Criteria Based Interviews Notes for Candidates

Introduction
You have been asked to attend a Criteria Based Interview as part of a selection process. This document is designed to provide you with an overview of a Criteria Based Interview, explain what is likely to be involved and help you in your preparation.

What is a Criteria Based Interview?
A Criteria Based Interview is a structured interview designed around the key competencies of the job, or group of jobs, you are being considered against. The style may be unfamiliar, as it is not designed to explore your career history in detail. Rather, the purpose is to collect information about how you behave at work. All candidates being interviewed for a particular position are asked the same structured questions. This provides a fair basis for comparison.

How to Structure your Answers
Your interviewer will be looking for you to provide examples of your actual behaviour at work rather than hypothetical ideas about how you may do something. Do not worry if it takes you a short while to think of a suitable example, as you will be given this thinking time. On most occasions you will be advised of the competencies being explored as you progress through the interview. This will help you to focus your answers to ensure the best of your time. At all times try to focus your answers to ensure the best use of your time. At all times try to answer the question asked and remember it is the quality rather than the quantity of your response that counts.

Preparation
Before the interview you may find it useful to reflect on your career to date, focusing on key work experiences and any projects you have been involved in, as well as the way you typically approach your work. It will probably be useful to make a mental note of key achievements that you may want to refer to at some stage. Some people like to bring written notes to the interview to help them. Feel free to do so if you wish, although experience has shown that having too may notes to refer to can disrupt the flow of the interview.

Finally
Your interviewer will provide more details about the structure of your interview on the day itself. Even if they find the interview itself stretching, most people find they learn a lot about themselves from the process regardless of the outcome. This is particularly the case if they take advantage of any offered feedback. The best advice is to relax and be yourself. The process is not designed to trick you but to find out as much information as possible. This helps to ensure the right decisions are made at the end which is both in the potential employer's interest and your own.