If you’ve ever walked into a Civil Service interview and been thrown off by questions like “What energizes you?” or “What does a good day at work look like for you?”—you’ve encountered strength-based interviewing. And you’re not alone in wondering how to handle these seemingly simple but deceptively tricky questions.
💡 What Are Strength-Based Questions?
Unlike competency-based questions (which focus on past performance), strength-based questions aim to discover what naturally energizes you—your innate talents, motivations, and preferences. The Civil Service uses these to match candidates with roles where they’ll thrive and bring out their best consistently.
Think of it like this:
Competency = Can you do it?
Strengths = Do you love doing it?
🧠 Why Does the Civil Service Use Strength-Based Interviews?
The idea is simple: when you enjoy what you’re doing, you tend to perform better, stay motivated longer, and contribute more effectively. Strength-based questions help hiring managers identify people whose natural tendencies align with the role and the wider Civil Service values.
🛠️ How to Prepare for Strength-Based Interviews
Here’s your prep strategy:
1. Know Yourself
Reflect on tasks and situations that make you feel energized, excited, and accomplished. Are you most alive when solving problems, helping people, organizing chaos, or leading a team?
2. Do a Self-Audit
Think about:
- Activities you do in your free time.
- What colleagues or friends come to you for help with.
- What type of work you do without even realizing time is passing.
3. Practice Longer Answers with Real Examples
These interviews often move quickly, but that doesn’t mean your answers should be short. Aim to speak for up to two minutes, and support your answers with short, relevant examples that demonstrate the strength in action.
4. Link Strengths to the Role
Even though it’s not about your past experience per se, referencing real situations makes your answer authentic and memorable.
🧘♂️ Example:
Q: What kind of tasks do you enjoy most?
A: I really enjoy organizing and streamlining workflows. For example, in my previous role, I noticed our team was spending a lot of time duplicating work across spreadsheets. I created a shared template that automated parts of the process and cut our reporting time in half. I love when I can bring order to chaos and help people work more efficiently.
