If you are an aspiring HR professional, there are two words you must find a way to insert into any conversation with a business leader -- "Competency" and "Model". Using these words will make you look smart and educated and send a message to the business leader that she needs you because you know about something she won't admit that she's never really understood. Do a Google search on the phrase "competency model" and in 0.40 seconds you will gain access to 331,000 hits. And if you are brave enough to go deeper, you'll look at searches related to "competency model" and find the following: competency model examples; competency model definition; leadership competency model; competency model template; core competency model; cultural competency model; technical competency model; and competency model for managers Let's go ahead and look at #2, competency model definition. In 0.31 seconds Google returns 1,550,000