Successful Selections STAR Based Interviewing

Successful Selections/Competency-Based Interviewing

Competency-based interviews (also called structured interviews) are interviews where the questions are designed to test one or more specific skills (competencies).

Candidates are asked questions relating to their behavior and experience in specific circumstances, which they then need to support with concrete examples. The interviewers will then dig further into the examples by asking for specific explanations about the candidate's behavior, experience or skills. This is called the “STAR” approach.

  • S/T – Situation/Task
    • Specific situation that the candidate has been confronted with in previous work experience
  • A – Action
    • What the candidate did in the situation and how they did it
  • R – Result
    • What the end result of the situation was – how it all worked out
Rock climber at Vedauwoo

Getting started

Creating the Interview Guide with your Employment/Staffing Partner

  1. Evaluate and screen all applicants on criteria from the advertisement.
  2. Determine who you would like to interview and work with HR Employment/Staffing Partners for approval of justifications prior to scheduling interviews.
  3. Visit the Classification/Compensation website to determine which competencies are assigned to your position, or email ccomp@uwyo.edu. 
    • Find the appropriate Job Title and click to open the document. You will see the competencies listed here.
    • The list of competencies for your position are also listed in your job advertisement.
  4. View the Competency Dictionary for definitions and additional competencies.
  5. Work with HR Employment/Staffing Partners to learn the basics of competency-based interviewing and create the interview guide. Review the Sample Interview Guide. 
  6. Begin scheduling and conducting your interviews!

What are the benefits of Competency-Based Interviewing?

  • Thoroughness and equality in evaluating candidates
  • Clear decision points
  • Cost effectiveness – decrease in turnover
  • Legally defensible criteria in regards to justification and final candidate selection
  • Professional, structured interview process
  • Competent, successful candidates