IAEA Career Management Initiative

Competency Based Interviews

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CONTENT

1. What you will get out of it

2. Exercise 1: Introduce Yourself
3. The IAEA Competency Framework
4. Questioning Strategies
5. Opening ‘elevator pitch’
6. Exercise 2:
7. Prepare and Practice
8. Addressing Difficult Questions – Exercise 3
9. Exercise 4 – Practice Competency Based Questions
10. The STAR(R) Method for structuring your answers – Exercise 5
11. Managing Interview Stress
12. Checklist

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1. What you will get out of it

• Understand IAEA interview strategies: Biographical, technical and competency-based questions

• Draw out potential interview questions from the vacancy notice
• Prepare an opening ‘elevator pitch’
• Prepare for competency-based questions using the STAR(R) method
• Understand the role of tone and body language in the interview process
• Manage Interview stress

2. Exercise 1: Introduce Yourself

a) Describe who you are and your professional background:

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b) What do you believe are the qualities that set you apart from others?
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c) What are the areas you would like to develop?

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d) What motivates you professionally?

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3. The IAEA Competency Framework

What are competencies?

A competency is generally defined as a combination of skills, knowledge, attributes and

behaviours that enables an individual to perform a task or activity successfully within a given job.
Competencies are observable behaviours that can be measured and evaluated, and thus are
essential in terms of defining job requirements and recruiting, training and developing staff.

Why do we use competencies?

Competencies enable the staff of an organization to have a clear understanding of the behaviours
to be exhibited and the levels of performance expected in order to achieve organizational results.
They provide the individual with an indication of the behaviours and actions that will be valued,
recognized and rewarded.

Using a competency framework enables an organization to successfully align its staff’s skills,
capabilities and knowledge with organizational priorities and knowledge with organizational
priorities, resulting in business improvement and efficiencies. Therefore, a well-structured and
well-defined competency framework plays a key role in accomplishing an organization’s goals in
line with its mission and mandate.

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 More specifically, competencies ensure that:

• Clear expectations are set, and staff members are guided as to how they can assume and
reinforce behaviours in line with the organization’s mission, culture and goals;
• A shared language is created to describe what is needed and expected in the work
environment, thereby providing for reliable and high-quality performance and delivery;
• The various facets of human resources management can be integrated, enhancing consistency
in staffing planning, recruitment, learning and development, and performance management,
thereby contributing to the streamlining of human resources operations and efficiency gains;
• Skills gaps are addressed, strengths are further developed and requirements for career
progression are clarified;
• Staff mobility, organizational change and shaping of the organizational culture are fostered.

How are competencies measured?

Competencies are measured by gathering evidence of how you have performed a certain task in
the past and how would you transfer previous skills and experience into the new role. For doing
that, interviewers ask you to refer to real-life examples.

Not all competencies must be necessarily assessed in the interview. Some can be assessed through
other techniques, such as tests, exercises or biodata (e.g. personal history, CVs). The choice of the
technique will depend on the competency. Writing skills could be more accurately measured in a
written test than in an interview. Important competencies can be assessed via two or more
techniques.

Core Values Core Competencies Functional Competencies

Integrity Communication Leading & Supervising

Analytical Thinking

Knowledge Sharing/Learning

Professionalism Teamwork Judgement/Decision Making

Technical/Scientific Credibility

Change Management

Respect for Diversity Planning & Organizing Commitment to Continuous Process Improvement

Partnership Building

Client Orientation

Achieving Results Persuasion and Influencing

Resilience

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 Occupational Roles

Occupational roles refer to the primary purpose of and the relationship between jobs. They are
three for the Core Competencies:

• The Individual Contributor — a staff member, normally without supervisory responsibility,

who is accountable for his/her individual performance and contribution to the outputs of the
team.
• The Manager — a staff member at the middle or senior professional level (at the P4 or P5
level) with managerial responsibility for human and/or financial resources who oversees the
delivery of programmatic results. These functions normally include Section Head, Unit Head
and Team Leader.
• The Senior Manager — a staff member at the Director or DDG level, who is responsible for
creating an enabling environment and takes decisions impacting the entire
programme/functional area.

For the Functional Competencies, the Individual Contributor role may be further defined as:

• Associate — a junior or mid-level General Service (GS) staff member (at the G1 to G5 level) or
junior professional (at the P1 or P2 level), who provides support to colleagues and works under
the technical guidance of the supervisor.

• Specialist — a senior General Service (GS) staff member (at the G6 or G7 level) or middle or
senior level professional specialist (at the P3 to P5 level) who has expert knowledge in his/her
field of specialization and works independently. A Specialist does not normally have direct
supervisory responsibility for staff members; however, he/she may assume project
management responsibilities, including the coordination of human and/or financial resources.

Occupational roles are important because they are used to define the level of the required
competency for a specific job.

4. Questioning Strategies

The IAEA uses the following questioning strategies in the interviewing process:

Biographical questions Technical questions Competency based question

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 Biographical questions focus on the biography of the candidate: education, work experience …
They are mainly used at the beginning of the interview to ‘break the ice’ and help candidates to
warm up.

They can be used as an opening ‘elevator pitch’.

Technical questions focus on the subject matter expertise and are designed to test your
knowledge in a given area.

Competency based questions are centred on key competencies relevant for the job and look for
past examples of behaviour. They typically start with “tell me about a time when…” or “give me
an example of …”
They are usually presented as a set of questions covering different aspects of a same topic.

5. Opening ‘elevator pitch’

An opening ‘elevator pitch’ is a brief, prepared speech that summarizes who you are and why
you’d be a perfect candidate for the job. The opening ‘elevator pitch’ is meant to catch
interviewers’ attention and is very important as it may set the patch for the rest of the interview.

A good ‘elevator pitch’ includes:

An introduction explaining who you are and your professional experience

What accomplishments and successes set you apart from others
Your professional objectives (motivation, passion, goals, etc.)

6. Exercise 2

Using the Competency Framework booklet, please state the competency (or competencies) each
of the below question is trying to address:

1) Give an example of a time when you used logic and good judgement in solving a problem.

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2) Give an example of a time when you had many things to do at the same time and you were
required to prioritize your time.

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3) Give an example of a situation when you showed initiative and took the lead.

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 4) Describe a situation when you delegated a project effectively.

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5) Give an example of a time when you had to adapt to a new environment/a wide variety of
people/different circumstances.

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6) Describe a time when you used your written communication skills in order to get an important
point across/convince other people.

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7) Give an example of a time when you had to go beyond the call of duty in order to get a job
done.

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8) Describe a situation when you had to use negotiation skills or any persuasive technique to
convince someone.

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Now, please take five minutes to answer the following competency based questions:

1) Give an example of a time when you changed your priorities to meet others’ expectations.
(Planning and Organizing/Achieving Results)

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2) Tell me about a situation where you had to make a decision that required careful thought to
avoid large implications. What did you do?
(Judgement & Decision Making/Analytical thinking)
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3) Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work together effectively.
(Teamwork)
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 4) Give an example of a time when you coached someone/provided training to help them
improve their skills, knowledge or job performance. What did you do specifically?
(Knowledge Sharing & Learning/Leading & Supervising)
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5) Give an example of a time when a member of your team had a performance

difficulty/deficiency. What did you do?
(Leading & Supervising/Teamwork)
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6) Tell me about a time when you identified a new, unusual or different approach for addressing
a particular problem or task.
(Commitment to Continuous Process Improvement/Analytical Thinking)
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7. Prepare and Practice

When contacted for scheduling the interview, be flexible and not demanding with timing. Panels
are usually composed of busy staff, who need to allocate time for a significant number of
interviews. Being accommodative shows respect for the process and acknowledges the
importance of the time of the persons involved.

In preparation for your interview, you can research as much as you can about the
Organization/Department/Section/Unit you are applying for. This includes its mandate, latest
publications, organigramme, strategic direction, newsfeeds, etc.

Take the time to understand the position. Review the Vacancy Notice paying attention to the
competencies listed. Re-read your PHF in order to select real examples to match your
achievements to the competencies listed.

Practice makes perfect! We cannot underline enough how important practice is. Anticipate key
questions by reviewing the Vacancy Notice and possible answers.

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 DO DON’T
Make a good first and last impression Answer on the hypothetical
Dress appropriately Talk about ‘we’ rather than ‘I’
Make Eye Contact (if appropriate) Make blanket generalizations nor
statements about the future
Smile (if appropriate) Interrupt the panel
Listen carefully to the complete question. Ask questions on benefits and
entitlements
Ask for clarification if needed
Keep it to the point!
Provide concrete Examples
Be mindful of tone and body language

8. Addressing Difficult Questions

Anticipating and preparing for difficult questions is an essential part of the interview preparation.

Exercise 3: Take five minutes and write down two of your ‘nightmare’ questions (the questions
you personally find most difficult and hope you don’t get asked in an interview).

Question 1
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Question 2
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Some common ‘difficult’ questions:

a) Tell me about yourself and why do you think you are a good candidate for this post?
b) Why do you want to leave your current position?
c) Why do you want to work here?
d) What are your weaknesses?
e) Do you have any questions or is there anything you would like to add in support of your
application?

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9. Exercise 4: Practice Competency based questions

Take five minutes to draft an answer to one of the questions below:

a) Give an example of a time when you were able to solve a complex problem.

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b) Describe an occasion when you had to manage competing interests among different
stakeholders.

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c) Describe a situation when you had to convince your boss that your proposed way forward was
the best course of action.

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d) Give an example of a time when you had a conflict with someone in your team.

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 e) Give an example of a time when you had to explain a technical concept to a non-technical
audience.

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10. The STAR(R) Method for structuring your answers

Exercise 5: Take five minutes to improve your answer to exercise 4 using the STAR(R) Method.

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11. Managing Interview Stress

No doubt about it, interviews can be stressful. You want to make a good impression, be able to
answer the questions, and most importantly: be the candidate the panel would recommend
hiring. Many circumstances can elevate the stress factor:

Fear of the unknown: How many people will be on the panel? Who will they be? What will they
ask?

Lack of confidence: Am I the best person for the job? Do I have the right skills, the right skills and
personality? Will I fit in?

One and only chance: I only have this opportunity to get it right. I cannot mess it up!

Expressing yourself: What if I can’t find the right words, or I hesitate, or I talk too long?

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 What do they really want? Do they want someone who is assertive and not afraid to challenge
authority, or someone who will just do what he/she is told? What are they really looking for?

However, researchers suggest that an appropriate amount of stress can be a positive thing. Here
are some things you can do to kept stress at the right productive level;

a) Prepare well.
b) Be punctual.
c) Accept that you will be stressed. It is a natural reaction. Do not fear it.
d) Take the interview as a normal conversation.
e) Take a deep breath.

12. Checklist

 Consider the Competency Framework as the basis for interview assessments

 Prepare for all types of questioning strategies
 Have your ‘elevator pitch’ ready
 Prepare and practice, practice and more practice
 Match your achievements with the competencies listed on the vacancy notice
 Be mindful of interviews Do’s and Don’ts
 Tone and Body Language are capital
 Get ready for difficult questions
 Use the STAR(R) Method to formulate your answers
 Manage your interview stress

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