Hi

I would suggest there are two or three things you can think of doing

1) prepare - chances are you are being asked very similar competency based question. So you can think about the best situations and examples to use. Actually in many ways competency based questions are more predictable than you would think.

2) think about a technique like STAR to structure your answers. It allows you to focus your answer on the key points.

3) before the interview make them aware of your disabilities and if necessary ask them to structure questions singularly rather than in multiple sections as a reasonable adjustment.

I prepare and make notes on what I can in terms of the company info, values, mission, highlights etc. To be honest I can't remember the questions that were asked now anyway so I couldn't tell you what they were based on. I am familiar with STAR and try to follow it but once again memory isn't the greatest and trying to focus on what the question is asking of me, thinking of a suitable answer and then applying the framework is too much processing in one go for me. hence why I loose marks, waffle, panic, stammer and stutter. I have previously informed employers of my disabilities and this has backfired in the past of either being passed over or not taken seriously. believe it or not but one employer actually said that they couldn't accommodate my needs and withdrew offer of an interview.

In reply to Samantha:

It’s certainly a challenge.

If the interviews are competency based. And given your situation. I would focus less on researching their culture, operating model etc and more on preparing and refining your answers.

If necessary I would take in brief notes on each of the likely competency areas with reminders of your examples in a STAR format.

It’s likely you would be able to work out the most likely scenarios. Ie heavy ER role - “tell us about the most challenging Disciplinary case you have handled, what did you do and what was the outcome?”

Heavy business partner role? “Tell us about where you had to persuade a manager….” Etc

I would prepare 5 or 6 on a page with key points. And have that in front of me given the challenges you face.

It’s sad the response you had asking for adjustments (and probably illegal) but maybe not uncommon. So notes and preparation may well be key.

I've been in plenty of interviews where a candidate has asked to take notes and I've always been happy to allow it - they would tend to jot down each part of the question and then think about answering it. Some candidates have come with with pages of notes and would flip to the right page for their answer (although if you do that, make sure you craft your answer to fit the question rather than just read your notes. ;-) ) I've also always been happy to repeat some or all of the question, or gently prompt if a candidate has answered one part and not the other. It's my job to get the best out of candidates, not catch them out. So please don't be afraid to use any or all of those tactics - a good interviewer won't mind.

Practice.

Find a friend or CIPD colleague in your local network who will sit with you and run you through some of the most common competency scenarios. Memory is a tricky thing, but if you can build a reliable database of answers to draw upon, you'll find it much easier to bring them to mind under the stressful scenarios of an interview.

And this isn't just about interviewing, either. Somewhat in the defence of your interviewers, the work of the HR Advisor and upwards can be stressful. You are often put on the spot by a situation, employee or manager and expected to have an answer at your fingertips. This work of preparing for competency based interview questions will also give you a store of ready experiences to draw upon to respond to those work situations beyond the interview.

You may also want to adjust your sights when it comes to where you want to work. For example, given the list of issues you give, you would most likely do your best work remotely (where the sensory input is under your immediate control), so look for employers offering mostly-remote working and interviews. This will also allow you to use things like a clock or reminder notes to make sure you stay concise and to the point in your answers.

You will also find that public and third sector institutions are more likely to be accommodating that the private sector. So focus on places like NHS Jobs, Charity Jobs and similar. If you are already a qualified HR professional (I see you are an Associate, so I assume you already have at least a Level 3 qualification), then your skillset is in demand, so keep plugging and you will find that there are employers prepared to make the accommodations you need.

I have a Masters in HR management at level 7. I started my work career as a chef, worked from the bottom to the top over 15yrs and realised at the top I was doing more HR related tasks than catering and I liked it. What also pushed me to change careers was my decline in mobility and mental health. In the past I hid my disabilities and declining health and it backfired on me and resulted in me being accused of gross misconduct. After that I decided to not hide it anymore and I do declare things but not to any extent unless asked. it seems hiding things did me no favours and declaring it dosent either at times. I have thought about setting up my own small business but have no idea where to start in terms of software to use, start up costs and things like insurance etc.

bits came to me last night and I remember something along the lines of facing difficult situations and or people (work colleagues, customers)? As you can probably tell I'm a prepper, I think if the questions were in front of me beforehand I could answer it and follow STAR framework easily because I'm not put on the spot the same; I'm expecting the question. However, this wouldn't be allowed in the adjustments?

I do ask the interviewer to repeat the question and on occasion asked if it could be refrased when it's really not made any sense

In reply to Samantha:

You absolutely can ask for questions in advance if it would be a reasonable adjustment for you. There was a discussion on these forums recently about it. It's an idea that seems to be gaining some traction and awareness recently and I'm definitely coming round to the idea the more I think about it.

In reply to Jacqueline:

I'd agree with Jacqueline and I am sorry that you have had such difficult experiences, Samantha. All the advice you have been given above is good and I don't see any reason why most competency based questions couldn't be shared in advance or at least share the competencies so you can prepare your own written examples. As Robey says, there will be occasions in real life when you are put on the spot and asked for instant response - so some interviews will test that - but the entire interview shouldn't (unless its for a rapid-response role) be entirely about instantaneous responses.