very helpful interview practice questions to prepare your self with. I skimmed through most of the explanations and concentrated just on answering the questions and felt that I was adequately prepared for my interview. I would suggest reading the whole thing though, if you have time, as some of the theories presented looked very interesting.

[Nikola Petrov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that gives an overview of questions that are going to be asked on the interview. The author gives a different perspective on the interview which is nice. I particularly liked the reference materials on the end of each chapter and the good examples in the latest chapters.

[Yugi808 · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book.

[Mawit]

am gonna have good knowldege of competency based interview.

[Talitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite several typos (a pet peeve of mine), this book provided insight into why I've been asked certain job interview questions and how best to answer them.