Tips on how to SOAR during a job interview

`How would you describe yourself?"

"Why would you be an asset to our company?"

If you're preparing for a job interview, regardless of the job, don't expect to be asked broad, open-ended questions like these. Employers today aren't interested in hearing job candidates talk about themselves in general terms. With no time or money to waste on hiring incompetence, employers instead are asking questions that require candidates to provide evidence of their ability to handle specific on-the-job situations and challenges.

Thus, "competency-based interviews are quickly gaining popularity among hiring professionals as the most effective questioning strategy to identify and hire the right people," notes career consultant and columnist Linda Matias.

The secret to acing such interviews, says Matias, who is also author of "201 Knockout Answers to Tough Interview Questions: The Ultimate Guide to Handling the New Competency-Based Interview Style," is to recognize and speak well of your accomplishments. To come up with diverse examples to draw upon, she encourages candidates to dig into their past and to "think small."

"Interviewers do not expect you to provide extraordinary examples every time," she says.

But they do expect well thought-out answers. "Think SOAR," says Matias. "First, set up the Situation or Obstacle you encountered; next, explain the Action you implemented; and finally, close with the Result."