Interview Tips!

Hi Everyone!

With invitations to interviews being sent out in the coming weeks, I thought I would give you some of my top tips on how I prepared for my interview and the techniques I used which will hopefully be useful for when you attend yours (whether it will be online or in-person!)

How you can prepare for the interview:

• Make sure you check ‘invitation to interview’ email and the University website to establish what type of interview you will have (will it be face-to-face, a video interview, a phone interview etc.)
• Make sure you know the format that your interview will follow. Will you be asked questions based on a scenario or case study? Will the questions be about you and why you want to study this course? Or may the questions relate to what skills you have which will help you when studying for this degree? Make sure you check out the interview email and the university website for guidance on this.
• You can now begin to explore what kinds of questions you may be asked. Create a list of these and ask a parent or friend to question you so you can practise how you will respond (keep an eye out for the speed of your voice and your body language!)
• Read through your personal statement so that you are familiar with it as your interviewer may ask you questions relating to it.
• Make sure you know the exact time your interview will take place and what video platform it will be on (if online) or which building it will be in (if in person)
• Make sure you wear something smart; after all, you want to make a good first impression!

How you can make sure you keep calm:

This is definitely a hard one as interviews can be pretty daunting but if you follow these tips it should hopefully make the interview a lot easier:

• If you are attending an interview in person, make sure you get to the venue with plenty of time (least 15-20 minutes before your interview is due to start). If you are attending an interview online, make sure you are ready to go with a fully charged computer at least 10 minutes before the interview is due to take place as the last thing you want is to be stressed and running late!
• Don’t talk too fast or rush! Often when you get nervous you tend to speed up what you’re saying. By talking slower, you will be able to process the question and this will give you more time to think.
• Make sure you have a glass of water with you. This can also work in your advantage if you need time to think.
• In relation to this, if you do want some time to think, don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer if you can pause for a few moments and collate your thoughts.
• Take deep breaths… and don’t forget to smile!

What questions should you ask?

Often at the end of the interview you will be asked if you have any questions. Try to ask at least one as this often shows you are interested. Try to also come up with these before you actually attend your interview (make sure these aren’t questions which you could easily find out on the website, try and ask questions which you genuinely would like to know the answer to!).

Here are a few questions you might think of asking:

• What is the workload like? And how does this change during first, second and third year?
• How much of the course is assessed through practical skills? (in the case of law – negotiations, interview skills, mooting etc)
• What do you enjoy most working as a lecturer/tutor and what is it that made you choose the University of York specifically?
• What advice would you give to future students looking to study X?

Remember, be yourself as often the interviewer is wanting to see how you think and how you respond to certain questions…

Good luck and hopefully we’ll see you around campus soon!

---

• Explore the University’s interview tips
• Read more student advice about interviews