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Interviews are a two way process. They are an opportunity for employers to find out more about you and for you to find out more about them. Think of an interview as a conversation with a purpose. If you have been invited to an interview, then your application has been effective and you now have the chance to talk directly to your prospective employers or their agents. Not all interviews will be successful, however, all experience will be useful in helping you prepare for future applications.


A successful interviewee demonstrates good planning, focus and enthusiasm. Researching the job and the company and thinking in advance about possible questions and answers will help prepare you to perform well in any interview. 


Reflecting on your previous performance is a good way of preparing for future interviews. You may already have been interviewed for a part or full time job, work experience, voluntary work or a university course. Were you well prepared? What went well? What could you improve?

Although there is nothing like the real thing, practicing answers to potential interview questions will help you recall answers and examples in the interview itself. Knowing that you can do it in a practice session will give you confidence on the day itself. It will also build your belief in your ability to do the job. If your research and preparation have been thorough enough, there should not be too many surprises.

A little bit more on Interviews…

One of the most common type of interviews is competency based interviews which are focused on specific competencies that employers seek. Research suggests that structured competency based interviews can be one of the most reliable and accurate forms of assessing a candidate.Most interviews are competency based to some extent, but some more formally than others. Employers will outline their key competency requirements in your interview letter or direct you to a web link. You can expect a list of six to eight key competencies. On the basis that past behaviour is a good indicator of future behaviour, employers will ask you to demonstrate these competencies by relating your experience to the situations they describe.This type of interview is popular with graduate recruiters, the Civil Service, the Defence Forces and the Garda Síochána.

What will happen?

The interview will be very structured and questions will focus on the competencies outlined in the company information. As you will already know the competencies and have thought in advance about examples of how you can match them, there should be few surprises. You can use examples from your working life, extracurricular activities, interests and hobbies, as well as from your degree course.You are likely to be asked about your:

  •          past behaviours and performance
  •          learning from past behaviours
  •          ability to adapt to a new post
  •          knowledge and understanding of issues relating to the new post

Questions will often start as: ‘Give me an example when…’ or ‘Describe an occasion when…’ Interviewers will be interested in the outcome of the situation and what you learned from the experience. 


The STAR system can help you convey your skills and your learning in a simple but effective way:

  • Situation (What situation were you in just before you demonstrated the skill?)
  • Task (What task did you set yourself? What was the problem or challenge?)
  • Action (What action did you take? Be explicit about the role you played: don’t attribute others’ actions to yourself or, worse, play down the fact that you were key to the action.)
  •  Result (What was the outcome? What made it successful or unsuccessful? What would you do differently another time?)

Your interview may feature one or more types of questions which may be hard to answer but practice and thinking about them in advance will help keep you calm. Here in the Careers Service we offer interview preparation and mock interviews which students find invaluable. To book an appointment log on to CareersConnect