Interview preparation checklist

This checklist is for competency-based interviews in the Irish civil and public service: civil service grades, local authority competitions and similar panels. It works backwards from what interview boards actually score, which is evidence. Print it, work through it in order, and tick things off as you go. If you get stuck at any step, email sarah@dedico.ie.

As soon as you are called to interview

1. Reread the job specification and the information booklet. The competencies or capability dimensions listed there are the marking scheme. Write them out.
2. Reread your own application form. The board has it in front of them and can ask about anything on it.
3. Book the time to prepare. Two or three focused sessions beat one long night before.

Build your example bank

4. List your strongest work examples from roughly the last five years: projects delivered, problems solved, conflicts handled, changes led. There is a longer guide to building an example bank.
5. Map each example against the competencies. Every competency needs at least two examples; one example can serve more than one competency.
6. Fill the gaps. If a competency has no example, look further back in your career, or at voluntary and committee work.
7. For each example, note the measurable result: what changed, by how much, for whom.

Structure your answers

8. Structure each example as STAR: situation, task, action, result. Keep the situation short. Use the task to tell the board what your own role was and what you had to achieve. The action is where the marks are, so spend most of your answer there.
9. Say "I", not "we". The board is scoring what you did. "I decided", "I negotiated", "I delivered". There is more on I-centred language in interviews.
10. Time yourself. A full answer should run about two minutes. Longer, and you are padding; shorter, and you are leaving evidence unsaid.

Practise out loud

11. Answer real questions aloud, standing or sitting as you will on the day. Reading notes silently is not practice.
12. Record one practice session and listen back. Note fillers, pace and volume once; do not obsess over them.
13. Do at least one full mock interview with another person, ideally someone who will interrupt and probe the way a board does.

The week before

14. Confirm the logistics: date, time, format, location or link, and who is on the board if published.
15. If the interview is online, test your camera, microphone and connection at the same time of day as the interview.
16. Prepare one or two questions to ask the board, grounded in the role rather than the process.

On the day

17. Arrive or log in early enough that the last thing before the interview is quiet, not rush.
18. Bring your example bank summary for a final read, then put it away.
19. In the room, answer the question that was asked. If you are unsure what is being asked, say so and ask.

A board can only score what you say. Preparation is not about performing; it is about making sure the evidence of your own career actually reaches the people scoring it. If you want a structured mock interview with feedback, email sarah@dedico.ie or see interview coaching.

Frequently asked questions