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Interview-Ready

What's in This Booklet?

This is an interactive PDF version of the booklet for online use or download. Look out for live web and navigation links throughout the booklet. This booklet takes you through most of the common scenarios at graduate recruitment interviews and gives you advice on how to prepare for and do your best at interview.

We have compiled these guidelines based on a combination of the experiences of the University of Galway Career Development Centre, feedback from our students who have been successful using this model and input from graduate recruiters. We will share advice and tips on how to prepare effectively for a job interview, from dealing with nerves to a step-by-step guide on how to prepare and structure your answers to standard interview questions and competency-based interview questions using the STAR framework. We will give an insight into the different types of interviews and selection methods used by employers and how best to prepare for these to ensure you stand out at your interview. We encourage our students to attend an interview workshop, which the Career Development Centre runs throughout the academic year. Also, be sure to use Big Interview – an AI-based job interview training system (for current students only). Big Interview offers training courses and an interactive mock interview tool, which is tailored to your specific industry, job, and experience level. Best of luck! From the Career Development Centre Team

Contents Pg 1 Pg 4 Pg 5 Pg 6 Pg 10 Pg 12 Pg 13 Pg 14 Pg 14 Pg 15 Pg 15

Preparing for Interview Anticipate the Questions Typical Interview Questions Competency-Based Questions Tricky Interview Questions Tricky Interview Situations Questions to Ask Questions to Avoid Ending the Interview Big Interview Links

Preparing for Interview

People often find the idea of an interview very daunting. The key to successful interviewing is to prepare well in advance and practice. Book into an interview workshop, complete a practice interview on Big Interview and get feedback on your answers. While everyone is different, it is recommended that you spend 6-10 hours preparing for an interview, to ensure you give it your best shot. Be positive! The company already thinks you can do the job, otherwise you wouldn’t have been shortlisted. Now it is time for you to follow this up with a good interview. Know your CV and application form inside out! Anything that you have included in your application could be a question in the interview so be sure you bear this in mind when preparing. Don’t get caught out by a question about something that you have outlined on your CV.

Research the Company Find out everything there is to know about the company you are interviewing with. Look at their website, but also search for press coverage on recent developments: examples include job announcements, new products, and EDI. Being armed with this information will highlight that you have done your research. Use this research to prepare questions for the company, which you can put to them when they ask “Have you any questions for us?” When you get an invitation for an interview, ask who you will be meeting with. Write down this information and look up your interviewers on LinkedIn, as having an insight into their background might give you an idea of the potential questions they might ask. If you know someone in the company, you should get in contact with them and ask them a few questions about the role, the company, and the recruitment process. This information can be invaluable and could give you the edge in the interview. Interview Practicalities Make sure that you know where you are going and give yourself plenty of time to get there. If possible, go to the interview venue before the interview date, just to make sure you know exactly where you are going. Getting lost on the way to an interview is a surefire way of getting you flustered which could have a negative impact on your interview performance. Bring the name and contact number of the person you are meeting with you. Arrive at the interview venue early and ask for the person you are meeting with. Remember there may be numerous interviews happening on that day, so it is important that you are clear on who you are meeting with to avoid confusion.

What to Wear You want to make a good impression and show the employer you are taking this process seriously and that you are very interested in the company and the role. The company you are interviewing with will determine what you should wear, for example, if you are interviewing in a professional services company you will be expected to dress formally. Other companies may have a less formal dress code. If you are in doubt about how to dress it is a good idea to err on the side of caution and dress smartly - with clean, neatly pressed clothes. Introductions, Nerves, and Body Language You may know the names of the people you are meeting already, but on the day this may change. Pay attention when you are being introduced to your interviewers. Shake their hands and repeat their names back to them as you are being introduced (this will help you remember their names). Have a good firm handshake and make eye contact with each interviewer. It is natural to be nervous at the beginning of an interview, but good interview preparation will keep these nerves at bay. Find ways to manage your nerves in advance such as breathing and relaxation exercises. Attend a workshop for some tips on managing nerves. Make eye contact with interviewers when they are asking questions but also engage the other interviewers by directing your answers to the group. Bring a bottle of water with you in case you need it during the interview. Practice, Practice, Practice Practice answering questions in advance - this is the best preparation for an interview – you can do this as a mock interview. Use Big Interview, the AI-based interactive mock interview tool, where you can watch back your interview and see how you look and sound, how your answers are structured and how well they flow. You can take note of areas for improvement, and then practice again. See page 15 for more on Big Interview. For more information on how to prepare for phone, video, and panel interviews, use the QR code on page 15 or click here to access our dedicated interview section in ‘Careers - Information for Students’ on SharePoint.

Anticipate the Questions

One of the first questions that you should expect is ‘tell us about yourself’ or ‘take us through your CV’. The interviewer really means ‘tell us about yourself in relation to this role’. Be clear about why you want to work for the company and what you have to offer them. Preparing this in advance can get the interview off to a great start. When answering, assume the interviewers know nothing about you (it can happen that interviewers have not read your CV!).

Give them a clear overview of your qualifications, work experience and skills that make you a suitable candidate for this position – keeping your answer relevant to the job on offer. You will need to prepare for typical interview questions outlined overleaf and also identify what other questions may be important for this specific role. To do this, go through the job details to note the key competencies and skills required, if you find this difficult our tips on using AI in jobsearch may be useful - use the QR code on page 15 or click here to access our dedicated interview section in ‘Careers - Information for Students’ on SharePoint. Then prepare an example for each of these areas to outline your suitability for the role.

Typical Interview Questions

This page goes through some very common interview questions. This is not an exhaustive list but it will give you an idea of the type of questions you can expect at an interview. You should plan answers to these types of questions in advance of the interview. Questions About You What has been your greatest achievement so far? What do you do in your spare time? What are your long-term career goals? Questions About the Job/Sector Why are you interested in this position? What are the most challenging issues currently affecting this sector? How do you keep up-to-date with developments in this sector? Questions About the Organisation Why do you want to work for this organisation? What do you know about this organisation? How does our graduate training scheme compare with our competitors? Questions About Your Education Why did you choose your degree? What was the most challenging part of your degree course? Which parts of your degree are most relevant for this vacancy? How did you approach your final year project/thesis? Questions About Your Work Experience What have you gained from your previous work experience/ internship/placement/voluntary work? Describe your current or most recent role. What has been your greatest achievement in the workplace? Talk us through your most relevant experience to date.

Competency-Based Questions

Competency-based Interviews are also known as ‘Structured Interviews’ or ‘Behavioural Interviews’. These interviews are made up of targeted questions that ask you to describe your performance in specific tasks or situations. They work on the belief that the best indication of future performance is past performance. Make sure to highlight your key competencies or skills and ensure that they are matched to the key competencies required for the job such as leadership, initiative and teamwork. Typically you will be assessed against a number of different competencies which can be listed in the job specification or on the company website. You will also be able to identify the required competencies in the job description. Competency-based questions usually ask you to describe a time when you displayed a certain skill, or a situation you found yourself in: Tell us about a time when you used your communication skills to influence other people’s behaviour or opinions? Describe a situation when you worked in a team to achieve a goal. What was your contribution to the team’s success and what would you do differently in a similar situation in the future? Describe how you analysed a complex issue or problem to reach a decision. How did you evaluate the decision you made? When have you had to deal with an unexpected or changing situation? How did you cope with this uncertainty? How do I Know I’m Being Asked a Competency-Based Question? These questions are easy to spot as they generally start as follows: Tell me about a time when you had to…. Can you describe where you have had to… Give me an example of... When Answering Competency-Based Questions You Should Aim To: Have an example ready. Focus on your role and what you did. Use the STAR model (outlined overleaf) to answer these questions.

STAR Model The best way to prepare for competency-based questions is to use the STAR approach for your examples. STAR is an acronym that refers to Situation, Task, Action and Result. You need to describe the Situation you were in, the Task you had to accomplish, the Action you took, and the Results of your action. Using this model helps to keep your answers structured, clear and to the point. When used effectively, the STAR model is a like a skill for storytelling and will help you to stand out from the competition. Think of the STAR technique as the structure to tell a story that demonstrates your skills. Situation The situation is the challenge, project, or other event you faced. The first error many interviewees make is to speak in general terms about a challenge they regularly face - make sure to take a specific situation at a specific time. Set the scene of the story by giving context and the background of the situation and outline the specific challenge or project that you faced. If you're asked about teamwork, your response should include the project details, where it took place, the size of the team, when you undertook the project, and your location at that time. When you’re preparing for potential interview questions, think about situations that might be relevant to the job you’re interviewing for, and use a relevant example if possible. Consider the way you’d describe the problem you faced. This could be something directly related to your current or previous job, such as ‘When I worked on placement with IBM, I had to give an important presentation with only two days to prepare’ or ‘When I was working at McDonald's last year, we had a number of new team members coming into the busy Arts Festival weekend’.

Task The task is what your role, responsibilities and duties were in that situation. Were you the leader? What was your goal? What were you tasked to do? In the situation you described, narrow down the task or target you were directly responsible for. Be concise. You need to convey the specifics to your interviewer as briefly and clearly as you can. Be sure to highlight any particularly challenging aspects of the task. Mention constraints and obstacles you faced. Action The action is the steps you took or the procedure you followed to deal with the challenge or complete the project. Describe the specific actions that you took to complete your task or achieve your target. Focus specifically on your own actions rather than those of others. Be sure to highlight the good qualities you showed in taking those specific actions. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your best traits to the interviewer, make sure you take full advantage of it. If your actions showed good leadership, expert communication skills or great dedication, convey this to your interviewer. Result The result is where you describe the outcome of your actions. Mention specific results, if possible, such as facts, figures, or any statistics that quantify your success. Let the interviewer know how your actions benefited the company, team, or project. In the results, you can also highlight anything you learned that you would change your approach to similar problems in the future. Once you have given your answer the interviewer may probe a little by asking things like... Why did you take that approach? Would you do anything differently in hindsight? Did you find that situation difficult? This is a normal part of the competency interview process; it does not mean you have given a bad answer.

Tips to Prepare for a Competency-Based Interview Be clear on the competencies and skills required for the role. Write out examples of where you have developed each of these competencies, be creative with your approach, and use examples from different areas such as college, placement, part-time work, volunteering, or your roles in clubs and societies. Practice your answers out loud using the STAR technique. Attend an Interview workshop and use Big Interview. When you are in the interview let your personality come through. Try to be enthusiastic and confident, remember to smile! Types of Interviews and Stages in the Recruitment and Selection Process Each company will have a different approach in how they recruit, some companies have just one interview and perhaps a reference stage, while others have a much longer process with many stages. For information on the various types of interviews and the potential stages of recruitment and selection processes used by graduate employers, use the QR code on page 15 or click here to access our dedicated interview section in ‘Careers - Information for Students’ on SharePoint.

Tricky Interview Questions There are always questions you would prefer to avoid. Prepare answers to a few e.g. if you repeated an academic year or do not have any relevant work experience. Do not volunteer anything negative about yourself, former colleagues, or any organisation. Depending on your personal circumstances you may need to prepare answers to address the following: Gaps in your CV, for example, to explain the reason for a year out: maybe family required you at home, travel, personal reasons (which you don’t have to elaborate on). Try to present the year out in a positive way - what you learned from the experience, maybe you refocused on your return, etc. Poor grades in exams, for example, maybe a subject that didn’t interest you as much as others (only use this if the subject isn’t a critical one for the job!), took a while to settle in college etc. Always talk about learning from the experience, and the positive aspects of getting a poor grade. Unexpected ‘Random’ or ‘Curveball’ Questions Some recruiters ask candidates a ‘random’ or off-the-wall question to see how they respond under pressure. These questions have no right or wrong answer; they are testing your personality. It is best to take a logical approach when answering these questions. Examples of these types of questions are: If you were a biscuit, what type of biscuit would you be? What would I find in your refrigerator? If you were having a dinner party and could invite one famous person, who would you invite? Could be connected to a hobby listed on your CV such as “How many golf balls are there in Ireland, do you think?”

Questions on Your Weaknesses This question is often asked at graduate recruitment interviews, the best approach is to try and give a real example and focus on what actions you have taken to address the weakness. This shows the employer that you are self-aware and focused on developing. You may be asked straight out “What are your weaknesses?” or the question could be framed slightly differently such as “What is the one thing you would change about yourself?” or “What is the one thing you would need to focus on in order to perform effectively in this role?”. Avoid giving answers like “I have no weaknesses” or “I am a perfectionist” as this will sound like you are avoiding the question. Do a psychometric test to explore your potential areas for development – available FREE at Careers - Information for Students on SharePoint for current University of Galway students. Some Tips for Handling These Unexpected Questions: Do not say the first thing that comes into your head, it is perfectly acceptable to take a moment to gather your thoughts. Try and remain calm, you have an answer and just need to think about it. If it is a hypothetical question do not be afraid to take a light-hearted approach as this is a good way to build rapport with your interviewer. Remain calm, they are looking for someone who takes a logical or creative approach to problems so it is important to maintain eye contact and answer these types of questions confidently. Don’t be tempted to give up when asked one of these questions, as you might think the interview is going badly, but the interviewer could well be impressed with the way you formulate your answers and remain calm under pressure. Example Take the question of the number of golf balls – don’t just give a number explain your answer, for example, “Well, I know approx. 40% of the Irish population play golf so that is about 2 million people. I have about 30 golf balls, which is probably average so I would expect about 60 million owned by golfers, plus about the same amount between those for sale in shops and at driving ranges so 120 million in total!” The total figure here is not relevant, but your logical approach is what the employer will be impressed with.

Tricky Interview Situations

What Happens if You Go blank? Take a minute to think about an appropriate answer, do not say the first thing that comes into your head. Taking a sip of water can give you a little time for this. What Happens if You Don’t Understand a Question? It is best to paraphrase the question back to the interviewer to clarify what they are asking rather than attempting to answer a question that you are not sure of. What Happens if You Understand the Question but Do Not Know the Answer? It is best to be honest in this situation and tell the interviewer that you are not familiar with this area. You could mention similar areas that you are familiar with as an alternative if this is applicable to the situation. What if One of the Interviewers Is Not Paying Attention? If this happens in an interview try not to let it distract you. Focus on the individuals who are engaging with you.

Questions to Ask

It is important to have questions ready to ask the interviewers at the end.

Have questions prepared to reinforce that you have done your research and that you are genuinely interested in the company. Be authentic and don’t ask the same generic question every other candidate will ask. Your research of the company should help you come up with questions to ask in the interview. The following are some examples of interviewee questions – avoid questions where the information is readily available online or on the job description: What do the interviewers enjoy about working in the company? What development opportunities are there in the company? Ask about recent company developments, such as new products, and recent acquisitions. Ask about company initiatives such as Environmental or Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. What are the next steps in the process? What typical career paths there are within the company? Show your research when asking these questions, for example, “I read on your website that you recently received a Green Award in recognition for your commitment to growing a greener future in Irish business. What opportunities are there for employees to get involved in the environmental goals of the organisation?”

Questions to Avoid

There are a few areas that should not be brought up at an interview as they could put up potential barriers to you being hired. All of these questions are valid, however, and you will get this information in good time. Some examples include: Avoid asking about salary (particularly in a first-round interview). Negotiations about salary can wait until there is a job offer on the table. Salaries are sometimes available online, in the job posting, etc. It is best not to ask about holidays; this information will come in time. Avoid queries about sick leave or similar policies as this may sound alarm bells for the interviewers. You can likely get this information online, or through contacts in the organisation.

Ending the Interview

It is important to end the interview on a high note; it shows that you have confidence and belief in your suitability. Most interviewers will ask you “Why should we hire you?” or “Do you have anything you would like to add?” at the end, before the interview is wrapped up. This is your cue to hit them with the three reasons why you should get the job. You should have this planned out in advance and it is ok to repeat something that you have said already earlier in the interview. At this point, it is also a good idea to restate your genuine interest in the role on offer and in the company. You can end the interview by thanking the interviewers for their time, shaking their hands, and using their names if you can. Remember, the interview is not over until you have left the building!

Big Interview: An AI-based Job Interview Training System

When preparing for a job interview, it’s not enough to just read advice, you need to put that advice into practice! That’s why Big Interview isn’t just a training course, but a whole interview prep system. You’ll get hands-on practice with mock interviews tailored to your specific industry, job, and experience level. AI-based algorithms can help provide feedback on how you're doing with your interview prep and immediate coaching on how to improve. It is up to you whether you would like to enable the AI functionality. Practice answering the questions and watch back your recordings - this is where the real learning is! Get tips on using other AI tools when preparing for interview in our dedicated interview section on ‘Careers Information for Students’ - at the second link below. Get Started Go to the link or scan the Big Interview QR Code below and click "Register".

Links

Useful links for students: click the links or scan the QR codes below.

Big Interview Go to universityofgalway.biginterview.com or scan the QR Code.

Going for Interview Careers Information for Students Go to nuigalwayie.sharepoint.com/sites/Careers /SitePages/interview.aspx or scan the QR Code.

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