Exploring Core Competencies for the Job Interview

Congratulations! You have a job interview with a company that you find exciting and really would want to work for. You have fully researched the company, have your questions ready, and your pristine resume. But there’s one last item!

Have you considered going that extra step to investigate the core competencies of this company?

This will allow you to get some extra insight into how your professional qualities align with the company’s core beliefs.

BusinessDictionary.com defines a company’s core competency as “a unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or develops and that cannot be easily imitated. Core competencies are what give a company one or more competitive advantages in creating and delivering value to its customers in its chosen field.”

Each business has core competencies that guide their business practices. Sort of like the company’s guiding North Star. When markets change and economies rock, these guiding principles are what the founders always look to in order to guide the ship in the marketplace. These competencies also contain qualities or characteristics that they desire in persons that will be employed by the organization.

Candidates need to be able to verbalize the specific core competencies they possess during a job interview, proving their value and potential job success to the hiring manager. These competencies compose the knowledge, skills, and general behavioral characteristics that make a person acceptable for the job they are applying for.

Best-Job-Interview.com lists 12 core competencies for job success as: decision making, teamwork, work standards, motivation, reliability, problem solving, adaptability, planning and organization, and finally communication.

Different industries and levels of seniority may require different competencies. Common industries however will have the same competencies. Medical sales, for example, will all have competencies that are similar. The same goes for editorial positions at a publishing company.

Many job descriptions will contain core competencies within the actual job description. If you are applying for a management position, the job description may read, “able to lead a team of 20 people.” Now you know that you will be required to possess leadership skills, management, and organizational skills along with team-building skills among many others.

As you read different job descriptions, try to identify the core competencies mentioned. If you have maintained these competencies or skills in your past work experience, you can strategically place them in your resume and application process. These specifically-placed words may be a beacon for the hiring manager as she/he sorts through resumes. These specific words may also be “search” words looked for by computer application processes, so it is crucial to know these.

All job interview questions you will be asked during the interview process will be based on or flow from the core competencies of the organization. If you are asked a question such as, “Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss,” you need to highlight skills of problem solving, teamwork, and communication as well as others depending on the particular past work situation you are describing.

During the actual job interview, you can verbally utilize the company’s written core competencies. By using the company’s own written words in your examples, you are exhibiting to the hiring manager that you did indeed research the organization. You may even be so bold as to tell the hiring manager that you, for example, “noticed that organization is a valued skill in the company’s core competencies and that I am very organized.” Then you can provide an example from your work history!

When you are giving a verbal example of your professional work experience through a story, be sure to use the specific word. For example, if one of the core competencies of the company is team work and you are giving a work example of increasing your past team’s rating and revenue, you may say, “We were able to increase our company standing and revenue through a series of pre-scheduled team meetings where we worked together to solve any logistics problems. I believe in teamwork and find it is a very good way to get everyone’s input for problem resolution.”

You probably won’t hear recruiters or phone screeners mention a company’s core competencies. These competencies may not be the glitz and glam of the job interview process and are often easily ignored by job applicants. Remember though, core competencies are very important considering that they are the foundational elements of any organization and it would be beneficial not to disregard their importance.

So, go ahead and take the extra step of researching the core competencies of the company you want to work for. It may give you that additional bit of insight, helping you improve your work experience stories and impress the hiring manager!

I offer a free ½ hour introductory job interview coaching session. Contact me today to prepare for your tomorrow!