Interviews

Well done! You’ve got an interview. Good preparation will give you the best chance of success, and reduce your interview nerves. Although interviews can be stressful and daunting, everyone who has a job has been through a similar process. Interviews can also be pressurised for both parties: your interviewer will be keen to get the best out of their candidates and make a good hire.

Video interviews are becoming increasingly popular with graduate employers in the early stages of recruitment. Practice to get a sense of what these are like before you do the real thing, using Graduates First, or for Case Interviews - Casecoach.

Graduates First

is especially useful if you have a video interview coming up - but also for face to face or phone interviews too. Now you can practice those interview skills any time day or night!

CaseCoach

CaseCoach is the leading online case interview prep platform, created by former McKinsey interviewers and headhunters.

CaseCoach provides everything you need to prepare for case study interviews used by top consulting firms and other employers, including:

Bite-sized video lectures covering the 12 key skills assessed by the firms across both the fit and case interviews with tips and techniques on how to build and demonstrate these skills.
27 interview videos featuring real candidates who went on to join Bain, BCG, and McKinsey, with detailed commentary on their performance.
A library of 80+ exclusive case studies with solutions, with a scorecard like the one your interviewer has on the other side of the table.
A practice feature, to organize mock interviews with other students, within Cambridge or at other schools, and track your performance.
Math, structuring and exhibit drills to hone in on critical skills.

Cambridge Careers Guide to Succeeding at Technical Interviews

This guide covers:

What is a technical interview?
Are coding interviews the same as technical interviews?
What is typically covered in technical interviews?
How should I prepare for a technical interview?
What if I get stuck / don’t know the answer?
Where can I get more help / does the Careers Service offer technical interview practice?
What resources are helpful? What should I know?

Check out our "Career Essentials: Interviews" playlist

Different stages and types of interview

There are almost as many different kinds of interviews as there are interviewers and interviewees. Your experience will depend on the kind of organisation to which you are applying and even on the time of year. There is a fairly well-established pattern for the larger graduate schemes during the autumn, but a more variable and less structured pattern during the rest of the year and for smaller firms.

The selection process for larger schemes usually has three phases:

The application form (or CV and covering letter) which is used to select candidates for interview
A first interview (in Cambridge, at the employer's location, on the phone/video) from which candidates are shortlisted
Further interviews usually held at the workplace, at a hotel, or at an Assessment Centre run by the employer.

For smaller firms there could just be a single interview.

First interviews

An offer of a first interview means that the selectors like the look of your application documents thus far, and want to confirm this inital impression and more closely assess your suitability for the organisation and the job. If they are a large organisation, they may also be trying to assess which job or location among several might suit you best.

Your first interview will usually be with one person (a line manager or the HR department) and normally last 20-50 minutes. There may be some discussion of the job, but the focus will be on you, your background, your experiences, and your ideas. This gives you the chance to show that you are motivated for the job, and have done your research on the company. The interviewer may not give a lot of feedback. You may be asked to take an aptitude test to assess your numeracy or verbal reasoning ability. Management consultancy employers will give you a case study to see how you think on your feet, both analytically and creatively.

Interviewers usually they have a checklist of the qualities/competencies they are looking for, and will ask questions to elicit the information they want. See the list of sample open-ended interview questions below.

The use of one-way or asymmetric video interviews has been increasing over recent years. The candidate logs into a website at a time and location to suit them, and is asked a number of questions. The answers are timed, recorded via the computer's webcam and then reviewed by the employer.

Further interviews

At this point, you have passed the first two hurdles of selection (application and first interview), and you probably now have between a 20-50% chance of getting an offer. The employer will expect you to have improved your knowledge and understanding of the organisation, and of the type of work you'd be doing.

Further interviews take many forms, and sometimes include psychometric tests or case studies. Employers will be looking hard at the ways you'd meet the needs of their organisation.

Further interviews can last anything from an hour up to a full day. You will normally be told what to expect. If you are not told, it is perfectly acceptable to ask.

Tour

An invitation to 'talk to senior partners', 'see the office' or 'meet senior managers' probably means a series of interviews with one or more people in the place of work and a tour of the office. You should prepare accordingly.

Panel interviews

You will face a group of interviewers all at once; they will have discussed in advance how they are going to 'manage' the interview, so you won't be faced with a barrage of questions. Look at the questioner when you are replying, then glance back at the Chairperson who will probably be picking up your answers or indicating where the next question will come from.

Selection days and assessment centres

These can last one or two days and may be residential. You will be working with other interviewees and progressing through a series of events such as:

One-to-one interviews
Individual case studies
Panel interviews
Aptitude or personality tests
Group exercises as a team working on tasks relevant to the job you're applying for
Drafting exercises (reading a batch of material and preparing a summary or response to it)
Giving a presentation, possibly on a topic you've already prepared
Social events (it's unwise to let your hair down too much!)

See our separate information and advice on assessment centres.

Preparing for the interview

Prepare for the interview as much as possible.

Re-read your application form, the job description, your interview notes (if you have had one or more interviews already) and the company website. Identify how your skills and experience match the job requirements as listed on the job description. It you are hired, it will usually be because of a strong crossover.

Try to get hold of their annual report and any relevant press comments. Through friends or by networking with alumni, try to talk to people working in a similar field.

To find out what employers are looking for in first and subsequent interviews, see "Different stages and types of interview" above

Prepare for awkward questions, especially if there are facts or gaps in your application which may be inviting them. See the list of sample interview questions below.
For consulting jobs, prepare for case study interviews by working through examples on the websites of the major firms.
If you are told you will need to do one or more personality/psychometric tests, see our information and advice on psychometric tests
Prepare a list of points you want to convey/questions you have.
Arrive 5-10 minutes early. Allow plenty of travel time, especially if it's in an unfamiliar town or you are relying on public transport.
Dress suitably, to show you understand the requirements of the organisation. For most interviews, formal clothes are appropriate.
If your interview will be conducted online or telephone, make sure you take extra steps to prepare - see "online and phone interviews" below.

If your interview is likely to be technical (eg financial, management consultancy, science or economics), prepare in advance. You may not be expected to know detailed indices for an investment management job, for instance, but you would be expected to know general trends upwards or downwards, and show good commercial awareness.

During your preparation, have in mind the skills/competencies which interviewers are aiming to assess. These might include:

Motivation and enthusiasm
Problem solving
Intelligence
Fit with the organisation
Flexibility
Technical skills/knowledge
Getting along in a group
Social skills
Thinking on your feet
Communication skills

During and after the interview

Online and phone interviews

Sample open-ended interview questions

Opening questions

Tell me about yourself
Tell me more about your interests
What made you apply for this job?

Your school education

What was the best thing about school in your opinion?
Why did you choose your particular 'A' level combination?

University

Briefly outline your time at university — academically and socially
Why did you choose your course?
Has the course lived up to your expectations?
Give me an example of a problem you overcame
Tell me more about your project/dissertation. What did you learn from it?
What career options did you have in mind when choosing your course?
Why did you choose your particular options? Tell me more about them.
Apart from getting a degree, what do you see as the principal benefits of university life?
What societies do you belong to? How much are you involved in them? How do you feel they have helped you?
Are you satisfied with your academic achievements to date? Any disappointments?
What major problems/disappointments have you encountered, and how did you deal with them?

Work experience

Tell me about any vacation work you have done. How did you get into these jobs? Which job did you most enjoy? Why?
How did your contribution in a vacation job or 'gap' job help the company for which you were working?
How did you organise your time and assess your priorities?
Give me an example of an occasion when you have motivated people.
How do you go about motivating yourself when the pressure is off?
In a group situation, what role do you usually find yourself in — the leader, the creative 'ideas' one, the practical organiser, the optimist, or the cautious one?

Career aspirations

What are you looking for in the organisation you join?
What sort of careers have you been considering? Why?
Who else have you applied to?

Personal qualities

What do you see as your main strengths?
What sort of qualities do you feel you can bring to our organisation?
What experience has most influenced your development as an individual?
Describe one of your faults/weaknesses? In what ways do you think you can improve as a person?
How would your friends describe you?
Can you give evidence of a competitive spirit or your ability to overcome problems or difficulties?
Do you consider yourself to be a self starter?
How do you feel about the prospect of supervising people who may be more experienced than you?
Think of a time when you have disagreed with team mates. How did you react?
How good are you at coping with pressure or responding to a crisis? Give an example
How would you cope with someone who took an instant and irrational dislike to you?
How do you go about handling difficult people?
What can irritate you about other people?
How would you cope with a team member who was not pulling their weight?
How do you think you could win the trust and respect of a client/customer/colleague?
If a decision goes against you, how do you take it?
How do you react to failure?
How do you respond to change?

Achievements and drive

What achievements are you most proud of?
What has challenged you most in life?
What sort of expectations do you have for 5 years hence?
Has anything or anyone been particularly inspirational for you?

The employer

Why have you applied for this job? With this organisation?
How would you describe your ideal job?
What qualities do you have that single you out from other applicants?
If you were given the choice of more than one job, what criteria would you employ to reach a decision?
What are the main challenges that our business faces?
Do you feel that businesses have a social responsibility?
What do you think about the impact of social media / globalisation / recession on our business?

Case study interviews for consultancy jobs

Graduates First

CaseCoach

Cambridge Careers Guide to Succeeding at Technical Interviews

Check out our "Career Essentials: Interviews" playlist

First interviews

Further interviews

Tour

Panel interviews

Selection days and assessment centres

At the interview

After the interview

Opening questions

Your school education

University

Work experience

Career aspirations

Personal qualities

Achievements and drive

The employer

CaseCoach

CaseCoach

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CaseCoach introduction

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