Practice Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself. 
This is usually an opening question during an interview. This is not asking you for your whole life story, remember that they are asking this in a professional sense, so talk about: 

• Your skills (relevant to the vacancy) 

• The type of employee you are/would be (leader, professional, hardworking, punctual, loyal, dedicated) 

• Your personality (friendly, approachable, happy to help colleagues, respectful)

 

2. Tell me about your experience of (BLANK). 

This is often a way of employers finding out how much relevant experience you have with certain tasks or types of software. 

• Use real life examples of past experience, this can be from college, or a previous job. 

• The experience they ask you about will come from the job description, so make sure that you have prepared examples for these questions. 

• If you don’t have an example of this directly, think of another example that shows a different skill that links to this, and tell them how this is relevant to the question. EXAMPLE – If the question is asking you about your experience with using “Google Sheets”, you can talk about your experience using “Microsoft Excel” instead, talk about how you would apply your knowledge of this to learn the new system quickly and efficiently. 

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3. Tell me about a time when you have worked as part of a team. 
Lots of companies will ask your about working in a team, as most jobs will involve teamwork.  

• Give real life examples of when you have done this, this can be from a previous job or college. 

• Link it to other skills that this requires, such as communication, leadership and active listening – Think about your connect badges and what evidence you submitted, as this will help you answer the question. 

• Make sure you talk about YOUR role in the team and how it fit with the wider team you were working with. 

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4. This role requires you to have good organisation skills. Tell me about a time when you have shown this. 
This is another common interview question, as most roles will require you to be organised, and companies want to know how you would go about doing this. 

• Give real life examples of when you have done this, this can be from a previous job or college. For example, making to do lists, putting this in a calendar, planning to do tasks in advance of a deadline. 

• Link it to other skills that this requires, such as the ability to prioritise tasks, thinking and planning ahead – Think about your connect badges and what evidence you submitted, as this will help you answer the question. 

• Make sure you talk about YOUR role in the team and how it fits with the wider team you were working with. 

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5. How would you prioritise your workload? 
This might sound like the question above, but this asking you to theoretically prioritise things with this workload. 

• Use examples of how you have prioritised work in the past, this can be from an old job or college work. 

• This is about how you make a judgement on how you decide what to do first, so thinking about deadlines attached to the work, does the company have specific targets? Do your decisions directly affect customers or other colleagues who are counting on you to get something done before they can do their part? 

• You can include things from the organisation question above to show how you prioritise things practically, such as making to do lists, adding things to calendars etc. 

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6. How would you handle a disagreement with someone at work? 
This is another generic question, for any roles that involve working with others, there are likely to be disagreements and companies want to know how you would deal with this, so it did not affect your work. 

• You could use examples, if you have them, of times when you’ve disagreed with someone in a professional sense. Remember the most important thing is to show how you resolved the issue! 

• It is important to show yourself in a professional way, so remaining calm, being respectful of other people's opinions and the company. You need to show them that you would not cause trouble and would work effectively in a team to problem solve. 

• It is important to remember that you are not trying to pretend you get along with everyone, and agree with everything that others say, so you need to recognise that disagreements happen and focus on how you overcome this professionally. 

 

7. What is your greatest achievement and why? 
EVERYONE has achievements to be proud of! 

• This is a two-part question, so make sure you cover both parts equally, so you answer the question fully. It is not just asking what the achievement is, it is asking why you think this is your greatest one. 

• Think of either a professional or personal achievement, for example, winning an award, being chosen as captain of a sports team, successfully completing a course if you have overcome barriers, teaching yourself a new skill such as learning a new instrument, or completing programmes like NCS. 

• Remember, this is personal to you, so this is a good way of letting some of your personality come through.

 

8. Have you got any questions? 

While you might not be scored on this question, it is still important to answer this fully. The questions you choose to ask here still give the company an impression of you. 

• Ask questions that show genuine interest in the role such as: 

  • Could you describe an average day working here? 

  • What progression options are there from this role? 

  • Do you provide training opportunities to enhance skills? 

• Avoid asking questions about things such as annual leave or sick pay as this gives the impression that you are planning on not being at work. 

• This can be a good way of showing you have done research into the company, as you can ask about recent news regarding the company, awards won etc.