Training Competency-Based Interviewing

Your team runs an interview. It goes smoothly. The candidate gives neat answers.

And still something nags.

Was that a story or a concrete example? Evidence, or a well-rehearsed anecdote? AI helps candidates prepare more tightly than ever. The CVs check out. The answers check out. Until someone asks three layers deeper and the room goes quiet.

That is where the work lies. In this competency-based interview training, your interviewers learn how to do it, step by step: with scorecards that work and interview techniques that push candidates to be concrete. In English, at your office or online. Plan a 30-minute call and we’ll shape the day around your vacancies.

What does this competency-based interview training give your team?

After this day, your interviewers:

1. Run every interview with a fixed structure and clear phases, instead of improvising per candidate
2. Ask follow-up questions until they hear evidence, even when the candidate is articulate and well prepared
3. Work with scorecards that support their decision, also towards hiring managers or clients
4. Recognise polished answers, AI-generated examples and socially desirable behaviour for what they are
5. Limit their own bias by scoring on criteria agreed in advance, not on gut feeling afterwards
6. Give every candidate well-founded feedback, even with a rejection

Competency-based interview training programme

No loose interview techniques. A complete approach to competency-based interviewing: from selection criteria to a well-founded choice.

1. Start with the basics: sharp selection criteria

Sharp criteria beforehand prevent discussion afterwards.

• Defining functional and behavioural competencies
• Separating must-haves from nice-to-haves
• Working with a scorecard everyone understands

2. Building a competency-based interview

Interviews that feel consistent and professional, for the interviewer and for the candidate.

• Clear phases in every interview
• Fixed questions per competency
• Objective scoring criteria
• A pleasant candidate experience, even when the bar is high

3. Asking until you hear evidence, with practice

This is the core of a good interview. Your team practises at the sharp end: how do you get past the story?

• Behavioural questions that draw out concrete examples
• Probing on situation, task, action, result and reflection
• Recognising socially desirable and AI-generated answers
• Probing when a candidate seems to hold something back
• Practising with realistic cases and direct feedback

4. From interview to decision

Choices your team explains and defends.

• Scoring on criteria agreed in advance
• The difference between impression and evidence
• Recognising and limiting bias
• Comparing candidates objectively and reaching a decision everyone supports
• Giving strong, honest feedback, even with a rejection

Who is this competency-based interview training for?

For recruiters, HR professionals and hiring managers who run selection interviews and want to grow in them. Some are new and want something to hold on to in their first interviews. Others have years of experience and want to sharpen their interview techniques. Both groups join the same day.

Frequently asked questions

Our team has run interviews for years and knows STARR. What do they gain from this competency-based interview training?
Two things most experienced recruiters don’t do in a structured way: scoring on criteria agreed in advance, and probing on reflection (the second R of STARR, often skipped). Plus: how to get past polished, AI-generated answers. That is new ground, even for people who know the profession well.

Some of our interviewers are fairly new. Isn’t this competency-based interview training too advanced for them?
No. A large share of participants has less than 2 years of experience with selection interviews, or no training in it yet. They get a structure and a method, and leave with an approach they use straight away.

How does my team probe when a candidate seems to hold something back?
That is one of the exercises on the day. Your team learns questions that push candidates to be concrete, and learns to recognise when a smooth answer is a warning sign.

How do we handle candidates who communicate well but fit less on content?
Strong communicators lead you to their story, not to the evidence. Your team practises interview structures in which they keep control and only judge once enough examples are on the table.

Our hiring managers mainly choose on gut feeling. Does this help?
Yes. With a scorecard and criteria agreed in advance, the conversation with hiring managers returns to content. On the day, we practise how to have that conversation without damaging the relationship.