How to use the Kokoro competency library

You open Kokoro’s library to build an assessment and you find a huge catalog: dozens of competencies, technical skills, tests by area. The question isn’t “what’s available?” but “where do I start for this specific role?”. It’s the same feeling as standing in front of a packed shelf: you know what you need, but not which combination solves it best.

The good news is that the library isn’t meant to be used in full, but to help you choose. Your job isn’t to cover everything, but to select the few signals that truly matter to decide who to interview, with backing and before you sit across from the candidate.

What the library is for

Kokoro’s library is the starting point for building an assessment tailored to the role. Instead of building tests from scratch or reusing a generic template that doesn’t fit, you choose the blocks that reflect what the role really demands.

Think of it in two big groups: the competencies (what the person brings into play: reasoning, attention to detail, communication, results orientation) and the technical skills (concrete knowledge and tools by area: sales, support, data, administration). Combining both groups is what gives you a fuller picture than a resume, and delivers comparable signals across candidates applying to the same role.

How to navigate it without getting lost

Before clicking, write in one line what the person does in this position on a normal day. That sentence is your filter. If the role “handles upset customers and closes deals over the phone,” you already know communication and pressure management weigh more than spreadsheet mastery.

With that clear, navigate the library looking for matches, not completeness. Three practical criteria for ruling things out:

• Relevance to the day-to-day: if it doesn’t appear in that sentence you wrote, it probably doesn’t belong.
• Ability to differentiate: a competency every candidate will have equally doesn’t help you decide.
• Reasonable total load: an assessment that’s too long scares off good applicants. Fewer well-chosen blocks pay off more.

How to combine competencies for a role

Here’s the heart of the matter: a good assessment combines competencies and technical skills according to what the role needs, it doesn’t add them loosely. The mix generates a role fit indicator that lets you compare candidates against the same common criteria, instead of relying on each interviewer’s impression.

A simple recipe that works in most processes:

1. One or two core competencies that define the role (what the person cannot lack).
2. One technical skill from the area that confirms knowledge applicable from day one.
3. One cross-cutting competency aligned with your culture (teamwork, integrity, adaptability).

Add the integrity controls Kokoro includes so the signals you receive are reliable. The result is evidence beyond the resume and reports that help you prepare better interviews, with questions aimed at what the assessment revealed.

A concrete example: sales executive

Take a common role in the region. For a sales executive, the day-to-day sentence might be “prospects, listens to the customer, handles objections, and closes.”

From there comes a natural combination: persuasive communication and results orientation as core competencies, a technical skill in commercial process or customer service, and a cross-cutting competency in frustration management (because “no” is part of the job). That mix gives you a comparable reading of each applicant: who argues well under pressure and who only presents a polished resume.

With that report you arrive at the interview knowing what to confirm and what to dig into, instead of improvising. The team keeps the final decision; Kokoro supports the decision with backing.

In short

To get the most out of the library: write in one line what the role does, navigate looking for matches and not completeness, combine two or three core competencies with one technical skill from the area and one cross-cutting culture competency, and add the integrity controls. That way you assess before you interview, with comparable signals and common criteria for your whole team. Start by exploring the library and build the first assessment for the role you have open today.