Durham University

Centrica Interview
Techniques Workshop

Amie Harding and Natalie Potts

30th September 2011
Agenda

• Who are we?

• Introduction to competencies

• What is the underlying question?

• The STAR approach

• Preparing for competency based interviews

• Group exercise

• Succeeding at assessment centres – top tips!

• What we can offer you ….

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 Who are we?

• Top 30 FTSE 100 Company

• Energy business in UK and North America
• Our expertise is ENERGY
• Energy efficiency – Largest installer of energy
efficiency products in the UK

“Our vision is to be the leading integrated

energy company in our chosen markets”

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The Business: were we operate

We source it... We trade it...

We generate it... We supply it...
We process it... We service it ...
4 We store it... We save it...
Introduction to competencies

• Competency-based questions are now common on both application

forms and at interviews.

• These questions are looking for evidence of skills

"Describe a situation where you had to ......"

or
"Give an example of when you ....".

• They allow the employer to see if you have the qualities they are
seeking for a particular job.

• It’s not enough to just say what you can offer. You need to do this by
giving evidence.

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Example Objective Cont …
Within Centrica there are 4
leadership behaviours …..

…. And these map onto the 5 core behaviours/

competencies relating to what is expected of you as a
leader of self, people, leaders or organisations.

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Ice Breaker Exercise

„Competency Treasure Hunt‟

• You each have been given a piece of paper with a list of

statements on it.

• You have 10 mins to find someone in this room who

matches each of the statements on your list.

• Try and use a different person for each statement.

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 The statements on the treasure hunt are perfect examples to
demonstrate you have the required competencies

Competencies Example
Seizing Responsibility Has completed/ is doing a dissertation

Seeing Beyond Our Own Goals Is a sports coach

Putting the Customer First Has worked in a restaurant or bar

Being One Team Has held a position on an exec

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What is the underlying question?

Question: Describe a recent experience of working with other

people. What did you contribute and what was the outcome?

What competencies does this question help the

interviewer identify?

Creating a
positive
environment

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How to answer competency based questions?

The STAR Approach

Situation Give the interview the context by describing the situation

Task What was your goal?

Action What were YOUR specific actions

Result What was the end result? It doesn’t matter if the project was
unsuccessful but you must illustrate your learnings and what
you would do differently next time.

Hint: Dedicate most of your response to action!

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An Example Question …..

Question: The environment at Centrica is constantly evolving and

changing. Tell me about a time when you have seized responsibility and
taken accountability for delivering results.

• Situation – How did this change come about? Why was this change necessary?

• Task – How did this change come about? Why was this chance necessary?

• Action – What did you do respond to this change?

• Result – What was the result of the action taken? Would you do anything differently next
time?

• A good example to respond to this question might be when you have

taken on a significant role in a group project at university; or in sport
when you have taken it upon yourself to lead a team and it has achieved
(or indeed not achieved) its goals.

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What is the best way to prepare for a competency based interview?

• Read the employer's web site and find out the competencies they require.

• Note down any examples you can think of when you have put these
competencies into practice.

• Jot down a few bullets for each situation, outlining what happened, how you
approached it and what the outcome was (think STAR!)

• Be aware employers will be looking for you to use different examples for each
competency based question they ask

Preparation is Key!!!
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Group Exercise

Situation: You are interviewing for a place on the Centrica graduate

programme.

Task:

1. Pair up with someone who you don’t usually socialise with

2. You have each been given a card with some example interview questions on it

3. Take it in turn to ask each other each of these questions. These are all
competency based questions so the interviewee will need to back up their
answers with examples.

You have 20 minutes!!!!

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Remember ….

The STAR approach to

1) help structure your answer

Use examples. (These

2) don’t have to be work related
they can be anything form
playing for your college
Hockey team to organising
your college summer ball)

The interviewer wants to

3) know what you can do -
stress the I not the we!

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Points to note ….

• The majority of interview questions are likely to be on competency questions.

• However the following are also likely to be asked…

Why do you want to work for the company?

Why do you want to work in that particular field/area?

• Try to prepare three points you can put forward that answer both questions.

• Use each of these points to demonstrate that you have done your homework on
the company e.g. provide some sort of company fact!

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Top Tips for Interview Success

• Research the companies competencies

• Prepare examples for each of these

• Do your homework on the company. What do they do? Have there been any

recent developments or changes?

• Listen carefully to the question, and try to give concise answers supported

with relevant examples.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if a question is not clear.

• Take a depth breath before you start to answer a question. Take time to

gather your thoughts.

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 What we could offer you – Summer Placement Scheme

Summer placement programme gives you a

real taste of what it will be like making the
transition from university to the world of work.
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What we could offer you – Graduate Scheme

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How could you fit in?

Apply Online at:

www.centrica.com/graduates

2012 applications open on

Monday 10th October

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Any Questions?

Amie Harding
Amie.Harding1@centrica.com

Natalie Potts
Natalie.Potts@centrica.com