Positive Indicators

• Keeps abreast of new developments in own occupation/profession.
• Actively seeks to develop oneself professionally and personally.
• Contributes to the learning of colleagues and subordinates.
• Shows willingness to learn from others.
• Seeks feedback to learn and improve.

Negative Indicators

• Has limited knowledge about area of expertise.
• Struggles to keep up to date.
• Is not proactive in undertaking developmental tasks.
• Is reluctant to help others to learn.
• Has received little positive feedback about specialist knowledge.
• Is defensive with feedback from others.
• Is not an authority.

Sample Questions

What type of specialist knowledge have you needed to be aware of in your previous jobs/education?

• How have you gone about keeping your technical knowledge up to date in the past?
• In what areas of technical knowledge do you want to become more competent?
• How does your technical knowledge compare to that of your colleagues?

Which areas in your profession/occupation are the most challenging for you?

• What are your strengths and weaknesses in your specialty area?
• How does your level of knowledge compare with that of your peers?
• What feedback have you received about your specialist knowledge?
• How have you gone about developing these areas?

Describe an occasion when colleagues (others) sought your advice or experience.

• What had you done to be an authority?
• How accurate was your advice?
• What have you done since to acquire extra knowledge?
• To what extent could you answer all their questions?
• How did you know that the information you gave was up to date?
• What was their reaction?

How do you keep up with advances in your field?

• How important is it for you to keep up to date professionally?
• How much time do you spend doing this?
• Which specialist or technical magazines or journals do you read?
• What other methods do you use to keep up to date?
• How do your efforts compare with those of your peer?

Describe an occasion when you felt that your level of technical knowledge was insufficient.

• What made you think this?
• What action did you take?
• What are your current strengths in terms of your specialist knowledge?
• What are your current weaknesses in terms of your specialist knowledge?

How have you contributed to the learning of others?

• Tell me about a specific time when you have cached or trained a colleague in something new to them.
• How did you made yourself available to them?
• What ongoing support did you provide?

Describe an example of when you had to acquire additional technical knowledge.

• How did you go about acquiring this extra knowledge?
• In what aspects were you least knowledgeable?
• What feedback have you had on the breadth and depth of your technical knowledge?
• What do you see as being the key to acquiring relevant technical knowledge?