How to Make Your Interview Questions Competency-Based

The UK faces a significant shortfall of engineers. By 2030, there will be a shortage of 1.5 million engineers, with estimates suggesting a need for 124,000 new engineers and technicians annually. Demand for skilled professionals remains at an all-time high, with difficult-to-fill 59,000 engineering roles annually. For hiring managers and HR professionals, this represents not only an opportunity, but a major challenge.

In a competitive market where technical expertise is crucial, selecting the right candidate goes far beyond reviewing qualifications. Employers must also assess behavioural traits, cultural alignment, and soft skills that impact long-term performance. That’s where competency-based interviews (CBIs) offer a strategic advantage.

What Is a Competency-Based Interview?

A competency-based interview is designed to assess how a candidate has demonstrated key soft and behavioural skills in real-life scenarios. Rather than focusing solely on theoretical or technical questions, CBIs aim to reveal how a candidate applies knowledge, adapts to challenges, and collaborates with others.

Used correctly, CBIs provide deep insight into whether a candidate has both the core competencies and growth potential to succeed in a role—especially within technical and engineering environments.

Why Are Competency-Based Interviews Effective for Engineering Roles?

In high-technology and engineering sectors, job performance often depends on more than engineering and design knowledge. Essential competencies include:

• Team collaboration
• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving under pressure
• Time and project management
• Adaptability and innovation

These attributes cannot be measured through a CV alone. Comptency Based Interviews offer structured, consistent methods to evaluate these areas—improving the accuracy and fairness of the selection process.

How to Frame Effective Competency-Based Interview Questions

The Importance of Open-Ended Questions

A strong interview begins with well-crafted, open-ended questions. These should prompt detailed responses—not simple “yes” or “no” answers.

Good questions should:

• Encourage candidates to share specific examples
• Reveal past behaviours that indicate future performance
• Relate to the competencies required for the role

Sample General Competency-Based Questions

Here are five commonly used questions that encourage self-reflection and storytelling:

• What are your strengths?
• What does success mean to you?
• How would your colleagues describe you?
• What motivates you?
• What are you passionate about outside of work?

These questions provide insight into emotional intelligence, team fit, and values alignment—all of which are vital for engineering team cohesion.

Using the STAR Technique to Structure Behavioural Questions

One of the most effective formats for CBIs is the STAR model:

• S – Situation 
• T – Task 
• A – Action
• R – Result

Questions designed with the STAR method ensure candidates provide complete, structured narratives that showcase their decision-making process and impact.

STAR-Based Interview Questions for Engineers

• Tell me about a difficult challenge you faced at work—how did you solve it?
• Describe a time you were under pressure. How did you handle it?
• Give an example of a mistake you made. What did you do to resolve it?
• Tell me about a time when data guided your decision-making.
• Describe a tough decision you had to make and its outcome.
• Share a situation where you had to act quickly—what was the result?
• Talk about a goal you set and achieved. How did you reach it?

These questions not only uncover behavioural traits but also allow the interviewer to assess resilience, critical thinking, and accountability—key attributes for technical hires.

Don't Shy Away from Tough Questions

Challenging or uncomfortable questions can be vital in separating top-tier candidates from the rest. HR professionals should feel empowered to ask these—while maintaining professionalism and empathy.

Additionally, consider introducing brain teasers or scenario-based problems, not necessarily to test intelligence, but to evaluate problem-solving approach, logic, and communication style under pressure. This mix of hard and soft skills can benefit both employers and employees.

The Business Case for Competency-Based Interviews in Engineering Recruitment

According to the CIPD - Resource and Talent planning, 80% of employers report success using competency-based interviews as a preferred selection tool. Yet, research shows that 85% of HR decision-makers have made poor hiring decisions, costing companies an estimated £132,000 per bad hire at the mid-management level.

Competency-based interviews reduce this risk by:

• Creating a more consistent and objective hiring process
• Improving cultural and team alignment
• Enhancing staff retention
• Identifying potential—not just current skill sets

“How much time and resources could an organisation save if they knew ahead of time that the employee was not the right fit? Or how much more could be invested in training and development for someone who has the competencies to grow within the organisation?”
— Adam Walker, Director at Redline Group

Need Support Implementing Competency-Based Interviewing?

If you're looking to refine your recruitment process or adopt a CBI framework tailored to engineering, Redline Group offers a dedicated CBI for Engineers training programme—including resources, interview templates, and expert consultation.

Final Thoughts

In today’s fast-moving engineering landscape, competency-based interviewing is not just a best practice—it’s a necessity. By implementing structured, insightful interviews, hiring managers can make better-informed decisions, reduce risk, and build teams with long-term impact. This should be carried out in conjunction with a structured client-candidate feedback process following the interview.

Redline Group’s mission is to enable high-technology companies to build world-class teams through knowledge-led recruitment. For more information from a trusted partner with over four decades of experience, contact us at 01582 450054 or email info@RedlineGroup.com or view our latest Google reviews by clicking here.