Employers often describe jobs in terms of competencies, a combination of ‘behaviours’ that lead to superior performance in a role. The principal components are:
- knowledge, skill and experience
- aptitude – what you are capable of doing
- style – how you relate to your colleagues, team and organization
- motivation – the energy with which you approach a task and the factors that tend to motivate or de-motivate you.
Competencies are rather like a recipe for a meal. Just as the flavour of the dish can be changed by a subtle change in the ingredients, so the content of a job can change through a subtle change in the number and ‘weight’ of the competencies.
Examples of Competencies:
Specialist Knowledge
Understands technical or professional aspects of work and continually maintains technical knowledge.
Leadership
Motivates and empowers others in order to reach organizational goals.
Creativity and Innovation
Creates new and imaginative approaches to work-related issues. Identifies fresh approaches and shows a willingness to question traditional assumptions.
Flexibility
Successfully adapts to changing demands and conditions.
Employers use different assessment methods to try and match the applicant to the role. As an applicant, you can help by having already carefully considered how well your talents match up to the requirements for successful performance in the job.
There are several dimensions which help to determine how well suited to a job you are:
- Interest – What you want to do
- Style – How you like to do it
- Motivation – Why you do it
- Ability – Whether or not you can do it
It is important to understand the balance between all four of these aspects in matching people to jobs.
Select a link below to view more details:
Understanding the assessment process
How the assessment process works
Methods used to compare candidates
Hints and tips to help you
Practice Tests