Prepare evidence-led answers that match the AA behaviour criteria.
On this page
Common Developing Self and Others interview questions and how to answer them at Administrative Assistant level.
Developing Self and Others questions test how you identify learning needs, act on feedback and share useful knowledge with colleagues.
This page focuses on AA examples involving practical skills, workplace procedures and support for another person’s learning.
For guidance on behaviour scoring, answer structure and interview preparation, read our AA Behaviour Interview Questions guide.
1. What are the AA Developing Self and Others criteria?
At AA and AO level, Developing Self and Others means showing that you can:
- identify gaps in your skills and knowledge and make plans of how to develop these
- take time to achieve development objectives
- listen to and act on feedback from colleagues to find areas you can develop
- share knowledge and skills learnt with colleagues to contribute to the learning and development of the whole team
At AA level, strong evidence shows that you identified a real gap and made a clear plan to improve. The panel may also look for how you used feedback and passed useful learning to colleagues. Development should connect to better work, greater confidence or stronger team capability.
2. What are good examples to use for Developing Self and Others?
Learning a system or procedure you found difficult
Choose a skill gap that affected your work. Explain how you planned the learning, practised and checked that your performance improved.
Using feedback to improve
Use specific feedback from a colleague or manager. Show the action you took and the difference in later work.
Helping a colleague learn a routine task
A strong example can show how you explained the process, adapted to their level of experience and checked that they could complete it independently.
Sharing learning with the wider team
Choose a useful tip, guide or demonstration that helped colleagues apply a new process or avoid a repeated error.
Avoid examples where development ends with attending training. The panel needs to hear how you applied the learning and what improved afterwards.
3. AA Developing Self and Others interview questions
Question 1: Tell us about a time you identified a gap in your skills and improved it.
How to answer
- Explain the task you found difficult and how you recognised the gap.
- Show the development goal you set and the learning method you chose.
- Describe the practice, feedback or review you used to check progress.
- Finish with evidence that you could complete the work more accurately or confidently.
Question 2: Describe a time you helped a colleague learn something new.
How to answer
- State what the colleague needed to learn and why it mattered to the team.
- Explain how you found out what they already understood.
- Show how you demonstrated or explained the task and checked their understanding.
- The result should show that they could use the skill with greater independence.
4. AA Developing Self and Others interview questions with full answers
Question 3: Describe a time you took steps to improve your own skills or knowledge.
Full answer
Saying that you enjoy learning gives the panel very little to score. Members can unlock the complete AA Developing Self and Others question bank below, with full answers showing skill gaps, useful feedback and practical support for colleagues. Use the examples to turn everyday learning into clear evidence of improved performance and stronger team capability.
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