Workbooks to help you prepare for your interview

Are you looking for a step-by-step guide to help you prepare answers for your interviews? In these two interview preparation workbooks, I have broken everything down into logical steps for you to follow. I have included worksheets, templates, hints, tips, advice, prompts and lists to help you prepare for your interview.

There are two workbooks for you to choose from:
  • Mastering answers for capability-based interviews in the Civil Service is focused on interviews using the new Civil Service Capability Framework. The Capability Framework is already being used at interviews run by publicjobs.ie (at EO, AO, HEO and AP grades) instead of the previously used competencies and requires different interview preparation.
  • Preparing answers for competency-based interviews is for anyone getting ready for a competency-based interview elsewhere in the public sector or for internal civil service competitions that have not yet swapped over to the Capability Framework.

I have previously designed and written many workbooks for the Civil Service, Local Authorities, HSE, An Garda Síochána and other Public Sector organisations. 

Workbook: Mastering answers for capability-based interviews in the Civil Service


​Are you looking for help figuring out the new Capability Framework for Civil Service interviews? Interviews in the Civil Service are moving from being based on the competency model that has been in place for years to a new capability framework. This means you will need to prepare new answers for a capability-based interview. I wrote and designed Mastering Answers for Capability-Based Interviews in the Civil Service to help you prepare answers for this new type of interview.
Note: If you are preparing for an interview in the public sector using competencies and not the Capability Framework, Workbook WB101 would be a better fit for your needs. ​
Workbook description - WB0124
​The Mastering answers for capability-based interviews in the Civil Service workbook is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you prepare answers for interviews using the new Civil Service Capability Framework. It would particularly suit you if you are preparing for a Civil Service competition, such as EO, AO, HEO, or AP via publicjobs.ie.

The new Capability Framework brings a significant change to how interviews are conducted in the Civil Service. These new interviews are focused more broadly on you as a person, which means that you will be doing a different type of preparation. Interviewers will ask about your examples, expertise, skills, strength, knowledge, values, motivation and interests. This workbook will guide you through what you need to do to be fully prepared for your interview. The workbook is a PDF that you will download to use.

​In it you will find:
  1. Tips, templates, lists and prompts that guide you through preparing your answers.
  2. Clear explanations of each of the the Capability Framework's capability dimensions and subdimensions at each grade.
  3. Maps of how the new capability dimensions match some of the competencies in the previous competency model, which will be helpful for those already familiar with those competencies.
  4. Suggestions of tasks or projects you could consider including in your examples for each capability dimension (at each grade).​
  5. ​Lists to help you select your relevant behavioural examples, skills, strength, knowledge, values, motivation and interests.
  6. Sample questions and worked examples of answers, to help you be best prepared for your interview.​

Sample workbook pages

Workbook: Preparing answers for competency-based interviews


This workbook guides you through identifying and structuring good competency answers. I wrote and designed Preparing your answers for competency-based interviews to take you through how to prepare successful answers for this type of interview. You might be preparing for an interview in a local authority or county council, the HSE, An Garda Síochána or in any organisation using a competency-based interview approach.
Note: If you are preparing for a Civil Service interview using their new Capability Framework (and not the previously used competencies), Workbook WB0124 would better suit your needs. ​
Workbook description - WB0101​
​The Preparing your answers for competency-based interviews workbook is a step-by-step guide to help you prepare answers for competency-based interviews. 

In this workbook you will learn a structure to use for your examples and hints and tips to guide you in selecting and writing those examples. You will read about typically asked questions across all of the public service competency models and be able to prepare your examples for these. You will understand what interviewers are looking for from your answers. This workbook will guide you through what you need to do to have good competency examples ready for your interview. The workbook is a PDF that you will download to use.

In it you will find:
  1. ​Tips, templates, lists and prompts that guide you through preparing your competency-based answers.
  2. Explanations of what interviewers are looking for in your competency-based answers.
  3. Sample questions that are ones that are typically asked.
  4. Examples of completed answers to questions that use the templates to help you best prepare for your interview.​

Sample workbook pages
Thank you so much Tina. I never knew there was such a workbook. I wish I had known about it sooner!
Hi Tina, very impressive document, well done. Loads of useful nuggets.
I recently bought one of your workbooks, "Capability-based interview". It is a great resource, full of valuable information. 
Fantastic breakdown of the new Capability Framework.
Thanks Tina. I bet this will be really welcomed by others using it too!
Very informative, great structure.
The pages are all very clear, I love the layout. I found the worksheets great.
I loved the examples. I found those very helpful. 
The hints and tips are great.
The workbook is very impressive and I really liked the sample questions. 
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