10 of the most common questions you'll get asked in an interview

Congratulations, you’ve got to the interview stage… now to prepare! Interviews can be daunting as a lot is at stake but it is very likely that you’ll hear at least one of these questions during your interview. It’s important that you are prepared to give a unique answer that will set you apart from the other candidates rather than the stereotypical response the interviewer is expecting. 

Here are some of the most common questions you’ll likely get asked in an interview.

1. What do you know about the company? 

Do your research; the interviewer is trying to establish if you have checked what the company stands for and what it truly means to you. Try to weave in some keywords from their mission statement, but be original in your answer and show how you understand the company’s real business values.

2. What can you tell me about yourself?

Avoid rambling as your CV will show your work history so steer away from listing it year by year. Instead, try to highlight the main points, and showcase your personality. This will give the interviewer a chance to see the real you, and not just another CV. 

3. What are your main strengths?

This is the perfect opportunity to give examples of the skills you have which align with the job role, demonstrating how capable you are for the position. Aim to avoid listing generic strengths and factor in those which will add value to the business. 

4. Describe your dream job?

Try not to be too extravagant with your answer here, and focus on factoring in how your graduate role will lend itself nicely towards your future career ambition. There will be bonus points for having already researched your future career developments within the company you are interviewing for.

5. What motivates you? 

Traditionally there is no right or wrong answer to this question but try not to go completely left field with your answer. Be honest, be professional and be personable – it’s always great to make your career a mainstay of your motivations especially in an interview! 

6. What are your biggest weaknesses?

The oldest question in the book - now this is your time to shine, even on a weaknesses question. Always look to be honest but don’t sell yourself short. State something that is an actual weakness, but make sure you show how you are looking to improve, as your ability to self-assess will score highly in the interviewer’s eyes.

7. Where do you see yourself in five years?

So you want to progress, you’re ambitious and this is the perfect opportunity to showcase that. Try to frame your answer around the organisation you are applying for. Wow the interviewer with your enthusiastic approach to this question and your determination to succeed. Look also at your short term professional goals, breaking down the future into smaller chunks.

8. How do people describe you? 

This is the perfect opportunity to differentiate yourself from other candidates - look to stay away from the typical buzzwords like team player and hardworking. Although you might be, the chances are your interviewer has heard it all before, and these attributes are expected in the workplace. Offer some more valuable descriptions of yourself and be willing to go into some detail.

9. Why do you want to work here?

Once again research is crucial when answering this question. Gain a good understanding of the company’s culture, show an interest in the way the company is developing and moving forward, look at its mission statement and fully immerse yourself in the position – if you are enthusiastic about the role it will shine through in your answer. 

10. Do you have any questions? 

It is commonplace for most interviews to finish with the interviewer asking if you have any questions. Have a few questions prepared as it’s an excellent opportunity to try and cover anything you might not have been able to showcase during the interview fully. Look to build on any answers that the interviewer gives, and that will show how attentive you are. Also, it portrays high levels of interest not only towards the company but to the interviewer. 

What questions have you been asked in previous interviews? Feel free to share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

How to Write a Professional Cover Letter

Get ahead with your graduate scheme applications and perfect your superstar cover letter. But where to start? We’ve listed some of our dos and don’ts when it comes to writing a professional cover letter…

Do

Be clear and concise: Your cover letter is an opportunity to put across information which you couldn’t portray in your CV, and it should take up no more than one full page of A4. Try to keep your cover letter straight to the point and don’t waste space talking about aspects which are not relevant to the job role. Remember be clear and concise!

Personalise each cover letter you submit: The likelihood is the job role you are applying for might not be the only position you are looking at (which is perfectly fine). However, your cover letter has got to be tailored to the organisation, as HR recruiters will be able to easily spot applications with little or no thought towards the specific role.

Proofread: One of the most common cover letter errors is simple grammatical mistakes made by candidates. Ultimately, this can show a lacklustre approach to the application and will immediately push the focus of your cover letter away from your skills. Its great practice to print off your cover letter and thoroughly run through it. Don’t forget to get a close friend or family member to look at it for a second opinion.

Demonstrate why you’re the perfect candidate: It’s vital that you showcase the value you could bring to the business, and importantly what are your unique selling points. Focussing on how your skills align with the job role and what makes you different to the other candidates will make your cover letter stand out from the rest. You’ll need to back up why you are the perfect candidate, with examples of when you have put your skills to the test.

DON’T

Rely on spell check: It would be unwise to rely on spell check, missing words or minor typos can slip through the reach of your cover letter copy checking. Be sure to stick to the proofreading tips we mentioned in the earlier dos section.

Exaggerate: It can be easy to get carried away when creating your cover letter but try not to overstate your skills or achievements beyond what you have achieved. Exaggeration can provide an easy way for graduate recruiters to tell if you have been honest in your cover letter once they quiz you during the interview process. Stay true to current credentials and keep everything throughout your cover letter positive and relevant to the job role.

Regurgitate your CV: One of the most common mistakes candidates can make is to regurgitate information straight from their CV, in some cases, people will go to the lengths of merely copying and pasting the info in. This isn’t what your potential employers want to see… what they do want to see is examples to back up the previous positions on your CV and how these can be relatable to the job role in question.

So, there you have it, some of our top dos and don’ts when writing a professional cover letter. If you follow these guidelines you can begin to take the steps to secure your dream graduate job.

If you didn’t already know, Our Managing Director, Sophie Milliken, is launching her first book From Learner to Earner on Thursday 5 September. A recruitment insider’s guide for students wanting to achieve graduate job success. Available to buy from Amazon and Waterstones.

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Smart Resourcing Solutions wins the award for ‘Best Employability Assessment Services Provider’ for the North East

The Northern Enterprise Awards recognise Northern SMEs for their dedication to client satisfaction and for services that deliver excellence.

Through anonymous voting via different digital channels, local firms and individuals voted for our business. The researching team and judging panel is an international collective of individuals from a range of different industries, led by a veteran academic leader. Using a variety of resources, their thorough investigation into our work with universities resulted in SRS winning this award.

We are really pleased that our assessment centre simulations continue to be recognised as market leading. From large to small, our assessment services are tailored to each individual client, significantly increasing the confidence and aspirations of the students involved.  Thank you to everyone who helps us to raise the profile of our award-winning assessments. It’s great to see that other industries recognise the value in what we do.

Tour de SRS: We are completing a 30 mile trip around the 4 North East universities to raise £1,000 for Team Kenya.

All of us at SRS have benefitted from the many learning and development opportunities available to us. We want those same opportunities to be available for girls and women in rural Kenya, where some cannot afford an education or are forced to marry young.   

Team Kenya’s vision is for every girl in Kenya to have an equal chance to achieve her potential, and they support communities to deliver better education and employment opportunities for girls. We are all very passionate about gender equality and the chance for these girls to have brighter futures.

We want to show our support by completing a 30 mile tour of 4 North East universities, using the bus, the ferry and walking for over 8 hours – come rain or shine! This supports our policy of using sustainable public transport wherever possible and compliments the work we do to improve the employability of students. Most importantly, this tour will remind us of how lucky we are to have access to a free education.

We would love to raise £1,000 to support the education and empowerment of girls and women in rural Kenya. No donation is too small, and will help fund grassroot projects in the communities. Thank you for your support. 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tourdesrs

From Learner To Earner - Sophie's first book is announced!

We were delighted to share the news of a project Sophie has been working on this year when we were at the ISE Conference in Manchester.

From Learner To Earner - a recruitment insider’s guide for students wanting to achieve graduate job success is being published by Rethink Press in September this year.

The book has received a huge amount of support from industry insiders with many heads of graduate recruitment providing case studies and the ISE, CIPD, High Fliers, Prospects Luminate, Department for Education and HECSU sharing their data. The book takes students through the journey of finding a job, securing the job and then performing well in it.

Book launches are planned in London and Newcastle so get in touch if you’d like to attend.