Spend some time after your interview thinking through the experience. Make some notes for yourself before moving on. This will help you prepare for the next stage of the process and get ready for interviews with other graduate employers.
Getting feedback from interviews where you have been unsuccessful can be invaluable and most recruiters are happy to provide it. However, don’t be too disappointed if it is very general.
Although it can be tempting to run screaming from a bad interview or skip joyously from a good one, recruiters will expect to you to be professional throughout the time you’re meeting with them, including after you’ve left the interview room itself.
If you’re shown around the office or have the chance to chat with trainees or other members of staff, remember that their feedback may count towards the organisation’s overall evaluation of you, so don’t say or do anything that you wouldn’t in a formal interview situation.
TOP TIP: Need to let off steam or sing for joy? Make sure you are a couple of blocks away from the employer’s office before you let rip – you never know who is watching! The same is true for comments online.
It’s natural to be nervous in an interview, but if you know that you are prone to particular fear-induced reactions that could jeopardise your chances, think about these before the day so that you have chance to find a way to overcome them the best you can.
When you are in the interview, remember that it’s fine to pause before responding to questions to gather your thoughts, and if you’re unsure about a question it’s also fine to ask for clarification.
TOP TIP: Use your CV or application as a prompt if you dry up: take a copy into the interview and use it to choose good examples of your skills.
Good first impressions count for a lot. Plan for your interview day in fine detail – it will help you relax and shows employers that you are organised and committed.
Make sure you know how you should dress, plan how to get to your interview and book your travel tickets in advance. Charge your mobile phone and leave yourself time to read through your application again carefully.
Print out a fresh copy of your CV or make a new copy of your application form to take with you, and organise any supporting information you’ll be taking with you
Recruiters want to know what unique skills you can bring to the role. Think through your work experience and the skills and interests you’ve developed at university and how these relate to the job and area of work.
List your achievements and activities (such as work for university societies, interests and hobbies, internships or work placements, voluntary work or casual work) and make notes on the skills you learned and how you used them, and also what you contributed to different situations.
TOP TIP: Review your CV or application form: think of how you can expand on any examples and skills and consider some alternatives. Which examples would be the best ones to highlight for the particular job?
Return to the employer research you did when you made your original job application and build on it. Fresh research will remind you what attracted you to the job and will help you anticipate interview questions.
Look on the organisation’s website for details of recent work or clients that interest you and think about how you could contribute to what the employer does.
Graduate employers use different kinds of interviews at different stages of the recruitment process.
Telephone interviews are often used at an early stage to check candidates meet the basic requirements and to filter out those who aren’t serious about the job.
Many organisations use competence- or competency-based interviews, in which you’ll be asked to match your skills to those needed for the role, eg communication skills, problem solving and teamwork.
Panel interviews – in which candidates are interviewed by several people such as HR staff and department managers – are also common in some graduate career sectors, such as teaching and public service.
TOP TIP: If the recruiter hasn’t already told you what kind of interview you’ll be having, contact them to find out. Once you’ve established what to expect you’ll be able to prepare for the kinds of questions and scenarios you could experience during the interview.
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