‘Me, yep, I’m a great team player’

If you graduated this Summer you might still  be deciding what to do with your degree. One of the most difficult things, if you hadn’t already considered it, is to work out what you would like to do post university. You need to take the time to look at various graduate schemes, internships or specialist recruiters who are all poised and ready to help you.

One thing is certain, you will be competency based interviewed. This is where the organisation has done its leg work and knows for sure that what it is seeking from its graduate intake is a core set of competencies. Google it. There are lots of competencies, from team working, problem solving, critical thinking, organisation and leadership, ability to work under pressure and self-awareness.  Phew! A lot to think about, but you would be surprised at how many examples you can give for the various competencies if you put your mind to it. Sports examples, the school environment, work experience, university experience and potentially internship examples. When in interview, you just need to know how to draw out the examples you have gained and present them in the best possible light.

Answering competency-based interviews needs to be more than just, ‘I’m a team player, I played for the first’s rugby’, just won’t cut it……Answering using the STAR technique as a rough guide, rather than too prescriptive an answer to ensure you present yourself in the best possible light and give evidence to your answers that showcase your competencies. The STAR answering technique describes the situation you were in, the specific task you had to deal with, the action required or undertaken and the result or outcome. All of which, if you correctly highlight your role in the example given, presents you and your core behaviours or competencies in the best possible light.