# Take part in a competency assessment

:::info
The competency system is an optional feature that must be enabled. Please contact your account manager.

:::

## Prerequisites

For the competency assessment to appear in the questionnaire, three conditions must be met:

1. You have been invited to take part in a review.
2. The person being assessed is assigned to a job profile in the selected competency model (see [Job profiles and assignments](/en/c/competency-models/job-profiles-and-assignments)).
3. A revision of the competency model is linked to the edition (see [Add a competency assessment to the questionnaire](/en/c/competency-models/add-competency-assessment-to-questionnaire)).

If any of these prerequisites is missing, a notice appears instead (see [Error messages](#error-messages)).

## How the competency assessment is structured

The competency assessment shows the competencies of the assessed person's job profile, organized into categories. Each category contains:

* The category name and description
* A list of competencies, each with a name, an optional description and a rating scale
* Optionally: a comment field per category
* Optionally: free-text competencies

 ![Overview of the competency assessment in the questionnaire](/attachments/kompetenz/an-einer-kompetenzbeurteilung-teilnehmen/kompetenzbeurteilung-uebersicht.png)

There are two display modes, configured by the administrator.

## Compact display (matrix)

In the compact display, all competencies in a category are combined into a single table.

 ![Matrix display of a category with competencies and a rating scale](/attachments/kompetenz/an-einer-kompetenzbeurteilung-teilnehmen/kompakte-darstellung-matrix.png)

* **Rows**: Each competency is shown as its own row. A description may be shown next to the name.
* **Columns**: The column headers show the rating scale, for example "Needs development", "Basics in place", "Competent", "Advanced", "Expert", or numeric values such as 1 to 5.
* **Rating**: Click the radio button in the relevant column to give a rating.

### Change or remove a rating

* Click a different value to change your rating.
* Hold the Shift key and click the value you already selected to remove the rating completely.

### "Not applicable" (N/A)

If the administrator has enabled it, an extra **N/A** column appears to the right of the rating scale. Choose this option when a competency is not relevant for the person being assessed. Competencies rated N/A are not included in the average calculation.

## Expanded display

In the expanded display, each competency is shown as its own block.

 ![Expanded display with individual competency blocks](/attachments/kompetenz/an-einer-kompetenzbeurteilung-teilnehmen/erweiterte-darstellung.png)

* The competency's name and description are clearly visible.
* A numeric scale with clickable fields appears below the description.
* You rate the competency by clicking, just as in the compact display. Shift+click removes the rating.

## Add free-text competencies

If free-text competencies are enabled for a category, you can add and rate your own competencies.

1. Click **Add competency** below the predefined competencies.
2. A new row with a text field appears. Enter the name of the competency.
3. As you type, an autocomplete dropdown offers predefined suggestions. Pick a suggestion, or create a new entry via **Create new: "..."**.
4. Rate the free-text competency on the same scale as the predefined competencies.

Free-text competencies are marked with a blue **Free-text** badge. Depending on the configuration, there may be a minimum and maximum number. If a minimum is configured, empty entries are created automatically.

To remove an entry, click **Remove** next to it. Removing is only possible if you are above the configured minimum.

:::info
In the autocomplete dropdown you can navigate with the arrow keys and select with Enter. Escape closes the dropdown.

:::

## Comments

If the administrator has enabled it, a text field for qualitative comments appears below each category.

 ![Comment field below a category](/attachments/kompetenz/an-einer-kompetenzbeurteilung-teilnehmen/anmerkungsfeld.png)

* The administrator can customize the field's title (for example "Comments on the Technical competencies category").
* If it's configured as a required field, a red asterisk (\*) appears next to the title. In that case you must enter a comment before you can complete the questionnaire.

## Navigating the questionnaire

The competency assessment is part of the questionnaire and appears on its own page. At the bottom you'll find:

* **back** and **next**: Move between questionnaire pages. Your entries so far are saved automatically when you change page.
* **Save & continue later**: Save your progress and resume later.

 ![Navigation at the bottom of the questionnaire](/attachments/kompetenz/an-einer-kompetenzbeurteilung-teilnehmen/navigation-fragebogen.png)

:::info
Your entries are saved automatically when you move between pages. Required fields are only validated when you complete the entire questionnaire.

:::

## Error messages

If the competency assessment isn't set up correctly, a notice appears instead of the rating fields:

| Message | Cause |
|----|----|
| No competency model revision has been linked for this edition. | No revision was selected in the edition settings. |
| The assessed person is not assigned to a job profile. | The person being assessed is not assigned to a job profile in the selected competency model. |
| No categories have been configured for the assessed person's job profile. | The job profile has no active categories. |
| No rating scales have been defined yet for the configured categories. | The scale configurations are missing from the competency model revision. |
| No competencies in this category. | No competencies are assigned to a category. |

:::warning
If you see one of these messages, contact your administrator.

:::

## See also

* [Add a competency assessment to the questionnaire](/en/c/competency-models/add-competency-assessment-to-questionnaire) — configuring the question type
* [Job profiles and assignments](/en/c/competency-models/job-profiles-and-assignments) — assigning an employee to a job profile
* [View individual results](/en/c/competency-models/view-individual-results) — viewing results after the assessment