Competency Based Interview Questions: STAR Method Examples

Different sectors use competency based questions in different ways. Here are examples tailored to the most common industries.

NHS Competency Based Interview Questions

The NHS values compassion, communication, and patient-centred care alongside technical skills. Common NHS competency based interview questions examples are:

Tell me about a time you provided excellent patient care under pressure.

S: Our ward was short-staffed by two nurses during a busy evening shift with four high-dependency patients needing close monitoring. T: I needed to ensure every patient received safe, timely care despite the reduced team. A: I prioritised the most critical patients myself, delegated routine observations to the healthcare assistant, and escalated the staffing issue to the senior nurse immediately. R: All patients received timely care, no incidents were recorded, and the approach was praised in the shift handover notes.

Give an example of when you had to communicate difficult news to a patient or family.

S: A patient’s test results confirmed a serious diagnosis when no senior doctor was immediately available on the ward. T: I needed to inform the family sensitively without overstepping my clinical boundaries. A: I took them to a private room, spoke calmly, acknowledged their emotions, and arranged an urgent doctor follow-up within the hour. R: The family thanked the ward for the compassionate handling, and the doctor noted they arrived at the follow-up feeling supported rather than distressed. 

Describe a time you worked as part of a multidisciplinary team.

S: A patient with complex needs required a coordinated discharge involving nursing, physiotherapy, social care, and the GP within a tight timeframe. T: My role was to align all parties and ensure no element of the care plan was missed. A: I organised a joint handover, created a shared sign-off checklist, and kept the patient informed after each stage. R: The patient was discharged safely on schedule with a complete care package, which was highlighted positively in the ward review.

Civil Service Competency Based Interview Questions

The Civil Service uses a structured framework called the Success Profiles. Key behaviours assessed include making effective decisions, using CAR technique in interviews, (Context, Action, Result): briefly set the scene, describe exactly what you did, then quantify the outcome. 

Tell me about a time you managed a project with competing priorities.

S: Two high-priority policy submissions were due in the same week, requested by different senior leads who were unaware of the conflict. T: I needed to deliver both to a high standard without creating tension between the stakeholders. A: I mapped the workload, negotiated a 24-hour extension on one submission with a clear rationale, and focused my deepest work time on the more complex piece first. R: Both were delivered on time, both leads gave positive feedback, and I proposed a shared forward-planning calendar to prevent similar clashes.

Give an example of when you challenged an existing process to improve outcomes.

S: My team was tracking policy correspondence manually through spreadsheets, causing an average three-day delay in response times. T: I wanted to address the inefficiency without disrupting the team’s ongoing workload during the transition. A: I mapped the bottlenecks, piloted a case management tool with two colleagues, proved its effectiveness, and then led a two-week training rollout for the wider team. R: Response times dropped to under 24 hours, and the new process was adopted department-wide within a quarter.

Describe a time you built relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders.

S: A cross-departmental project brought together five teams with different working styles and competing priorities, who had little experience collaborating with one another. T: I needed to build enough trust across all five groups to move toward a shared outcome effectively. A: I started with individual conversations to understand each team’s concerns, identified common ground, and then facilitated a joint planning session built around shared goals. R: The project was delivered on time, all five teams endorsed the final output, and two leads requested to work with me again on a follow-up initiative.

Graduate Scheme Competency Based Interview Questions

If you are applying for a graduate programme, you may not have extensive work experience, but that is fine. Employers understand this. You can use examples from university projects, part-time jobs, volunteering, or societies.

Tell me about yourself when you demonstrated leadership during your studies.

S: Two of the four members in our final year dissertation group became disengaged, putting our key milestones at risk. T: I needed to re-energise the team and get the project back on track without any formal authority. A: I called a reset meeting, restructured tasks around each person’s strengths, and introduced brief weekly check-ins to maintain momentum. R: We submitted on time and scored 71%, with the tutor specifically noting the strong sense of shared ownership in the final piece.

Give an example of when you worked on a team project with a tight deadline.

S: In a university business competition, my team of three had just 72 hours to research, analyse, and present a full strategic recommendation to industry judges. T: We needed to establish a productive dynamic quickly and deliver genuinely strong work under serious time pressure. A: We divided responsibilities by strength within the first hour, collaborated through shared documents in real time, and held a group review the evening before to stress-test our argument. R: We placed second out of fourteen teams, with judges specifically commending the clarity and structure of our recommendation.

Describe a situation where you had to learn a new skill quickly.
S: I was assigned a data analysis module requiring Python with no prior experience and a group presentation due in three weeks. T: I needed to reach a functional level fast enough to contribute meaningfully and explain the methodology during the presentation. A: I completed two focused online tutorials in the first week, applied the skills directly to our dataset, and ran a quick session with teammates who were equally unfamiliar with the tool. R: Our group scored 72%, and the marker’s feedback specifically praised the quality of the data visualisation. 

Tip: Frame your examples around the competency required, not the environment. A well-structured STAR answer from a university group project can be just as strong as a workplace example.

Banking and Finance Competency Based Interview Questions

Finance employers focus on commercial awareness, analytical thinking, and integrity.

Give an example of when you identified a financial risk and what you did about it.

S: During a routine portfolio review, I noticed a client account had been consistently underperforming against its benchmark for several quarters without being formally investigated. T: I needed to identify the root cause, assess the risk, and present a clear recommendation before the situation worsened. A: I analysed 18 months of transaction data, identified over-concentration in one underperforming sector, modelled two rebalancing scenarios, and presented both to the client with a clear recommendation. R: The client approved the rebalance, the portfolio recovered to benchmark within two quarters, and they subsequently renewed their contract. 

Tell me about a time you had to deliver accurate work under a tight deadline.

S: A colleague fell ill at quarter-end, leaving me to complete a detailed financial reconciliation report in one day instead of the usual three. T: The report needed to be completely accurate as it was feeding directly into a client presentation the following morning. A: I broke the reconciliation into sections, applied a dual-check approach to each one as I went, and flagged a minor data discrepancy to my manager immediately so it could be resolved without slowing progress. R: The report was completed on time, passed the senior review without corrections, and my manager acknowledged the quality of the work at my next one-to-one.

Describe a situation where you had to use data to support a business decision.

S: Our team was divided over whether to continue investing in a product line showing inconsistent performance, with no evidence to guide the decision. T: I volunteered to lead the analysis so the team could make an informed, data-led recommendation. A: I reviewed 24 months of sales, margin, and retention data, identified that the product performed strongly in two specific segments, and presented two strategic options to leadership with a clear recommendation. R: Leadership adopted the approach, refocused the product line on the stronger segments, and profitability improved by 18% within six months.