I drew on past experiences and gave my stories in the STAR format. I guess I didn't use enough of the buzzwords to pass the interview stage. Why don't companies just ask if you're qualified, experienced, willing to put in the graft, and whether or not you take sick days like eating a tub of pringles. These competency-based questions seem ridiculous to me. They force people to come up with fabricated stories that will have no bearing on how one performs their job.