How to prepare for interviews

Do your research

Effective research helps you to understand the opportunity better - whether that opportunity is a job, placement or further study. By knowing more, you will be better prepared to demonstrate your motivation and have a better understanding of the requirements and assessment methods.

When doing your research, there are multiple sources of information you could explore:

• their website – company websites for jobs or placements, University or departmental websites for further study
• the job advert or person specification - this is a list of essential and desirable criteria
• their social media
• your own networks
• news articles
• annual reports
• Careers & Employability Service employer events, fairs and webinars
• library resources
• job profiles

Remember, you are not expected to be an expert, but you should know enough about them to understand the role you are applying for, what it is you need to demonstrate and how the company, course or research group broadly operates.

Review your application

To get to the interview or assessment centre stage, it's likely that you have already positively demonstrated the key skills and competencies that they are looking for in your application. It's a good idea to read over this again to re-familiarise yourself with these, and also to remind yourself of the examples you have used previously. In some interviews, you may be asked to elaborate on the examples you gave in your application.

Reflect on how you meet the requirements

Through your research, you should have a good idea of the key skills, experience and knowledge that you need to demonstrate in your interview or assessment centre. This criteria may be explicitly clear through a person specification, or you may need to do wider research to have a good idea of it.

Many recruiters will use their criteria as a selection tool, so it's important that you evidence their criteria as much as possible. Reflect back on your experiences and try to identify specific situations you have been in where you have demonstrated their criteria.

This could be evidence from any experience, such as

• academic project work
• dissertations
• part-time work
• personal projects
• extracurricular activities
• placements
• internships
• wider caring responsibilities
• awards

If you struggle to reflect on yourself, consider writing lists, mind-mapping or talking about the criteria with a friend or family member. You might surprise yourself!

Disability and neurodivergence

Whether you have a neurodivergence or disability* (pre-diagnosis, diagnosed or self-diagnosed), the Careers & Employability Service can support you in understanding what kind of 'reasonable adjustments' you might need to request in order to make an interview more accessible. Adjustments might include: asking to have the interview questions in advance, having a longer period of time to answer questions, or applying to the UK Government's Access to Work scheme for communication support at interview, for example.  You may find it helpful to discuss this further with an Employability Adviser.

*The University supports the social model of disability, which acknowledges that impairments may not be disabling in themselves, but can become so in certain contexts.

Practice

It's a good idea to get some practice before your interview, to build confidence. We have a range of resources that can help you with practising for interviews and assessment centres, including video interviews, practice psychometric tests, mock assessment centres, and appointments with our team of advisers.

On the day

Make sure that you are familiar with all of the details of the interview or assessment centre, which should have been sent to you in advance. If you are unsure of the details, ask the employer directly.

Make sure you're dressed appropriately, but that you also feel comfortable and confident in what you're wearing. For most interviews and assessment centres, dressing professionally is standard.

Make sure you know where you're going and arrive with time to spare. It could be helpful to arrive in the area early and find a coffee shop nearby to look over your notes.

When giving your answers, try to maintain positive body language:

• Sit up straight, with your shoulders back, so you look confident.
• Keep hand gestures under control.
• Respond with nods, a smile, appropriate eye contact, etc.
• Try not to speak too quickly; slow down a little.
• Speak clearly.

Respond to encouragement from your interviewer and any signals that indicate if more or less information is needed.

In some interviews, though, each candidate is asked exactly the same questions and the person conducting the interview may simply move on to the next question without reacting to what you have said. In assessment centres, the assessors are only allowed to observe and cannot provide feedback.

Don't be put off by this. They are simply ensuring all candidates get the same chance.

In an assessment centre, it's likely you will come into contact with other candidates, staff and the assessors. It's important to remain polite and professional at all times, even during break periods. Also remember that you will not always be in direct competition with fellow candidates, as they may be assessed for a different role to the one you have applied for.

Asking questions in interviews

Your questions for the interview panel 

“Do you have any questions for us?”

This is usually the last interview question candidates are asked, and it’s an important one. For UK employers, this is not just a chance for you to gain information. Crucially, it’s an opportunity for you to demonstrate that:

• you have already done your research on the company and the role (beyond ‘surface level reading of their website)
• you are keen to know more about the job, how the organisation develops its employees, or the workplace culture etc.

How do you decide what to ask?

You may have questions about the following. As a general rule, it’s considered appropriate to ask about, for example:

• Structure of the organisation
• ‘Culture’ of the organisation - how things are done
• Training and development opportunities
• What a specific department/team does, or is planning to do
• Existing/planned projects or initiatives
• Working location/s and patterns
• Size/structure of the team

We would suggest NOT asking about:

• Salary and benefits/bonuses - don’t ask, but do be prepared to have a figure in mind in case the employer asks. Prospects.ac.uk job profiles contain typical starting salaries for different jobs
• Whether you can defer entry until the following year so you can go travelling (we suggest you apply next year instead!)
• When you will be promoted - this may make you appear disinterested in the position you’re interviewing for. Plus you may have a probationary (trial) period too.

Sample questions

Prepare 2 or 3 questions that show you’ve already done some research (beyond just the website) and are genuinely enthusiastic about the job. Here are some examples to get you thinking, but it’s really important to ask in a way that feels natural for you so have a go at writing questions that are relevant to your situation, in your own words:

• “I notice that you’re currently exploring moving into [insert sector, project or new initiative here]. Can you tell me a bit more about that please?”
• “I’m really interested in the work you are doing in [......] area.  Would there be an opportunity to shadow in this area, or even contribute to the work of that team?”
• “The company has a reputation for having a really positive, inclusive culture. What sort of initiatives have made a difference?”
• “I’m really keen to know more about the induction and early career support. What kind of training and development opportunities do new graduate hires have access to?”
• “Were I to be successful, what would my priorities be for the first month in the role?”

Finally, don’t forget to listen to their answer!  It may spark off a useful conversation and give another chance to make a positive impact.

Key tasks

• Research the opportunity thoroughly. Consider exploring the Prospects website, which contains 100s of job profiles, written by careers experts. Current students can also access resources from the library, which includes databases such as Business Source Premier, Nexis and the Financial Times.
• Find out more about the opportunity through networking. See our advice on using social media and how to network effectively. The Careers & Employability Service also hosts a wide variety of Employer events, fairs and webinars, where you can learn more directly from employers.
• Get some practice. Take a look at our resources for [interview and assessment centre practice] to get started.
• If you have a disability, a long term health condition, a specific learning difficulty, eg dyslexia, or a mental health condition that you feel could affect your performance, the Careers & Employability Service can support you. We also have advice if you have questions about equality matters.
• Organise a quiet location with a good internet connection where you won't be disturbed. If you are struggling to find a suitable location, contact the Careers & Employability Service and we can provide access to a room on campus.