UCL CAREERS SUCCEEDING AT INTERVIEWS KAREN BARNARD DIRECTOR, UCL CAREERS

UCL CAREERS What Do Employers / Universities Look For? 1.Will you be able to do the job / PhD? 2.Are you motivated to do the job / PhD? 3.Will you fit into the organisation?

UCL CAREERS Preparation is the Key re-read your application familiarise yourself with ‘job’ description research the company / university and the sector / previous research talk to people working in related fields, find out about the interviews they’ve had if you’re invited to, call for more information / attend open days Prepare some answers to questions

UCL CAREERS First Impressions Confident body language, smile, handshake… Be polite to EVERYONE! Don’t be thrown by unexpected questions Stay calm – speak slowly and clearly Be succinct, and be willing to elaborate Leave a good final impression Be yourself

UCL CAREERS Types of Questions – Industry Can you do the job? Competency based questions Hypothetical (situational) questions Technical questions Surprise questions Do you want to do the job? Biographical questions Motivational questions Will you fit in? Personality and interest based questions Strengths-based questions

UCL CAREERS Types of Questions – PhD Interest in Research / Motivation Why do you want to do a PhD / Want are your career aims? What led you to chose this research topic? How will you organise and deliver your work? What do you think about the research we have done here to date? Previous Experience Why did you decide to study your undergraduate (relevant modules?) / masters subject ? Tell us about a piece of research you have undertaken What have you gained in you undergrad / masters that will benefit this PhD? General Questions Tell us about yourself How well do you work to deadlines? How do you cope with failure? What are the biggest unanswered questions in your field? Technical Questions

UCL CAREERS What are the interview questions that keep you awake at night?

UCL CAREERS S - Situation – brief outline of what you faced T - Task – what you decided to do A - Activity – Detailed description the process R - Result and Reflection – The positive outcome and what you learned from the experience How to Answer Competency Questions

UCL CAREERS Example ‘STAR’ Question Give an example of when you had to work under pressure

UCL CAREERS Tricky Questions Tell me about yourself What would you say has been your greatest achievement / failure? What is your greatest weakness? Who else are you applying to? Why should we employ you / fund you? How many dogs are there in the UK? What makes you angry? If you were an animal, what would you be?

UCL CAREERS Your Questions Can you give me a fuller picture of your training programme / professional skills programme / rotational programme? What would be the key objectives in the first six months of the job / PhD? What is the general progression of graduate trainees after their training? / destinations of PhD students? How will my performance be measured? What training/support can I expect? What are the possibilities of using my.... skills? I have spoken to X about Y but I do have a further question… In your annual report I notice that... / How is the department responding to the XXX institutional strategy?

UCL CAREERS Assessment Centre Activities Presentation – academic and industry interviews Group discussion Written exercise Psychometric assessment eg: written and numerical reasoning

UCL CAREERS Where to Find Us UCL Careers 4 th Floor Student Central (ex. ULU Building) Malet Street