This section has been developed to provide applicants for the CRA or AACI designation with an understanding of the process followed by the Appraisal Institute of Canada related to the Interview.  The Professional Competency Interview is designed to assess the qualities and competencies that are considered critical for a designated member of the Institute.

A competency is defined as a skill, knowledge, ability or behavioural characteristic that is associated with superior performance. There are two basic levels of competencies: technical and behavioural. The first level, Technical Competencies, is predominately about acquired knowledge and technical abilities and skills.  The second level of competencies is behavioural competency, for example, communication skills or critical thinking skills. These competencies can be harder to see and develop but are key indicators of how an individual approaches his/her work.  The AIC Professional Competency Interview is designed to test only behavioural competencies.

• Observable
• Measurable
• Linked to professional requirements for designated members of AIC 
• Based on strong performance

The key actions on which you will be evaluated for each competency are outlined in the section entitled Professional Competency Interview.  An additional list (below) has been prepared to assist you to identify all the subjects that your Professional Competency Interview questions will likely include.  If you have had experience during your Applied Experience Program that includes all these subjects, you are likely to succeed in the interview. You will be asked one interview question about a subject from each of the 5 Competency categories and must provide a satisfactory answer for each in order to succeed in the Interview.

1. Market Analysis
   • Impacts of zoning and land use controls
   • Specific sources you’ve used in researching market data
   • Unique characteristics in market areas you are familiar with
   • Use of land title information
   • Importance of municipal or provincial land use policy and regulations
   • Legal non-conforming land use
   • Highest and best use challenges
2. Integrity
   • Challenges experienced due to your honesty
   • Aligning your actions with your personal ethics
   • Admitting to mistakes
   • Violations of ethics or standards you have observed
   • Business difficulties caused for you by the AIC Standards
3. Critical Thinking
   • Application of research skills
   • Unique solutions to problems
   • Application of judgment or logic
   • Approaches to difficult assignments
   • Anticipating problems
   • Resolutions to dilemmas at work
4. Relationship Building & Communication
   • Dealing with poor communicators
   • Mandates or assignments that lacked definition
   • Understanding others’ perspectives
   • Communicating with others despite a poor relationship
   • Dealing with angry people
5. Self Development
   • Targeted training/self development
   • Choosing learning experiences
   • Process changes you have chosen to make
   • Identifying and addressing performance weaknesses
   • Voluntary expansion of your knowledge
   • Applying critical feedback

How to Prepare for the Interview
In preparation for the Interview, consider situations where you have demonstrated the competencies listed above.  As you prepare, make a list of examples of how you have experienced each of the competencies.   When you speak to that competency in the Interview, be sure to use the example that you feel best demonstrates your skills and abilities. By preparing in advance, you will be able to draw on the best example vs. the first or most recent example you remember.  A satisfactory answer is required for each of the five critical competencies.

Keeping a file of experience gained in these competencies from the beginning of your Applied Experience program will assist you in selecting examples prior to your interview.  If you find on review that you are lacking experience in any area, you should seek to gain that experience before applying for the Interview.

When answering the questions be sure to provide full details to the Interviewers – include the who, what, where, when, how and why of the situation as well as what your specific role was, what follow up you did, and how you communicated throughout the situation. It is not unusual for your answer to take at least five minutes.  Please be prepared to verify all examples  for  the panel.

More about the Behavioural Descriptive Interview (BDI) Technique

The STAR Method
The BDI model of interview utilizes a method you can consider which may help you to structure your response to the interview questions, known as the STAR method:

Situation - What was the situation? What was the background and context?

Task- What specific task did you need to accomplish?

Action- What specifically did you say and do? What were the actions you took?

Result- What were the results of your actions? What was the impact? What did you learn?

Use the STAR method to review the list of topics that will be addressed for each competency in the interview. 
 
SAMPLE INTERVIEW SCENARIO
An example of a response to a question on one Competency is provided to assist you in preparing to answer questions on all competencies.
 
Competency

Relationship Building & Communication
The professional duties of an appraiser require the ability to communicate with, understand and respond to others effectively. This includes being an effective communicator when dealing with English as a second language, emotional situations, and personality differences in both client and colleague situations. People with this competency demonstrate a sincere effort to understand others and are able to read between the lines for emotions and needs

Responses will be evaluated on the demonstration of the following key actions:
•   Sees things from another’s perspective (even when in disagreement)
• Paraphrases and summarizes the ideas of others
• Reads between the lines (body language, voice tones etc) to understand real message
• Anticipates the reactions of others
• Builds bridges when not always easy
• Purposefully develops collegial relationships with others  
Consider also the list of situations you can describe when responding to questions on the above competency:
• Dealing with poor communicators
• Mandates or assignments that lacked definition
• Understanding others’ perspectives
• Communicating with others despite a poor relationship
• Dealing with angry people

Interviewer:  Give an example of a situation where you were dealing with someone whose objectives or requirements seemed undefined and how you achieved mutual understanding of the terms of the assignment.
 
Please take enough time to think of your answer.

Candidate:  Thanks
Candidate:  Most of my work is for corporate clients who know what to expect ……..

OK, one example is a private client who called about having an appraisal done on a campground.  He was getting divorced and was planning to buy out his wife’s interest.

He had some experience with appraisers, but had never been involved with litigation.  He’d seen appraisals done on houses for mortgages and thought that this would was the normal thing to expect.

I was pretty sure he had no idea of how complex this assignment might be and I wanted to make sure I understood exactly what he needed, and conversely that he would understand what I thought should be done.

Is this the kind of situation you’re looking for?



Candidate describes the Situation

 
Interviewer:   Yes, this should give you a good opportunity of answering this question.

Candidate:  Well, I asked him about the property and its operation.  He said that he and his wife ran it and then he became kind of upset with the whole thing and spoke a bit about how unreasonable his wife was.

I listened, but tried to make as little response as possible, and said something like: “this situation must be hard.”  I tried to get the conversation immediately back onto to the subject of the property.

Interviewer:   Did you say anything about his wife?
Candidate:  No, I just tried to be sympathetic and reiterated that this must be a difficult situation.


Candidate demonstrates purposeful development of collegial relationship with client , and  demonstrates he sees things from another’s perspective.

Interviewer:   So you didn’t try to take sides.

Candidate:  No, I listened but didn’t respond to what he said about his wife. But
 After giving him a minute or two, I took the discussion back to the property.

Interviewer:   How did you get him to understand what you had to do?

Candidate:  Well, I wanted him to understand that different assignments involve research that can range from some easy assignments where the research can be done quickly, to some much more difficult tasks where the level of research becomes much greater.  I wanted him to understand the scope of work that an appraiser might undertake can extend along this continuum of research, and that one level of analysis will not suit all situations.

Interviewer:   Did he understand this?

Candidate:  Not at first.  But I explained that in this situation where his wife had hired a lawyer and where it seemed fairly certain that this might go to court, I’d have to be able to do enough research to give a really well founded opinion of value.

Interviewer:   Did he understand now?

Candidate:  Not completely. He seemed to think I was complicating matters so the assignment would take longer.  So I explained the process I’d go through and what I’d have to do to verify the market data that I would rely on.

Candidate describes the Task; anticipates the client reactions   and communicates that the assignment needs definition.

 
Interviewer:   Was he satisfied now?

Candidate:  No, he really wanted to keep his costs down and said he knew about a few campground sales and he could give me the details on these.  I then explained that in order to give my unbiased opinion I could certainly make use of his information, but I said I’d have to verify the data and not only rely on him.  I also said I’d have to search for more transactions to see if those he knew of were all the relevant ones.  He still wasn’t really satisfied and thought I didn’t believe that he knew the market. 

So I turned the situation around and gave an example of the type of questions I could expect the lawyer from the other side to ask me on the stand.  I went on to say that if I didn’t do my own research beyond about the information he was giving me, it would be really easy for his wife’s lawyer to make it look as if I was just given his story and his view of the value.

He began to understand now what I had to do and why.

Candidate explains Action; summarizes a situation; demonstrates anticipation of the reactions of others and shows effort to build a bridge, in a difficult situation.

 
Interviewer:   Did you get the assignment?

Candidate:  No, at least not yet.  I sent him a written proposal of what I planned to do and what it would cost.  He called back and said he didn’t want to spend that type of money, and I said I could understand his position, but that I hoped he understood mine as well and what I thought would be an appropriate course of action in this situation.

Interviewer:   Was he annoyed?

Candidate:  No, not at all.  I think he was disappointed, but I’d succeeded in getting him to understand what I would have to do, and he thanked me for the time I’d spent explaining this to him.

Candidate describes Result; Demonstrates achievement of mutual understanding of different perspectives and collegial relationship with client.

 
Interviewer:    How can I verify the information you have provided?
Candidate:  I have the client’s phone number with me. It is 123-456-7891.
 
Interviewer:   When did this happen?
Candidate:  That was back in YEAR,  on  Day./Month.

The interview panel may ask follow up questions to get more information, or ask how   to verify the details of the situation described.

BDI resources

Behavioural Descriptive Interviewing techniques are increasingly used by employers to assess applicants for positions in their organization. One such employer is BC Assessment;  click here for a  guide to preparing for a competency interview for employment with BC Assessment.    

For general information on BDI, visit

http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html  
http://www.hrs.ualberta.ca/docs/Recruitment/Question_Types.doc
http://www.bdt.net/aboutbdt.asp?pg=News
http://www.bdt.net/excerpts.pdf
http://www.brockport.edu/career/behave.htm
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/14903857.htm


Last updated November 18, 2009