During the interview, your knowledge of the vacancy and organisation will be explored, along with the skills and experience you have gained and whether these mean you would be able to do the job.
You need to research the job you're applying for, the organisation you're applying to, and the sector.
Role
You need to show the employer that you understand what the position/area of work involves. Be enthusiastic, consider what appeals to you about the role. How does it fit with your career aspirations and goals?
Organisation
Try to focus on key aspects of the organisation, such as:
turnover
products and/or services - what do they do?
recent press coverage
clients they work with
any key activities that interest you
the company culture
Don’t only use the company’s website to do research. Look at our researching employers section for links to company profiles and news sites. Targetjobs' Organisations section is a particularly useful resource if you’re applying to large graduate recruiters. Speaking to employers at job fairs, employer presentations and on LinkedIn can also help with your research.
Sector
Employers will be assessing your commercial awareness (also known as ‘business acumen’). Keep up to date with current affairs, trends and important topics in your field. What are the challenges facing the industry and what impact might they have?
Take a look at our researching employers section to help you find relevant industry news.
Review the skills and experience the job requires. These are often highlighted in the job description or person specification.
Think of specific examples when you have demonstrated these skills. Your examples could be from work experience, a part-time job, volunteering or from within your degree course.
If you're not sure what the employer is looking for, the skills section under the relevant job profile on Prospects can help as a guide.
Be prepared to discuss the skills, experience and achievements highlighted on your application form or CV in more detail.
Expect your answers to be challenged with follow-up questions and be prepared to explain any gaps or changes in your career history. Admit mistakes, but be positive about what you've learntfrom them and don't blame others, for example a teacher for poor results.
Structuring your answers
A good way to structure your answers to competency questions is by using the ‘STAR’ technique.
Describe the situation (S)
You should briefly provide some context to help the employer understand the example you are giving. You don't need to go into a lot of detail at this stage.
Explain the task (T)
Provide a concise overview of the task, ensuring that your example is relevant to the question.
Describe and analyse your actions (A)
This part should form the bulk of your answer. State what action you took, focusing on your contribution. Explain what, how and why you did it and include any impact your actions made. Avoid ‘we’ if talking about a situation in a team.
Explain the result (R)
What was the outcome? What did you learn from this example? Remember, it's not just what you did, but how you did it. Be specific in your answers.
For further advice on using 'STAR' successfully, see:
We've listed some common interview questions about topics such as knowledge of the organisation, skills and career motivation, and some tips on how to answer the different types of questions. Select the headings below to see questions associated with each topic.
Show that you understand what the role entails and explain how your skills and experience make you suitable for the post. Be enthusiastic, talk about 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 role?
Make the connection between what the job requires and your own skills and experience.
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 would you find most challenging/difficult about the role?
Demonstrate an understanding of the position and what it entails. Be honest, but keep your answer positive and explain how you would overcome any problems or issues.
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 employer presentations.
See Guardian Careers and The Muse for more advice on answering the question 'why do you want to work here?'
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?
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 do your research. Newspapers, such as the Financial Times, can be useful for finding out more information. Think also about the impact any challenges/issues may have on the company and/or their clients. Our Sector-specific Information has useful links which may help with your research.
Related questions
What do you think of our product/service?
Who do you see as our major competitors?
What are the biggest challenges facing our organisation or industry over the next 5 years?
Tell me about a recent piece of news about the sector that interested you.
Having an 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.
A similar question could be 'Why have you applied for this kind of work/career?'
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.
Research the sector to see what career progression you could realistically expect. Look at any graduate profiles on the company's website or search for relevant LinkedIn profiles for inspiration. You could also focus on skills you'd like to develop further in the future.
CareerMatch has some useful advice on answering this question.
Which other jobs/careers are you applying for?
Make sure that you demonstrate consistency in the types of job and organisations that you mention.
What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
This question 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?
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.
You could also be asked to give examples of activities you have undertaken where your own motivation was a significant factor in getting the thing done.
You may also be asked how or why you chose a specific university or degree subject.
Questions such as these provide a good opportunity to emphasise your decision-making skills. Be specific about 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, while 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, 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.
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 role, eg representing your course on a committee.
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.
What have you learnt from participation in extracurricular activities?
You could be asked questions like:
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 to demonstrate skills you've developed, knowledge you've gained 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 and being goal orientated. Give specific examples of how you used these skills.
Remember, leadership involves a whole range of skills, including:
planning
decision-making
persuading
motivating
listening
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?
You could also be asked to talk about a time when your views differed from those of other team members or to give an example of a situation where you found it difficult to communicate with someone.
The employer is looking for evidence that you have key skills such as assertiveness, interpersonal and negotiating skills, which are important in many jobs. Focus on how you resolved any issues.
If talking about problems which arose when dealing with people, try to show that you were able to resolve these successfully and that you learned 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 is an example of answering competency-based questions using the STAR technique on the Open University website.
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.
How did you handle the situation? You should demonstrate:
analysis
effective problem-solving and planning
a successful outcome
the ability to transfer learning to new situations
Give me an example of a time when you’ve exceeded expectations.
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, eg you get frustrated when others don't pull their weight or you used to have problems with paperwork/time management. Give a real example (that isn't essential to the role) and show how you are taking steps to work on your weaknesses.
For more advice on answering this question, including what is your greatest strength, visit CareerMatch.
What is your greatest achievement?
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.
You could also be asked 'What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
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, eg relaxed, informal, professional, team-based. Make sure that it is the type of environment that company has.
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, eg preparing work to deadlines, or from areas outside university, 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?
You may also be asked how you think a friend or lecturer who knows you well would describe you or what words your friends would 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, eg 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, eg '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'.
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 your tone of voice. We usually describe natural strengths most easily and enthusiastically.
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:
What are you good at?
What activities come naturally to you?
How do you judge if you've had a good day?
Tell me something you learnt last week.
What energises you?
What subjects do you most enjoy studying?
What gets done first on your 'to do' list? What never gets done?
Do you prefer to start tasks or finish them?
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?
TARGETjobs: Employer Hubs – independent profiles of several graduate employers, with overview of their selection procedures. Includes examples of interview questions and tips on how to answer them
Guardian Careers - advice on common interview questions and how to answer them
Graduates First's Question Identifier Tool (QIT) assessment can help you identify likely questions that could come up in a competency-based interview and is free for Newcastle University students and registered graduates. Go to Practise your interview for details on how to access Graduates First.
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 come from your research, or be about training, responsibility, opportunities, mobility, etc. For example: 'I noticed that you've started working on X project. Is this something that I could get involved with?
Try not to ask questions where the answers can easily be found in the company brochure or on their website.
You could ask about:
developments in the business
what you could expect to do in the first six months
how the department relates to the rest of the business
how your performance in the role would be measured
opportunities for progression within the company
what the culture is like within the organisation
what the interviewer’s own personal experience of working there is
The following links include advice and example questions to help with interviews for academic/postgraduate study interviews.
Postgraduate study interviews
The focus is likely to be on your academic skills and interests. Interviews for postgraduate study can vary greatly between institutions and even departments. They tend to be more informal and there is no standard structure in terms of length, content and number of interviewers. For example, an interview for a taught Master's course is often less involved than a PhD.
See also the Careers Service reference book 'Moving on in your career - a guide for academic researchers and postgraduates', for help with preparing for difficult questions.
If you are being interviewed for a position as a lecturer or postdoctoral researcher, you may also be asked to deliver a lecture or presentation.
These methods are increasingly used as a way of screening candidates before a face-to-face interview, or as an alternative to a face-to-face interview. Telephone interviews are usually pre-arranged, but not always. You should prepare for a live or pre-recorded video interview or a telephone interview in the same way you would for a face-to-face interview.
You can video record yourself answering questions using our practice interview tools, Shortlist.Me and Graduates First.
For further advice on this type of interview, see:
The time allowed to read and comprehend questions in pre-recorded video interviews is usually limited. Students with some disabilities might find this particularly challenging.
You may want to share with a potential employer that you have a disability if you think a video interview is going to disadvantage you. Companies should be able to make alternative reasonable adjustments if given enough notice. For example they could offer a Skype or telephone interview instead.
You can discuss in confidence whether you should share information about a disability with one of our careers consultants. Free advice is also available from EmployAbility.
Interview structure
Your interview could be structured in a variety of ways.
Competency-based
You will be asked to provide examples of the skills or competences that are key to the job. targetjobs and WikiJob have more information on this type of interview and the key competences employers look for in candidates.
Strengths-based
Some recruiters, such as EY, Nestle, Norwich Union and Standard Chartered, are now starting to use strengths-based interviews rather than competence-based. Strengths-based interviews focus on your natural aptitudes and strengths and seek to find out what you ‘love to do’, rather than what you ‘can do’.
You will be asked questions about specific technical skills relevant to the job, for example programming skills. See the following targetjobs articles to help you prepare:
Most interviews are formal in style, however employers in some sectors, eg design, architecture and media, may use more informal interviewing techniques. These can have a more relaxed and conversational. The people interviewing you want to put you at ease and get to know you. Try to relax, but take care to remain professional, they are still assessing you. See targetjob's guide to succeeding at an informal interview.
The Careers Service provides advice and resources to help you prepare for interviews. There are also a range of useful websites that provide further advice.
Getting help
You can get help with preparing for interviews through our in-person and online 1:1 appointments. Log into MyCareer, click on 'Book', then 'Appointments' and use our Appointment Finder tool to book the right appointment type for you. Alternatively, for written advice on preparing for your interview, please submit a query via the Resources tab on MyCareer and an adviser will get back to you within 5 working days.
Depending on availability, we may also be able to offer you an interview coaching session with a careers consultant, where you'll have the chance to practise answering interview questions. To access this, you will need to have an interview date in place and have already had advice on preparing for interviews from the Careers Service.
The Careers Service has rooms available for current students and registered graduates who need to take part in a telephone, Skype or video interview, subject to availability. Rooms in King’s Gate would be available Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 only. If you require a room, please call into the Careers Service, Level 1, King’s Gate to arrange or contact us, providing as much detail as possible. (Not available at present)
