Competency Interview Questions

Master 25 competency-based interview questions covering behavioral scenarios and skills assessment.

Question 23 of 25

Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level in challenging situations?

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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I was once managing a group that could not quite get along, and it tested my patience a bit because it prevented us from staying on track and focusing on the goals. I went above and beyond in helping the group get along by scheduling lunches as a team and helping to mediate situations that needed it."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I am fairly patient, with other people. I tend to be impatient with myself if I am not finishing a project as fast as I think I should be. But, I am learning to be patient with myself as well. I find that breathing exercises, and closing my eyes for a few seconds can help me regroup."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I certainly can be patient, but I would say it's more of a learned skill than something innate. I have worked to become more patient and not demonstrate my frustration or impatience with others. I know when others push me it's counterproductive, so I remind myself of that when dealing with others. I know when I'm running out of patience and am proactive asking for some time to regroup as appropriate."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I am quite patient both as a teacher and a mom. I'm used to getting my buttons pushed. I take it in stride and always try to get the student to explain what's going on and why they're having trouble, get them "using their words" and de-escalate the situation. If I'm frustrated, I make sure not to show it and just take a deep breath."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I feel I'm pretty patient overall but obviously have my limits. When I feel my limits pushed, I try to take a step away to regain the composure needed to approach the situation with a level head. If that isn't an option, I will take a sip of water and a few deep yoga breaths and try to approach the situation from another angle."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I am patient, depending on the situation and with those who need it. For instance, I am patient with an elderly customer who is moving slowly at the till; where I won't allow someone rude just to walk over me. An instance of this will be if a customer is disrespectful to me, or opening packaging on the floor. I am always professional; however, I am unafraid to approach a situation head-on.

Christine Pasqueretta

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

The interviewer would like to know if you consider yourself a patient individual. Impatience can cause a lot of stress and anxiety in coworkers, so it is essential that you can showcase your ability to remain patient and professional in workplace situations.

Patience is indeed a virtue but can be challenging to maintain when it seems that situations continue to push your buttons. Show the interviewer that you possess the ability to keep your cool in challenging conditions.

Christine Pasqueretta

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

"I do consider myself a patient person. I would rate myself an 8/10 for patience because I certainly have room to grow, but I do have a very long fuse. If I need a boost of patience in a challenging situation, I will take a step away, count to 10 and then return to the situation. I recently read a book, 'The Power of Patience' by M.J. Ryan which also gave me some excellent new methods for coping with stress."

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Anonymous Answer

I am a very patient, very emotionally disciplined person. When a situation is challenging, I take a break from it by removing myself mentally and changing my thoughts to something else. If possible, I'll go for a walk or listen to music. The important thing for me is to disengage until I've had time to decompress.

Rachelle's Feedback

Highlighting the fact that you are emotionally disciplined will go a very long way with the interviewer. Well done!

Anonymous Answer

I can't say, but I have received this feedback often from colleagues, who consider me really patient. I would rate myself a seven or an 8 out of 10 because I know that there is always room for improvement. In general, I must stay professional and provide the best service possible to my colleagues, and this helps me to stay focus on the task at hand. In the end, the satisfaction to see your customer happy is worth being patient, at least for me.

Rachelle's Feedback

It's great that you left room for improvement, but be sure not to undercut yourself. For instance, if you give yourself a 7 out of 10, does that mean you act impatiently 30% of the time? I like that you mention staying patient makes your customers happy. This shows where your values are, which is great.

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Competency Interview Questions

Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level in challenging situations?

25Competency Interview Questions & Answers

1.Tell me the ways in which you brought value to your most recent position.

2.How do you deal with conflict on your team?

3.Why are you the best candidate for this position?

4.What skills did you learn in your most recent position that will help you in this new role?

5.Give me an example of a challenge you overcame in your last position.

6.What decisions did you routinely make in your last position?

7.How do you deal in uncomfortable situations?

8.Name a few things you were asked to do in your most recent position that you weren't necessarily trained to do. How did you cope?

9.What feedback did you receive from your most recent manager?

10.How did you go about suggesting changes in your most recent company?

11.How has your current job changed over the years?

12.How do you explain complicated concepts to those who may not understand?

13.Give an example of when you used your listening skills to complete a task properly, or solve a problem.

14.Tell me about an achievement you are proud of. What skills did you use to achieve this goal?

15.Are you capable of handling disputes in a professional manner? How do you respond to customer complaints?

16.Do you have confidence in your communication skills? What is your communication style?

17.How did you maintain a good relationship with your most recent boss?

18.Tell me about a time when you took a creative approach to solving a problem.

19.When have you taken an unusual risk in the workplace? What was the outcome?

20.In your opinion, why is it important to develop relationships with coworkers?

21.How do you handle a larger than average workload?

22.How do you deal with stressful situations in the workplace?

23.Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level in challenging situations?

24.Have you requested extra responsibilities in any of your previous roles?

25.With the ongoing changes in this industry, how do you keep your knowledge current?