Looking For New Talent? How to Prepare For a Skills-Based Interview and Key Questions to Ask

In an era where just about everyone has a degree or diploma, how do you work out which candidate is going to deliver the best value for your organisation?

The solution is to focus on skills-based hiring. Aim to match the candidate’s demonstrated competencies to the requirements of the role by conducting a skills-based interview.

Paper qualifications may indicate that an applicant has mastered the theory of a professional function, but existing experience and past on-the-job achievements serve as a more accurate guide to future performance.

Understanding skills-based interviewing

While informal and unstructured interviews can play a part in determining a candidate’s personality and culture fit (or culture add), skills-based hiring will be designed around questions which target the specific skills required for success in the vacant position. Prepared questions should test not only hard technical skills, but also transferable soft skills like decision-making, communication, collaboration, leadership style and interpersonal skills.

This type of competency-based hiring, focusing on transferable skills rather than vocational qualifications or previous experience in the same industry, can also widen the available talent pool. In addition, skills-based interviews bring the advantages of objective assessment, bias reduction, speedy and efficient hiring, and insights into future training needs and development potential.

Preparing to conduct a skills-based interview

There’s groundwork to be done before the day of the interview in order to secure the best results.

1. Identify key competencies for the vacant position

An effective job description and the current incumbent should be your best guide to the skills required to perform successfully in the role for which you are interviewing. If it’s a new role, consult with the line manager the new hire will report to, as well as existing employees in similar positions.

Use this information to compile a list of essential duties and responsibilities, and the skills, knowledge and abilities required for optimum performance.

2. Prepare targeted questions

Now, craft interview questions and exercises that directly relate to the job skills. Questions should be open-ended to encourage detailed responses. Aim to include the following types of questions:

• Technical exercises relevant to the role. Where appropriate, include practical exercises that cover actual job duties, for example a coding test for a programmer or a Google Ads campaign plan for a digital marketing specialist.
• Behavioural questions focused on past experience. Incorporate behavioural questions aimed at understanding how a candidate has used their skills in previous jobs.
• Situational questions that simulate on-the-job events. Develop situational or hypothetical questions relevant to the role. These questions help assess a candidate’s critical thinking, decision-making, and adaptability in potential job scenarios.

3. Advise the candidate

Inform candidates about the nature of the skills-based interview in advance. Provide them with information on what to expect, including any practical exercises or tests, so they are not caught off-guard and can prepare appropriately.

Conducting a skills-based interview

Following these interview guidelines will help you to maximise the benefit of skills-based hiring.

Active listening and probing

Active listening – seeking to understand the meaning and intent behind spoken words – allows the interviewer to fully understand the candidate’s answers. It ensures that they don’t miss key details that might reveal more about the candidate’s capabilities.

Probing can uncover skills and experiences that the candidate might not have initially mentioned, but that are relevant to the job. It can also clarify any generalised statements or ambiguities.

Your probing methodology should include follow-up questions asking the candidate to elaborate on their answers with more detail or clarification. For example, if the candidate mentions they led a project team, ask them to describe how they handled a specific challenge during the project.

Delve deeper with hypothetical scenarios, such as how they would investigate and resolve a discrepancy they found in a significant report. Request specific examples from their past work that demonstrate a relevant skill or experience.

Behavioural and situational questions and responses

Interpreting a job candidate’s responses to behavioural questions – on the basis that their past handling of situations is a good predictor of their future behaviour –  is a key part of assessing their suitability for a role.

Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to frame questions in a way that will provide comprehensive insights into their approach and problem-solving skills. Look for responses with specific examples rather than vague statements, assess the complexity and difficulty of the context, focus on their personal actions rather than team efforts, and evaluate the results.

Examples of key behavioural questions to assess competency

• Provide an example of a time when you successfully motivated your team. What strategies did you use?
• How would you describe your leadership style?
• Give an example of a time when you had to explain a complex issue to someone without similar expertise. How did you make sure they understood?
• Tell me about a time when you were involved in a workplace conflict. How did you resolve it?
• Describe a situation in which you made a mistake and what you learned from it.
• Can you tell me about a time when you had to work closely with a colleague who had a very different personality from yours? How did you handle the situation?
• Give me an example of a challenging problem you faced in your previous job and how you solved it.
• Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a significant change at work. How did you manage the transition?
• Give me an example of a time you had to deal with a difficult customer or client.
• Describe a situation where you had to meet a tight deadline. How did you ensure timely delivery?

Evaluating and comparing candidates

In skills-based hiring it’s vital to use consistent questions for all candidates for the same role, in order to ensure fairness and objectivity. The same consistency should be applied to comparing and evaluating their responses, by using either scorecards or an evaluation matrix.

A scorecard simply allocates a score of, say, 1-5 for the merit of a candidate’s response to each interview question. Scores are then totalled to indicate their suitability for the role when compared with other applicants.

An evaluation matrix starts with a similar scoring system, but adds a weighting for each question, with questions more crucial for the role receiving a greater weighting. Multiply the scores for each question by the allocated weighting, and total the results.

Although a scoring system can help to streamline the recruitment process, it should not be the only determinant. The final decision should be based on a comprehensive view of the candidate.

Skills-based hiring can elevate your workforce

Employees recruited using skills-based interviews are more likely to have the competencies and expertise to perform effectively right from the start. Hiring managers can also gain access to a wider talent pool by measuring transferable skills rather than specific industry experience.

Structured and consistent interview questions targeted to the requirements of the role help to ensure objectivity and promote a beneficial outcome. Interviewers need to be prepared with behavioural and situational as well as technical questions, engage in active listening and be ready to probe for details. A rational scoring system is an effective guide to a candidate’s overall interview performance.

Adecco can assist you with skills-based hiring as a part of your talent acquisition program. Contacts us to find out how our expert team can help you to optimise your workforce.