Newcastle University

Common interview questions

Questions you may be asked at an interview are likely to be based on:

• Knowledge of vacancy/area of work
• Knowledge of the organisation
• Career motivation
• Academic record
• Skills development
• Self awareness
• Strengths (for strength-based interviews)

You will also be asked Do you have any questions?

Knowledge of vacancy/area of work

• Why have you applied for this job?
  Show that you understand what the role entails and explain how your skills and experience make you suitable for the post. Be enthusiastic - what appeals to you about the job? Talk about your knowledge of the business and the industry and how the role fits with your career aspirations and goals.
  
  
• What qualities/skills do you have that make you right for the job?
  Make the connection between what the job requires and your own skills and experience.
  
  
• How has your university experience prepared you for this career?
  Talk about the skills and knowledge gained from your degree and other university activities which are appropriate to the job, e.g. representing your course on a committee.
  
  
• What do you think this job/placement will involve?
  Show that you have done your research and understand what the position/area of work involves. Think in terms of responsibilities, accountability, where the role fits into the organisation, the type of clients you'll be working with, etc.
  
  
• What evidence do you have that you can handle our different types of customer/client?
  Demonstrate your awareness of the range of clients the employer deals with and provide examples of when you’ve worked with different types of people, e.g. challenging customers.

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Knowledge of the organisation

• Why have you decided to apply to us?
  Explain that you have found out what the organisation does, that it is what you want to do and that you are capable of it. You could refer to their product, the company size, geographical location etc. You could mention any contact you have had with employees at recruitment fairs and/or presentations.
  
  
• In what way(s) do you think you can make a contribution to our company?
  This is your chance to sell yourself and demonstrate how your key competences match the company’s needs. Mention any relevant achievements from your CV or application form and highlight how your skills and knowledge would benefit the organisation.
  
  
• What do you know about our business?
• What do you think of our product/service?
• Who do you see as our major competitors?
• What are the biggest challenges facing our organisation/industry over the next 5 years?
  Make sure that you've researched the organisation before the interview. Try to focus on key facts such as turnover, size of workforce, products/services, recent press coverage, clients they work with, any key activities that interest you. Don’t only use the company’s website to research – online newspapers, such as the Financial Times, can be useful for finding out more information.
  
  You may be asked about the current business climate and how it’s affecting the company. Employers are looking for people who are commercially aware.

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Career motivation

• Why have you applied for this kind of work/career?
• What interests you most about this job?
  Having interest in a career is very important in motivating you to do it well, but employers will also be looking to see if you have analysed your own skills and matched these to the job. Your answer should demonstrate both your own self-awareness and your knowledge of the work. Try to show how the role matches your strengths with the skills and aptitudes required by the employer.
  
  
• Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
  Have you thought ahead about where you are going and why? Employers don't expect goals to be rigidly defined although they do expect you to have some idea.
  
  
• For which other jobs/careers are you applying?
  Make sure that you demonstrate consistency in the types of job and organisations that you mention.
  
  
• How would you describe the ideal job for you following graduation?
  This could be, for example, a job that challenges you, allows you to be creative, enables you to have a positive impact - whatever you choose, try to keep it in line with the job you’re interviewing for.
  
  
• What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
  This is exploring your values and self-awareness. Are you motivated by money, altruism, responsibility or something else?
  
  
• What motivates you to give your greatest effort?
• Give examples of activities you have undertaken or jobs you have completed where your own motivation was a significant factor in getting the thing done.
  Try to relate what motivates you to the requirements and duties of the job you are applying for. Demonstrate that you are self-motivated and don’t always need an external push to get you started.
  

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Academic record

• Why did you choose to go to university?
• Why did you select this university?
• Why did you choose this degree subject?
  Questions such as these provide a good opportunity to emphasise your decision-making skills. Be specific, for example, about why you found the course interesting, how you came to choose this particular subject and how it has worked out. Employers want to know that you can make reasoned, informed decisions.
  
  
• Which aspect of your course do you like best/least? Why?
  Show enthusiasm and a real interest in your subject.  You could describe how you keep up to date with any developments etc. If talking about what you like least about your course, be honest and provide a good reason, whilst staying positive.
  

• Explain to me what your project is about.
  The employer will want to know why you chose your project or dissertation, how you undertook it and what you got out of it. Read through your project/dissertation before the interview to refresh your memory. If it was a group project, they will be interested in how you fitted into the team, what role you took in the team, how you co-operated with the other members and how you dealt with any problems. Make sure you use ‘I’ rather than ‘we’ in your examples.
  
  If it was an individual project, you could talk about having to work independently with little supervision, finding things out for yourself, how you went about solving problems. If you used any techniques that you are likely to be using in the job you are applying for, you could also highlight these.

• Do you think that your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement?
  Be positive and give examples of successes you have had on your course. Mention any other activities during your studies and focus on your skills.
  
  
• With hindsight, how could you have improved your progress on your degree course?
  Try to demonstrate to the employer what you have learned from your experience on the course and what you would have done differently. Don’t blame others or the course itself!
  

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Skills development

• What have you learnt from participation in extracurricular activities?
• Can you give me examples of positions of responsibility you have held at any time and what you have learnt from them?
• Have you done any voluntary work? Tell me about what you learnt from it.
• What skills have you developed during your previous work experience?
• What have your vacation jobs taught you?
  For these types of questions, give specific examples of skills development, knowledge acquisitions and self-awareness. Try to make your examples relevant to the job you are applying for.
  
  
• Describe a situation where you successfully led a group.
  Talk about teamwork, leadership, achievements, being goal orientated. Remember to give specific examples of how you used these skills. Remember, leadership involves a whole list of skills, including planning, decision-making, persuading, motivating, listening and co-ordinating.
  
  
• Have you had to deal with awkward people in organising these activities? What did you do?
• What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
• Tell me about a time when your views differed from those of other team members.
• Give me an example of a situation where you found it difficult to communicate with someone and tell me how you resolved it.
  The employer is looking for evidence that you have key skills such as assertiveness, interpersonal and negotiating skills, which are important in many jobs.
  
  If talking about problems which arose when dealing with people, try to show that you were able to resolve these successfully and that you learnt from the experience. Talk about seeing situations from other peoples' points of view and strike a balance between being sensitive to the needs of others with an ability to be assertive when necessary.
  
  There are examples of answering competency-based questions using the STAR technique on the Open University and eFinancial Careers websites.

• What have you done that shows initiative?
  Give an example of when you have taken appropriate action unprompted by anyone else.
  
  
• Describe a difficult problem you have had to deal with.
• What is the most difficult situation you have ever faced?
  How did you handle the situation? You should demonstrate analysis, effective problem-solving and planning, a successful outcome and/or the ability to transfer learning to new situations.
  
  
• Give me an example of a time when you’ve gone the extra mile (done more than is required) for a customer or exceeded expectations.
  Use the STAR technique to structure your answer.
  

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Self awareness

• Why should we employ you for this job?
  This question allows you to highlight your key skills and show the interviewer how they relate to the job.
  
  
• What are your two greatest weaknesses?
  Illustrate your self-awareness and be honest but show yourself in positive light, e.g. you get frustrated when others don't pull their weight; you used to have problem with paperwork/time management. Show how you are taking steps to work on your weaknesses.
  
  
• What is your greatest achievement?
• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
  Give an example of where you have overcome obstacles to achieve something you are proud of. Don't worry if you don't have a lot of work experience - you can talk about achievements outside of work, but make sure you can relate them where possible to the job that you are applying for.
  
  
• In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
  This is an opportunity to demonstrate your skills of self-awareness and of the organisation's working culture, e.g. relaxed; informal; professional; team-based. Make sure that it is the type of environment that company has!
  
  
• How do you work under pressure?
• Describe a time when you’ve been under pressure to meet challenging deadlines.
  Give examples of situations in which you have coped under pressure. This could come from your academic experience - preparing work to deadlines etc - or from areas outside university as well, including vacation work or extracurricular activities.
  
  
• What is the biggest mistake you have made and what have you learnt from it?
  Don’t spend too long talking about the mistake itself – the employer is more interested in the steps you took to rectify it and what you learned from it.
  
  
• How would you describe yourself?
• Tell me more about yourself.
• How do you think a friend or lecturer who knows you well would describe you? What words would your friends use to describe you?
  This is an opportunity to sell yourself and highlight the relevant skills you have. However, this also opens up the interview to other questions so be prepared to elaborate on what you say. You may want to ask where you should start, e.g. with your personal life, academic life or work experience. The examples you give should stand out, be memorable, whilst also relating to the requirements for the job.
  
  
• What makes you different from the other candidates I am interviewing today?
  Show confidence in yourself (but not arrogance) and show how suitable you are to the job, e.g. "I am a team player, I take direction and have a desire to succeed. I like a challenge, my background demonstrates excellent problem-solving abilities and I always see a project through to the finish".
  

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Strengths

Some graduate employers are introducing 'strength-based interviews' into their recruitment process. In these, the interviewer will focus on the things you love doing over the things you can do. With strength based questions, employers listen out for the speed the questions are answered and their tone of voice – as natural strengths will be described most easily and enthusiastically by an individual.

It's more difficult to prepare for this type of interview in advance, however the following questions may help you start to think about your own strengths.

• How do you judge if you've had a good day?
• Tell me something you learnt last week.
• What energises you?
• What activities come naturally to you?
• What gets done first on your 'to do' list? What never gets done?
• What things did you really enjoy doing when you were younger?
• When would your friends and family say you are happiest?
• What does success mean to you?
• In your life, what have you done that you are most proud of? What made it significant for you and what did you learn from the experience?
• What are your greatest strengths? When do you use them at their best? Are there situations in which you overuse these strengths?

Top ^

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you have any questions?

It's normal to be asked at the end of an interview if you have any questions. Sometimes the quality of your question(s) is used as part of the assessment process. However, if you can't think of a good question, avoid asking one just for the sake of it or asking a very basic question which has already been covered. Questions could be about training, responsibility, opportunities, mobility etc, as long as the information is not in their brochure or on their website.

You could ask about developments in the business; what you could expect to do in the first 6 months; how the department relates to the rest of the business; how your performance in the role would be measured; what the culture is like within the organisation or what the interviewer’s own personal experience of working there is.

Top ^