How to succeed at interviews

If you’ve ever watched ‘The Apprentice’ you’ll have witnessed first-hand the episode where the remaining apprentices go through the interview stage of the process. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion. Each year without fail, candidates fail to prepare for even the most basic of questions. While this makes for compelling TV it’s also a powerful lesson on how not to do it!

The good news for Warwick students and graduates is that we have many great resources on our careers pages to help you prepare and do well in the interview..  

What can I find here?

• You can practice online video interviews and complete a short course (no- no one likes video interviews, but they are here to stay- so spent time practising in a safe environment)
• Attend Interview Skills workshops- book through MyAdvantage
• To practise interview questions with a member of the team, book a Job Search Advice appointment through MyAdvantage. Provide a copy of the job specification and your application before the appointment and e mail this to careers@warwick.ac.uk
• Watch short video interview clips where we explain the different types of interview and how to answer them.
• Read our Careers Blog for advice on answering interview questions 

New FREE Interview resource for Warwick students and graduates. We also now have ECareersGrad, a fantastically useful platform with the following features:

• Different types of interview question explained

Competency, Motivational, Strengths, Commercial and Sector awareness and Academic interviews are all covered. Each question type is explained and deconstructed so you can understand why recruiters ask it and what they are looking for. There are tips on approaches to enable you to prepare effectively for each different kind.

• Watch candidates perform – both well and badly

Much like ‘The Apprentice’ there is as much to learn from what candidates do badly as interviewing skilfully. The short video clips include recruiter commentary explaining why the candidates are doing well or not so well. This is hugely helpful. You will be able to prepare so much better once you understand what recruiters are expecting.

• How do recruiters assess your responses?

An explanation for each question type enables you to see things from the recruiter’s perspective.

• Bonus content- Mastering the Consulting Case

There is an additional section- Mastering the Consulting Case, for those of you exploring careers where this is likely to be part of the recruitment and selection process. Sections cover market sizing, handling the case brief, issues analysis and dealing with numbers. You can work through the ECareersGrad resources as a short course. This takes around 60-80 minutes (recommended). Or you can dip into the specific sections ass you need to.

Recruiters

Graduate recruiters rate Warwick students and graduates very highly. What they do say they would like to see is students preparing more thoroughly for interviews. This is an area where many of you could do better.  A small investment of time could make all the difference between rejection and job offer. The ability to translate your experience and articulate your skills and qualities can mean the difference between rejection and job offer.

Next steps? Use ECareersGrad!

It’s quite literally a game-changer. Invest just a small amount of time and the quality of your interviews will significantly boost your chances of securing a graduate job offer or internship. ‘By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.’   Benjamin Franklin.