INTERVIEW SKILLS - University of Kent Skills_… · interview aquestions – but there are many ways to ask them! 1 Can you do the job? – do you have the right skills, abilities,

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INTERVIEW SKILLS

Interview questions and how to prepare for them

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Getting an interview is an achievementin itself. Only a minority of applicantsare selected for interview so you havealready made a positive impressionto have got to this stage!

This booklet contains tips to help youmake the most of this opportunity.

The purpose of the interview 2

Preparing for your interview 3

Who will interview you? 4

Face-to-face Interviews 5

Telephone interviews 6

The questions 7

Preliminary/ice-breaker 8Factual 8Competency 8Strengths-based interviews 9Narrative 12Technical 13Hypothetical questions 14Motivational 14Challenging 15Case study interviews 17Ethical 18

Your questions to the interviewer 19

After the Interview 20

CONTENTS

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THE PURPOSE OFTHE INTERVIEW

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Interviews are held toassess candidates forvarious positions – mostcommonly jobs, coursesor scholarships/awards.This booklet focuses on jobinterviews, particularlyfor graduate-level jobsand undergraduateplacements/internships,although the advice givenwill be helpful ininterviews for otherpositions and othertypes of job.

Interviews aim to help the employerto find out more about the applicantas a person, to assess how wellthey match the requirements of thejob applied for and to get animpression of how they might fit intothe existing team. They also give theemployer an opportunity to getfurther information about acandidate than that already given intheir application.

It is also the candidate’s chance tofind out about the employer and to‘sell themselves’ and their keystrengths to them.

Selection decisions may be basedentirely on an interview but,especially in large graduaterecruiters, may also use assessmentcentres and psychometric tests.

The interviewer will be seeking toassess:• Your personal qualities• How well you express yourself• Your motivation and enthusiasm.

The recruiters will already have anindication of these from your initialapplication but now the interviewwill find out more by talking to youdirectly. This may be face-to-face(in person or via Skype/videolink)or over the phone. Increasinglyemployers are using videointerviews. For more information onthese see www.kent.ac.uk.ces formore details.

Interviews are a two-way process,so think of your interview as aconversation, not an interrogation –but remember that this conversationhas a purpose.

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PREPARING FORYOUR INTERVIEW

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• Re-read your application form orCV as if you were the interviewer.Try to anticipate the questionsthey will ask.

• Prepare answers to obviousquestions. Don’t learn youranswers by heart – you’d justsound stilted in the interview –but do work out roughly what youwould say. Practise giving youranswers out loud.

• Think of your “Unique SellingPoints” (USPs). In other words,think of what makes you a goodcandidate and try to get theseacross during the interview. Youmay get the chance if theinterviewer asks you questionssuch as “What are yourstrengths?”; “Why should we takeyou rather than othercandidates?”; “How would yourbest friend describe you?” or “Tell

me about yourself”. Examples ofthese USPs could be:- an outstanding academicrecord;

- relevant work experience;- skills and competencies thatrelate to the job;

- an international or multiculturalbackground;

- significant achievements, ordifficulties that you haveovercome.

• Similarly, think of how you wouldanswer any awkward issues thatmight come up, such as lowacademic results, gaps in yourcareer history or questions aboutyour weaknesses (see page 14).

• Prepare some questions to ask.• Enthusiasm is important.Remind yourself why you find thiscareer, and this employer,attractive.

• Research the employer.Be aware of what they offerand of what is going on in theirbusiness at the moment.

• If you have been told the nameof your interviewer, check theirprofile on the company websiteor LinkedIn. This may give yousome useful pointers about theirinterests or experience that youcan work into your answers, butdon’t go into too much detail anddon’t try to connect with anyonebefore the interview.

• If you have a disability that maymake the interview more difficultfor you than for other candidates,make sure that the employer isaware of this so that anyreasonable adjustmentsnecessary to assist you can bearranged in advance.

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WHO WILLINTERVIEW YOU?

Depending on thecompany, you are likely tobe interviewed by one ormore of the following:

• Human Resources manager.HR staff are trained inrecruitment and selection and willhave been involved in every stageof the selection process:developing job descriptions andperson specifications, preparingjob adverts, checking applicationforms, shortlisting, interviewingand selecting candidates.

• Line manager – somebodyworking in the role or departmentyou are applying to – perhapseven your future boss! They willknow all about the job (and beable to answer your questionsabout it) but may not be skilled ortrained in interviewing and cansometimes ask unexpectedquestions.

• Senior manager. If you haveapplied to a small company, youmay find yourself beinginterviewed by the MD. In largercompanies, senior managersmay be involved in second or finalinterviews, although probably notat the first interview stage. Likeline managers, they probablydon’t interview on a regular basis.

• Recruitment consultant – if youhave applied for a job through anagency the actual employer maywell delegate the first stage ofthe interview process to aconsultant at that agency. LikeHR managers they will berecruitment specialists.

If you have more than oneinterviewer, don’t panic or letyourself feel overwhelmed. Listencarefully as each interviewer isintroduced and try and remembertheir name and job role. Direct youranswer to the person who asked thequestion but look briefly towardsother members as your answercontinues and try not to ignoreanyone on the panel.

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FACE-TO-FACEINTERVIEWS

What will you wear?First impressions count and youwant to be remembered for the rightreasons – if you are remembered forwhat you wore, there is probablysomething wrong with it! This is notthe time to make a fashionstatement: smart and conservativedress is the norm.

• “Dress for the job you want, notthe job you are applying for” –you cannot go wrong by beingtoo smart

• Wear a plain dark business suit• Pay attention to detail: cleanfingernails, tidy hair, polishedshoes and a smart bag orbriefcase will complete the lookbut neglecting these details willwreck it

• Don’t wear too much make-up,perfume/aftershave or jewellery

• Practise sitting down in front of amirror – this will reveal if your skirtor trousers are too short/too tight

Plan how you will get tothe interview locationCheck your route and transportoptions in advance and don’t justrely on your satnav or phone toguide you there on the day!

Try to arrive ten or fifteen minutesearly. This doesn’t just give you theopportunity to visit the loo – timespent waiting in the reception areacan be very useful if there arepublications about the employer ortheir field of work to read.

The interview begins from themoment you enter the building! Firstimpressions are vital – they set thetone for the rest of the interview.

Be polite to everyone you meet,including receptionists and securitystaff. Remember to switch off yourphone before you are called forinterview.

In the interview room itself• Shake hands warmly, but wait tobe invited to sit down.

• Smile, and look at the interviewer.• Try to relax – don’t sit on theedge of your chair, but don’tslouch.

• Speak clearly and not too fast• Don’t fidget, and try to avoidmannerisms.

• Keep up good eye contact withthe interviewer.

Over half of the majorgraduate recruitersconduct first interviewsover the phone. Foremployers, this is moretime and cost-effectivethan carrying outinterviews face-to-face:these interviews also testcandidates’ verbalcommunication skills,telephone technique andability to cope with theunexpected.

For candidates, they offer thefollowing advantages:• You can refer (quickly!) to your

application form

• You don’t need to wear a suit(although many people feel thatthey perform better if they aredressed smartly!)

• You don’t need to spend timetravelling to interview or wonderif the employer will pay yourexpenses.

But there are alsodisadvantages:• You can’t see the interviewer togauge their response.

• They can seem to go veryquickly, without giving you muchtime to think about your answers– so be well prepared!

You will usually be contacted inadvance to arrange a convenienttime for the interview.

As well as preparing in the same waythat you should for all interviews (seepage 3) you should also:• Try to take the phone to a quietand private location.

• Keep a copy of your application,and information on the company,handy.

• Keep your phone with you,charged, topped up, switched onand readily accessible (not at thebottom of a large bag!) at theappropriate time.

• Keep a glass of water handy (butmove the phone away from yourmouth when you swallow...)

• Smile – it really does make adifference to your tone of voice.

• If it really is a bad time, orreception is poor, offer to call backand fix a time to do so.

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TELEPHONEINTERVIEWS

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THE QUESTIONS

There are really only twointerview questions – butthere are many ways toask them!

1 Can you do the job? – do youhave the right skills, abilities,qualifications, experience andpersonal characteristics?

2 Do you want to do the job? –are you committed, motivatedand enthusiastic?

Your interview questions will beaimed at bringing out these qualitiesand learning more about yourbackground and your interest in theposition. These questions may beframed in a number of ways.Common types of question include:• Preliminary/ice-breaker• Factual• Competency• Strengths-based• Narrative• Technical

• Hypothetical• Motivational• Challenging• Ethical.

Examples of all these types ofquestions, and suggestions forhandling them, can be found in therest of this booklet.

Whatever questions you are asked,try to keep the following in mind asyou answer them:• Listen carefully to the interviewerand give an answer that isrelevant to their question

• Don’t be afraid to ask theinterviewer to repeat a question ifyou don’t hear, or don’tunderstand, it at first

• Keep your initial answers fairlybrief, but watch the interviewer forsigns of encouragement orimpatience that will indicatewhether or not they want you tocontinue

• There aren’t any right or wronganswers to interview questions:how you come across is asimportant as what you say

• Be yourself – if you have to puton a completely false act to getthrough the interview, is this reallythe right job for you?

“One of the most commonpieces of negative feedbackthat we receive aboutcandidates is the tendency towaffle; too much time is spenttalking around the point butnot actually answering thequestion at hand.”

Head of a recruitment consultancy

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THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

Preliminary/ice-breaker• How are you today?• Did you have a good journey?• Did you have any trouble findingour office?

• How are you enjoying this sunnyweather?

These are not “real” questions andserve a social, rather than aninformation-gathering, purpose. It isan opportunity to for both you andyour interviewer to establishcommunication, get used to thesound and tone of each other’svoice and perhaps to fill the timewhile you are being shown to theinterview room.

You should answer them in the spiritin which they are asked: with afriendly but brief response – not amoment-by-moment account ofyour journey or a rant about thestate of Britain’s road, rail or busservices.

Questions like these are often usedto put you at ease. After all, youmust know the answer!

FactualBasic information about your pasteducation, employment,qualifications etc. should have beencovered on your application form orCV but sometimes a candidate mayhave left gaps (intentionally orotherwise) or interviewers may justwant to check the accuracy of thefacts you have given.

Sometimes these questions are putin a “closed” way: a question thatcould be answered with just a “yes”,“no” or brief fact. It will help bothyou and the interviewer, though, toopen up such questions, as in thefollowing examples:

Interviewer: “What grade did youget in your Maths GCSE?”

Interviewee: “I got a C but I do havegood numeracy skills. I worked as abarman, which involved lots ofmental arithmetic, and I’m confidentin using figures in everyday life – I’musually the one who works outeverybody’s share of the bill at theend of a meal out”

Interviewer: “So you’re studyingHistory at the University of Kent?”

Interviewee: “Yes, I’ve found it avery interesting course because ...”

Interviewer: “Have you ever workedin retail before?”

Interviewee: “No, but I worked as awaiter which needed goodcustomer service and teamworkingskills, especially when the restaurantwas busy, and I think that would bea good background for this job”

CompetencyMany graduate recruiters usecompetency-based questions.These are designed to helpcandidates give evidence of thepersonal qualities (or competencies)needed to perform well in the job.Usually, you will be expected to givean example of how you havedemonstrated these qualities in thepast in reply to questions such as:• Describe a situation where you

had to...- show leadership- make a difficult decision- work as a member of a team- show initiative- change your plans at the lastminute

- overcome a difficult obstacle- work with others to solve aproblem

• Tell me about a time when you’vehad to manage a complexworkload and multi-task. How doyou do this? What went wrong?How did you deal with this?

• Can you give me an example ofwhen you failed to meet adeadline? What did you do?

• Tell me about a time when a taskyou were working on didn’t go toplan. What did you do?

• Can you give me an example ofhow you contributed to a timewhen your departmentimplemented a strategicobjective? What difficulties didyou encounter?

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The CAR approachA good way of dealing with this typeof question is by using the “CAR”approach which involves breakingdown your answer into threesections: Context, Action andResult. This technique helps you tostructure your answer and presentthe information in a logical order,including the background and theoutcome as well as what youactually did.

• The CONTEXT forms anintroduction, describing thescenario you faced, date andplace.

• The ACTION forms the main bodyand should be the longest part.

• The RESULT is the conclusion,and, like the introduction, shouldbe quite short.

Below is an example of thisapproach, in response to thequestion: Can you give me anexample of a time when you havehad to argue your case andconvince another person of itsmerits?

Context: I work as a part-timereceptionist at a law firm. The firmhad taken part in the “World’sBiggest Coffee Morning”, raisingfunds for Macmillan CancerSupport, for several years butbasically were just setting out coffeeand cakes in the reception area forthe staff and any visitors.

Action: I suggested that we shouldmake it more of an event bywearing fancy dress and promoteit by giving out fliers in the HighStreet. Some of the staff felt thatthis would not give a veryprofessional impression to clients,but I spoke to the senior partnerand argued that it would generategood publicity for the firm and hadthe potential to increase clients bymaking more people aware of us.Before the meeting I had searchedonline to find examples of other lawfirms involved in similar fundraisingactivities and the way that they hadbeen presented in their local press.The partners agreed that any staffwho were not actually involvedin client meetings or Courtappearances that day would beallowed to wear fancy dress.

Result: On the day, about twentystaff dressed up as characters fromchildren’s books and even the seniorpartner wore a Paddington Bear tie.As well as giving out the fliers, whichadvertised the event on one sideand had information about the firm’sservices on the other, I promoted theevent on social media and about100 people visited the coffeemorning. We raised almost £500, thelocal paper ran a story and aphotograph of us and the firm isplanning to repeat the event thisyear.

You can find further advice andexamples of competency-basedquestions at www.kent.ac.uk/ces/student/competency.html

Strengths-basedinterviewsA number of major graduaterecruiters, such as Barclays, EY,Nestlé and Royal Mail, use thisapproach in their interview process.

While competency-based interviewsaim to find out what you CAN do,strengths-based interviews assesswhat you ENJOY doing.

These interviews are based on thetheory of positive psychology: thatemployees become more engaged,productive, and happy when theyuse their strengths at work. Ifcandidates’ strengths can beidentified and matched to the jobrole, they will enjoy their work moreand perform better.

One advantage of strengths-basedinterviews is that candidates cannotdo so much preparation in advanceand are therefore less likely to comeup with the hackneyed answerscandidates think interviewers want.To prepare for these interviews, thinkabout what you love doing bothinside and outside work and thinkabout how your preferences might fitwith the organisation’s culture andthe job requirements. Be open andhonest: don’t try to be somethingyou’re not.

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THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

Questions you might be asked atstrengths-based interviews include:• What are you good at?• What comes easily to you?• What do you learn quickly?• What do you do in your sparetime and what do you get out ofit?

• What things give you energy?• Describe a successful day youhave had.

• When did you achieve somethingyou were really proud of?

• Do you prefer to start tasks or tofinish them?

• What things are always left onyour to-do list and not finished?(These are probably weaknesses:things you dislike doing)

• What do you least enjoy doing?(These are likely to be areaswhere you lack natural aptitudeor skills).

Below are suggestions for how youmight approach some of thesequestions:

What do you do in your sparetime and what do you get outof it?As well as showing your strengthsand enthusiasms, your answers tothis question may help you to showyour individuality and stand out fromall the other applicants. Anythingyou have done which is unusual,shows a high level of achievementor demonstrates your initiative orability to take responsibility will helpyou here.

The interviewer will probably havesome idea of these activities fromyour CV or application form. If you have invented or exaggeratedthese – for example, said that youare passionate about scuba divingwhen you have only tried it once, ona family holiday when you were 14years old – you could get rumbledif the interviewer turns out to be agenuine enthusiast who is keen todiscuss your supposed hobby indepth!

Try to make links between yourinterests and your chosen career,but don’t appear too one-tracked. Anaccountancy student with a passionfor archery, for example, could showhow accuracy and responsibility areimportant in both activities.

Useful activities to mention include:competitive sports; voluntary work;fundraising challenges; learning alanguage; technical interests suchas car maintenance or computercoding.

When did you achieve somethingyou were really proud of?To say that your proudestachievement was getting toUniversity, or getting your degree,will do nothing to distinguish youfrom other candidates. Unless youhave had to contend withexceptional difficulties to gain youracademic qualifications – such asillness or major family problems – tryto say something different that willmake you stand out.

This doesn’t have to be an Olympicmedal or an act of heroism. Ideally,it should give evidence of skillsrelevant to the job such ascommunication, initiative, teamwork,organising or determination:• Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award– especially the expedition andcommunity service parts

• Organising a sports or fund-raising event

• “Overcoming my fear of heightsand learning to abseil”

• “Coming to the UK at the age of12 speaking hardly any Englishand gaining 12 GCSEs with goodgrades four years later”

• Training for and completing amarathon (or a 5K race or even asponsored walk).

“The feedback from applicantswho have had a strengths-based interview has been great– they feel they have been betterable to demonstrate who theyare as a person not just trot outthe same answers to thecompetency based questionswhich says little about themand does not engage them inthe process as everyone elsedoes the same thing!”

Simon ReichwaldThe Bright Futures Society

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THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

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NarrativeCompetency and strengths-basedquestions look for a narrative – foryou to tell the interviewer about asituation, activity or an aspect ofyour personality. You are telling ashort story about yourself and yourresponse to different situations andevents. Sometimes, though,questions will be asked that inviteyou to tell a similar story without anyparticular focus.

• Tell me about yourself• Tell me about your experienceworking at...

• Why did you choose to study atthe University of Kent and whatinfluenced your choice?

To answer these questions, thinkabout what you want the interviewerto know about you. What are yourkey selling points? Work them intoyour answer.

Get to the point quickly in your story.Avoid providing any unnecessarybackground information. It isimportant, instead, to providedetails that support and add to therecreation of the incident for yourlistener. Every detail you provideshould directly relate to your story’smain point.

Example: ‘Tell me aboutyourself’Although this should be an easyquestion to answer, the problem isthat it is so general that candidatesdon’t know where to start and oftenend up either saying too much orgiving information that is not relevantto the role.

Compare the two responses to thisquestion below and note thedifference in content, tone and style:

I’m studying Psychology at theUniversity of Kent and I’m in themiddle of my final year project at themoment. I’ve lived in London all mylife and although Canterbury is sodifferent I’ve enjoyed living there forthe last three years but now I wantto move back to London and workhere. I love travelling and becauseKent is so close to Europe I’ve beenable to go over to France forweekends and for skiing holidaysand I travelled round the USA lastsummer vacation as well. I’ve doneall kinds of part-time jobs and I lovelearning new things and meetingnew people so I’m reallyenthusiastic about your graduatetraining scheme.

I’m a final year student at theUniversity of Kent studyingpsychology. What I love aboutpsychology is how you can use it toanalyse groups and individuals and

understand what motivates them indifferent situations – I’m currentlydoing my final year project on theeffect of different leadership styleson the outcome of group tasks.Outside my studies, university hasalso given me the chance to getinvolved in new things: I joined theSki and Snowboard Society in myfirst year and was elected to thecommittee last year so was able tohelp organise a skiing trip to France.I’ve worked in different part-timejobs since I was 17, mostly in retailand hospitality, so I’ve had to bevery organised to fit my work in withmy studies and extra-curricularactivities.

This answer is more focused, givesan insight into the interviewee’spersonality (but not too much),shows some key skills andstrengths, and a positive attitude.

When answering this type ofquestion, try and bring in yourrelevant experience, qualificationsand achievements. It can be hard tostrike a balance between sayingnothing that will interest theemployer and going into a hard-sellsales pitch, so practise your answerin advance.

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TechnicalThese are often asked at interviewswhere the interviewee’s degreebackground is directly relevant to thejob, particularly for science,engineering, computing,business/finance or research posts.Briefly revise any particularly relevantareas of your course, especiallyprojects, to prepare for this.

Because they relate to your area ofstudy, these questions should not betoo difficult. It is important, though,not to take a purely academic anglewhen answering these questionsand to be aware of the commercialissues (such as costs, time andclient demands) that might beencountered in business or industry.

• What practical techniques haveyou carried out in University Labs?

• What laboratory experience haveyou gained on your course?

• What experience do you have ofanalytical techniques?

• Can you mend your bike?• What is your top stock pick, andwhy?

• What do you think is the mostuseful function in Excel?

The interviewer may use a“funnelling” technique, where thequestions start at a simple andbroad level and then graduallybecome more specific and detailed– perhaps until they reach the pointwhere you cannot answer anyfurther! A Biochemistry studentapplying for a patent attorneyposition was asked:• What is the structure and functionof an antibody?

• How do you make antibodies?• What are the disadvantages of ananimal-originating antibody?

• How can these be overcome?

Sometimes your interviewer may bea technical specialist without muchinterviewing experience. In thiscase, they may home in on the partsof your application that they feelmost comfortable with – usuallyprojects and work experience –which can be disconcerting forcandidates:

“I was asked about my project indepth and felt that I had to fullyjustify why I chose it, how I did it andthe results. It was like the Inquisition”

Bearing in mind that the interviewermay be as nervous as you are canhelp make such an experience lessintimidating!

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THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

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Hypothetical questionsThese outline an imaginary, butnot unlikely, situation, and ask whatyou would do in that situation.Usually they relate to situations youmight meet in the job for which youare applying but (as in the lastexample, once asked at an IBMinterview) not always:• “How would you deal with...?”(for example, “an irate customer”or “a staff member caughtstealing a jar of sweets from thewarehouse”)

• “Your manager goes off sick for aweek and leaves you in charge.You hear staff complaining aboutthe way he runs things, and howbored they are with their job –what do you do?”

• What would you do if you wereset a task that you had neverdone before and your managerwas not available for help?

They aim to test your quick thinking,problem solving skills andunderstanding of the way in whichyou will need to work. There may bemany possible answers but few thatare definitely wrong.

What you actually say in youranswer doesn’t matter, so long as itsounds reasonable, confident andwell-thought-out and you showawareness of the issues involved.

You may want to ask questions toclarify the background to thissituation, or find out more about theemployer’s policies.

If you can relate your answer to asimilar situation that you haveencountered in the past, this is evenbetter:

I would talk to the irate customer tofind out what their problem was.Usually the best thing is toapologise and tell them what youare going to do to try and resolvethe problem – and make sure that itgets done. I’ve had to deal with a lotof difficult situations like this in myrestaurant job when the kitchen isbusy and orders take a long time toarrive or when something is wrongwith the food and have found thatlistening to the customers, trying tosort things out as quickly aspossible and keeping theminformed usually works well.

MotivationalMotivational questions are used tofind out what makes the candidatetick and to see if the role suits yourchosen career path, aspirations,industry etc. Typical motivationalquestions would be:

Why are you interested in thiscompany?This is a predictable question andvery important! You need todemonstrate that you haveresearched the employer (see page3) and tie your knowledge of theminto the personal skills and intereststhat led you to apply.

Try and find some specific featureon which the employer pridesthemselves: their training, theirclients, their individuality, their publicimage, etc.

“Although you are one of thebiggest companies in this sector,you only recruit ten graduates ayear so I know that I will be able tomake a real contribution. Thefeedback from current graduatetrainees on The Job Crowd wasreally positive and I was impressedby how much responsibility theyhave been given in such a shorttime...”

This may not always be possiblewith very small organisations butyou may be able to pick upsomething of this nature from theinterviewer.

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For example, an intervieweeapplying to a small organisationmight say:

“I’m always ready to take onresponsibility and feel this will comemore quickly with a firm of this size.A small firm also gives the chance tobuild closer working relationshipswith clients and colleagues and I’vefound through my past workexperience that this makes anorganisation more effective as wellas more satisfying to work in.”

What other companies have youapplied to?It’s fine to say that you are applyingto other employers – if you weren’t itcould be seen as either lazy or over-confident.

You don’t have to tell them everysingle other application you havemade – you can be selective. Focuson those that are:• Relevant – related to the businessyou are presently beinginterviewed for

• Prestigious. They will reflect wellon the firm interviewing you

• Consistent. Not from lots ofdifferent job areas or employmentgroups of less interest to you thanthe present opportunity

• Successful so far. Do not list thosefirms who have rejected you.

You should also stress the positivethings about the employer who isinterviewing you and make them feelthat they are your first choice.

Other questions of this nature couldinclude:• What type of management stylegets the most out of you at work?

• Where do you see yourself in fiveyears’ time?

• What gives you job satisfaction?

Challenging“Challenging” questions may bethose that challenge you personally,by picking up on your weakerpoints, or may be designed tochallenge all candidates by askingoff-the-wall questions that theycould not have been expected toprepare for.

• You don’t have much experienceof this type of work – do you thinkthat you’ll be able to cope in thisjob?

• What is your greatest weakness?• You graduated a year ago anddon’t seem to have had a properjob since then – what have youbeen doing?

• Why did you take that year outduring your degree?

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THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

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When you review your applicationbefore your interview, think whatpoints you really don’t want theinterviewer to pick up on andprepare for questions on thesepoints carefully – they will almostcertainly ask all the questions thatyou hope they won’t!

Remember that you are one of arelatively small percentage ofapplicants who have been invited tointerview, so the employer hasalready seen more positives thannegatives in your application. Don’tpanic and don’t be apologetic buttry and respond as positively as youcan.

“I knew that I wanted to take sometime out to travel after I graduated soI spent a few months working in arestaurant. Because I’d worked therebefore while I was a student I wasgiven responsibility for supervisingand training new staff. At the sametime, I was preparing for a trip toSouth America by planning anitinerary and learning Spanish and Iflew to Peru at the end of March. Myplanning paid off so everything wentwell and I had a really great time: Ivolunteered in an orphanage forthree weeks and hiked the Inca Trail.Since I got back I’ve been spendinga lot of time thinking about my careerso I know that this is exactly the sortof job that I want and I’m really keento get started”

When answering the weaknessquestion, pick a weakness that:• you have corrected or learned tomanage, and describe how youdid this

• will not impact too negatively onyour ability to complete the job“I used to be very shy when I wasat school and found it hard to talkto people I didn’t know well, butmy job in the library meant that Ihad to help people with all kindsof queries. Now I’m happy talkingto anybody one-to-one and I’vejoined the debating society to giveme experience of speaking infront of an audience.”

• You could also choose aweakness that might be seen as astrength, but beware of saying“I’m a perfectionist” – this answerhas been given so often that it hasbecome a cliché.

Off-the-wall questionsThese are often asked by corporateemployers such as investmentbanks, management consultanciesand advertising agencies.

Some look to assess your logicalreasoning skills:• Why are manhole covers round?(Don’t say “because the hole isround”)

• What is 21 multiplied by 19?• How do you fit a giraffe in afridge?

• “There are three boxes, onecontains only apples, one containsonly oranges, and one containsboth apples and oranges. Theboxes have been incorrectlylabelled such that no labelidentifies the actual contents ofthe box it labels. Opening just onebox, and without looking in thebox, you take out one piece offruit. By looking at the fruit, howcan you immediately label all ofthe boxes correctly?”

Others aim to assess your initiative,individuality or self-awareness:• If you could be any character infiction, who would you be?

• If you could be a superhero, whatwould you want yoursuperpowers to be?

• If you could have dinner withanyone from history, who would itbe and why?

• If you won £5 million in the lottery,what would you do with themoney?

• How do I rate as an interviewer?• If you were a car, what typewould you be?

Obviously there are no right orwrong answers to these questions,but employers that ask them will belooking for confident individuals whocan think on their feet and handlepressure.

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Interviews may also beunintentionally challenging,especially if you are dealing with anuntrained, inexperienced or plainunpleasant interviewer. Try to alwaysremain calm and professional, evenif you are mentally planning toreport the interviewer to their HRmanager or never to have anythingto do with that company again.

Don’t assume that an interviewerwho is asking hard questions andchallenging your answers isprejudiced against you in someway. This is often a positive sign –the interviewer feels that you arepotentially suitable for the job andis putting you to the test beforemaking their final decision. Don’t beafraid to argue a point and todisagree with the interviewer: solong as this is done politely andreasonably most interviewers willrate your assertiveness highly.

Case study interviewsFinance, management consultancyand legal employers are also likelyto use more extensive “case studyinterviews”.

Case interviews are two-wayconversations that demonstrate anability to think creatively in unfamiliarbusinesses. Your interviewer willdescribe a strategic or operationalchallenge such as the following:

Our client is a flagship nationalairline. They experienced consistentgrowth between 2009 – 2014 butsince then their profits and marketshare have declined significantly.They are looking to us to offer asolution to the problem: what wouldyou recommend.

You will be expected to put questionsto the interviewer that will enable youto gather information about thebackground to this problem that willallow you to pick out significant factsand reach a viable conclusion in ashort period of time.

Other case studies may involve youbeing given a set of papersrelating to a particular situation. Youwill have to read through these (in alimited period of time), makerecommendations in a brief reportand then discuss theserecommendations with theinterviewer.

This format aims to test your abilityto analyse information, to thinkclearly and logically and to exerciseyour judgement.

CONTINUED OVERLEAF

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Ethical1 If your friend was seriouslyinjured and you had to get himto hospital, would you speedand go through a red light?(Solicitors’ firm)

2 Do you believe that honesty isalways the best policy?

3 Your boss went out to meetfriends for lunch and is latearriving back. A client has arrivedfor a meeting with him/her and isnot happy that s/he is notavailable: what do you tell them?

4 Your newspaper has published areport which concluded thatmany supermarket ready mealscontain excessive amounts ofsugar. The report includedresponses from supermarketsand sugar manufacturers, but amajor national supermarket chainhas now threatened to withdrawall its advertising with yournewspaper (worth over £1 milliona year) unless you run anotherstory focusing on the benefits ofready meals. What do you do?

5 What would you do if a potentialsupplier offered you an“incentive” to offer them acontract?

6 If you had made a mistake andnobody had noticed it, would youadmit to it?

7 Should the NHS fund treatment formedical conditions resulting fromsmoking or excessive alcoholconsumption? (Medical school)

These questions are most oftenasked at interviews for jobs in“professional” areas such as law,accountancy, teaching or medicine,where integrity and trust areparamount, but can be asked at anyinterview for a role involvingresponsibility.

They may also be asked tostimulate discussion and to allowyou to argue for or against aparticular point of view.

In the above questions, there isunlikely to be a single right or wronganswer. If asked the first question,for example (If your friend wasseriously injured and you had to gethim to hospital, would you speedand go through a red light?) thereare at least four possible answers:• Of course I would – it’s a matterof life and death

• Of course I wouldn’t – speedlimits and red lights are there forpublic safety and I could injuremore people by breaking therules

• Would it be necessary? Might itbenefit my friend more to wait foran ambulance so that he can betreated by paramedics beforegetting to hospital?

• It depends. If it would beunavoidable for you to drive, youmight mention factors such as theamount of traffic, your knowledgeof the roads and the seriousnessof the injury while consideringyour response.

Although you want to come acrossas a trustworthy and honest personyou should normally avoid knee-jerkresponses and consider issuessuch as practicalities andsensitivities. Whichever of the aboveanswers you might choose, it isworth considering the other optionsand showing why they are, or arenot, appropriate.

THE QUESTIONS(CONT)

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YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE INTERVIEWER

Before the end of theinterview, you will usuallybe asked if you have anyquestions that you wouldlike to ask theinterviewer.

Don’t feel you have to wait untilthis point to ask questions – if thechance to ask a question seemsto arise naturally in the course ofthe interview, take it! Rememberthat, as said earlier, an interviewis a conversation and that askinggood questions will help to showyour interest in, and enthusiasm for,the job.

Prepare some questions inadvance: it is OK to write thesedown on a piece of card and referto your notes to remind you whatyou wanted to ask. Make sure thatyour questions are not answered onthe employer’s website!

Keep them brief: there may be otherinterviewees waiting.

Ask about the work itself, trainingand career development: not aboutholidays, pensions and parkingfacilities.

Some questions you might considerasking:• Is there a fixed period of trainingfor graduates?

• Do you send your managers onexternal training courses?

• How often is a graduate’sperformance appraised?

• What is a typical career path inthis job function?

• Can you give me some examplesof the sort of projects I would beworking on?

• What opportunities would therebe for me to use my specificskills? (such as languages ortechnical skills)

• How many graduates stay on atthe end of the training scheme?

• How would you see this companydeveloping in future?

• How would you describe thecompany culture here?

• What are the challenges that yourorganisation is facing?

• What is your personal experienceof working for this organisation?

You can also use this opportunity totell the interviewer anything aboutyourself that they have not raised inthe interview but that you feel isimportant to your application.Although these examples may behelpful, try to make your questionsoriginal, relevant to the individual joband about things you cannot findout for yourself.

It sometimes happens that, duringthe interview, all the points that youhad noted down to ask about will becovered. In this situation, you canrespond as follows:

Interviewer: “Well, that seems tohave covered everything: is thereanything you would like to ask me?”

Interviewee: “Thank you: I’d made anote to ask about your appraisalsystem and the study arrangementsfor professional exams, but we wentover those earlier and I really feelyou’ve covered everything that Ineed to know at this moment.”

The interviewer should then give youan idea of when you can expect tohear their decision, but if they don’tmention this then do feel free to ask.

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AFTER THE INTERVIEW

• After the interview, make notes onthe questions asked, where youfelt you could have given betteranswers, and what else you couldhave done better. Work on thesepoints before your next interview.

• If you are accepted,congratulations! But, if you areuncertain whether to accept thisoffer, see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/joboffers.htm or talk to a careersadviser.

• If you are turned down, you maypick up some useful tips toimprove your performance nexttime by phoning or emailing yourinterviewer to ask politely what –if anything – you did wrong. Notall interviewers are willing toprovide this feedback, but it’sworth a try. Don’t bedisheartened. You did well tomake it to the interview, and themore interviews you have, thebetter you will get.

• You may hear the result of theinterview within a few hours, afew days, or a couple of weeks. Ifthe employer doesn’t contact youwithin this time, then contact themto check what is happening.

• Not every interview will result inan immediate job offer: the nextstage may be a second interviewor assessment centre. See ourweb pages on these topics atwww.kent.ac.uk/ces/student/assessmentaptitude.html

VISIT USONLINE

The Careers and Employability ServiceUniversity of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NDT: +44 (0)1227 823299 E: [email protected] www.kent.ac.uk/ces

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