How to prepare

Effective preparation can help you to answer interview questions more effectively, or give you more confidence when approaching assessment centre tasks. Ultimately, this will lead to higher success rates. See our advice below on how best to prepare.

Do your research

Effective research helps you to understand the opportunity better - whether that opportunity is a job, placement or further study. By knowing more you will be better prepared to demonstrate your motivation and have a better understanding of their requirements and assessment methods.

When doing your research there are multiple sources of information you could explore:

• Their website - company websites for jobs/placements, University/departmental websites for further study
• The job advert and/or person specification (this is a list of essential and desirable criteria)
• Their social media*
• Your own networks*
• News articles
• Annual reports
• Career Service employer events, fairs and webinars*
• Library resources*
• Job profiles*

*Resources to help you with your research in these areas can be found in the “Key Tasks” section.

Remember, you are not expected to be an expert, but you should know enough about them to understand the role you are applying for, what it is you need to demonstrate, and how the company / course / research group broadly operates.

Review your application

To get to the interview or assessment centre stage, it is likely that you have already positively demonstrated the key skills and competencies that they are looking for in your application. It is a good idea to read over this again to re-familiarise yourself with these, and also to remind yourself of the examples you have used previously. In some interviews, you may be asked to elaborate on the examples you gave in your application.

Reflect on how you meet the requirements

Through your research, you should have a good idea of the key skills, experience and knowledge that you need to demonstrate in your interview or assessment centre. This criteria may be explicitly clear through a person specification. This is not always the case, however, so you may need to do wider research to have a good idea of what it is you need to demonstrate.

Many recruiters will use their criteria as a selection tool, therefore it is important that you evidence their criteria as much as possible. Reflect back on your experiences and try to identify specific situations you have been in where you have demonstrated their criteria. This could be evidence from any experience such as academic project work, dissertations, part-time work, personal projects, extracurricular activities, placements, internships, wider caring responsibilities or awards.

If you struggle to reflect on yourself, consider writing lists, mind-mapping or talking about the criteria with a friend or family member. You might surprise yourself!

Mock interviews and assessment centres

It is a good idea to get some practice before your interview to build confidence. By reviewing the criteria that you will be assessed against, this should give you a basis for constructing some practice interview questions that you can practice against. It could also help you to predict which activities could be used in an assessment centre (eg for a technical role it is more likely you will need to complete a technical task).

You could practice with a family member or friend to get feedback on your body language and delivery. Alternatively, practising in front of a mirror could also help.

If you have an interview or assessment centre coming up in the next 5 days, you could practice your interview questions or talk over potential tasks with an adviser in an advice appointment. Be prepared with a list of questions or a set of criteria you think you will be assessed against to make best use of the time.

We have a range of resources that can help you. See the “Key Tasks” section at the end of page.

On the day

Make sure that you are familiar with all of the details of the interview and/or assessment centre, which should have been sent to you in advance. If you are unsure of the details, ask the employer directly.

Ensure you are dressed appropriately, but also feel comfortable and confident in what you are wearing. For most interviews and assessment centres, dressing professionally is standard.

Ensure that you know where you are going and arrive with time to spare. It could be helpful to arrive in the area early and find a coffee shop nearby to look over your notes.

When giving your answers, try to maintain positive body language:

• Sit up straight, with your shoulders back, so you look confident.
• Keep hand gestures under control.
• Respond with nods, a smile, appropriate eye contact, etc.
• Try not to speak too quickly; slow down a little.
• Speak clearly.

Respond to encouragement from your interviewer and any signals that indicate if more or less information is needed. In some interviews though, each candidate is asked exactly the same questions and the person conducting the interview may simply move on to the next question without reacting to what you have said. In assessment centres, the assessors are only allowed to observe and cannot provide feedback. Don't be put off by this. They are simply ensuring all candidates get the same chance.

In an assessment centre, it is likely you will come into contact with other candidates, staff and the assessors. It is important to remain polite and professional at all times, even during the break periods. Also remember that you will not always be in direct competition with fellow candidates, as they may be assessed for a different role to the one you have applied for.

Key Tasks

1. Research the opportunity thoroughly. Consider exploring the Prospects website, which contains 100’s of job profiles written by careers experts. Current students can also access resources from the library which includes databases such as Business Source Premier, Nexis and the Financial Times.

2. Find out more about the opportunity through networking. See our advice on using social media and how to network effectively. The Careers Service also hosts a wide variety of employer events, fairs and webinars, where you can learn more directly from employers.

3. Get some practice. Use the Graduates First Aptitude Test Portal* to access a question identifier tool which could help you to predict questions. Through this resource you can also find a wide range of practice video interviews. We have also developed a suite of mock interview videos which are viewable through a VR headset or any smart device.

4. If you have a disability, a long term health condition, a specific learning difficulty (eg dyslexia) or a mental health condition, that you feel could affect your performance the Careers Service can support you.

5. Organise a quiet location with a strong internet connection where you won't be disturbed. If you are struggling to find a suitable location then please contact the Careers Service and we can provide access to a room on campus.

*Register using your University of Sheffield email address. If you are a graduate, you also need to use your University of Sheffield email address and then email us at careers@sheffield.ac.uk to ask us to activate your account. Please supply your name, registration number, department and graduation date.