How to prepare for your first job interview after finishing university

JOB interviews are scary. Here’s the best way to prepare for them, according to a Victoria University careers educator.

JOB interviews can be terrifying, especially when you’re sure you’d be the perfect fit.

There’s so much anxious anticipation that, by the time the interview rolls around, you’re so nervous you’ve already psyched yourself out.

But there are plenty of things you can do to help alleviate some of these pre-interview jitters and ensure you put your best foot forward on the day.

Careers educator Janet Jensen, from Victoria University’s Centre for Student Success, says interview success comes down to one key factor: preparation.

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Feeling nervous is normal, she says, but if you’ve done your homework, you should be able to walk in feeling calm, confident and ready to sell yourself.

“There are three levels of preparation. Preparation of self, organisation and role,” Ms Jensen says. “Sometimes students will prepare extensively about the organisation but forget to actually sit down and anticipate the questions. When you’re preparing for a job interview, you need to give equal consideration to all three.”

This then begs the question: how do you prepare for a job interview.

Here are Ms Jensen’s top tips.

Preparation is always the answer.

1. Learn about the employer

When it comes to job interviews, there is no one-size-fits-all approach as different industries have different requirements so the best approach is one that is targeted to the relevant industry.

Learning about the employer and their industry is really important. Research the industry, know who their employees are and what they do, understand how they recruit. When looking at employers — you should be looking for what’s different or unique about the employer and, when applying, you really want to get across to employers why they’re applying there, specifically; why you chose them over a competing employer.

2. Learn about the role

Understanding the role is interview prep 101. The more you know about the job, the better prepared you’ll be to answer questions about how you would perform in it. One of the best ways to do this is to read position descriptions. Read as many position descriptions as possible and look up people in similar roles within other companies or industries to see what they do. Check out their profiles on LinkedIn to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of the job.

3. Learn your unique selling points

The best preparation for an interview is actually writing your own resume and being able to confidently answer questions about everything that’s on it. Imagine somebody saying — ‘can you tell us a bit more about that’ for every aspect of it. You want to get across to the employer not that you know everything, but that you have the skills, knowledge, capacity and motivation to do job.

4. Understand the types of questions they’ll ask

When employers ask a question they should know what they’re looking for in the answer.

Some industries will have more behavioural questions, while others will be more technical.

The traditional interview format starts off with introductory questions: tell us about yourself, why you have applied for this job, etc. These questions are generally open-ended so this is your opportunity to get across key things about yourself.

Then there are technical questions about the type of work you’ve done. These are to ascertain your skills set and knowledge.

After that you might get hypothetical, scenario-based or behavioural questions. What would you do if …, how would you handle ..., tell us about a time when you had to … These questions are asking for examples of previous behaviour as an indication of how you’ll behave in the current workforce. If you know they are asking for high-level communication skills, for example, think of behaviours that can demonstrate this skill.

Job interviews are no time to be playing it cool.

5. Don’t play it cool

While capacity to do the job is important, employers are looking for people who are passionate about the role and who have motivation to succeed in it, so don’t be afraid to show them that you really want to work with that specific company, in that particular role. If you can’t think of any reasons why you want that particular job when you go to an interview — you probably shouldn’t be applying.

They will also select applicants based on how well they fit into the organisation or team culture. Make sure you have examples in your mind of when you have demonstrated desirable skills, values or attributes that you would bring to that organisation.

6. Be honest and upfront — even if a question stumps you

Try to answer as best you can and, if you really can’t think of something, be honest about why you haven’t got a response. I really believe people should let their natural personality come across in the interview. If that means saying “I can’t think of an example at this moment” — as long as you do it in a professional way that will communicate how you would act — that’s what’s important.

7. Bring a copy of your resume

It’s always handy to have a hard copy of your resume on hand. There’s nothing wrong with opening up the folio and referring to something. It’s also a good idea to have things written down as it show’s you’ve prepared for the interview.

8. Have questions

If a student can’t come up with questions they are going to ask at the end of an interview, it’s indicative that they haven’t really started to explore that role or that organisation. If you’ve done your research on the job or the company, you’ll always find something to ask at the end.

9. Clean up your social media

More and more employers these days are looking up prospective employees on social media. If you’re applying for a job, be sure that your social media accounts — if public — don’t contain anything too sensitive or explicit. Have a look at your online presence and make sure that whatever is out there is not going to harm your professional identity.