How to prepare for an interview

"When speaking to students about interviews, the main advice I give is practice makes perfect. Being in an interview situation is almost like speaking a foreign language. It's a different way of speaking. You're not used to speaking so positively about yourself, so practise with friends, with family, with a careers adviser, even in front of a mirror. Another piece of advice is make sure you research the company or the university that you're applying for, because that will be one of the questions and you don't want an embarrassing fail because you don't know about the course or you don't know about the company you've applied to."

"As you approach your first job interview, I think you can think about things in a simple way which is to consider two things. One, your own skills and experience and your ability to relate that to the job itself. Look at the job description, look at the person specification. Number two, look at the employer. I think about understanding the role itself as near as possible to understanding what you do on a day-to-day basis, then consider what the purpose of that business is. Where do they make their money? How can you align all your skills to those things?"

"It's not all about academic qualifications. If you've got the right attitude, if you're enthusiastic, if you're willing to learn, that's what employers are looking for because then they can mould you and teach you and help you to grow."

"They're much more interested in you as a person and it's really important to get that across. I would also say just mention anything that you do, hobbies, interests, that show that kind of all-round personal development as well."

"Preparation is key for interviews so find out where the interview's going to be, who's going to be there if possible, who's going to be interviewing you, and you need to know your personal statement inside out. You need to know exactly what you've said in your personal statement and feel confident to talk about any aspect of your personal statement. If you've said that you've read a particular book then they may very well ask you about it in your interview."

"Make sure that you've practised the commonly-asked interview questions like, 'Tell me a bit about yourself,' or, 'What can you bringto this organisation?' Those types of answers you can adapt and be versatile with your answer, and you can know that before you go in. If you're going to use buzzwords like your communication, your collaboration, your problem-solving, please say how you own those. Demonstrate them with an example. Anybody can go into an interview and say, 'I'm a good communicator and I'm enthusiastic and I'm keen and determined,' but that means nothing unless you can demonstrate it with an example."

"Be smart, look the part. That's the first thing. Arrive early if you're nervous. You might even want to rehearse your route to there so you know where you're going so you don't end up flustered. If you sweat a lot, wear dark colours. If you're worried about certain things, spilling coffee, then only have water. Tips like that will make you feel comfortable. But also I recommend that you visualise yourself being there, relaxed, comfortable, and answering the questions confidently."