A successful interview is a two way process:

If you have an interview coming up, the Careers Service can help you practice and improve your interview technique.

Our helpful UL Interview Skills Booklet cover a range of topics from interview preparation, types of interview, tricky questions to Top Tips for interviews.

Check out our YouTube channel, subscribe and watch recordings of workshops with Careers Advisors discussing best practice for interviews.

You can get help with preparing for interviews through our online Career Consultation appointments. Log into CareersConnect, click on 'Book', then 'Appointments' and use our Appointment Finder tool to book the correct appointment type for you.

 

Practice Your Interview

Video interviews are becoming increasingly popular with graduate employers in the early stages of recruitment. They can save companies time and money, as applicants can record their interviews from home. This can be useful for candidates too, as you can choose a time that suits you to complete it.

However, they're not without their challenges. Not everyone is comfortable on camera, and it can be distracting to see yourself on screen. It is also a much less personal experience as you won't be speaking to a real person, so there are no non-verbal cues to gauge your performance. You'll typically be presented with written questions or a video of an interviewer asking pre-recorded questions. You're given a short amount of time to think about your answer; then, you'll have to record your response on video within a set time limit.

It's beneficial to practice to get a sense of what it's like before you do the real thing. We have a licence for a video platform; you can review your recordings after the interview to see how you come across on screen. As well as reviewing the content of your answers, think about your body language and tone of voice – how effective are these? This is an excellent opportunity to put yourself in the place of a recruiter – what did you do well, and what could have been improved?

 

Do a free online practice video interview with Shortlist.Me

Shortlist.Me is an interview preparation platform that helps you practice various careers and recruiter video interviews. In a competitive job market, feeling comfortable in interviews is critical. This takes practice and experience – the more you interview, the more you learn about yourself and what is expected at an interview.

Shortlist.Me interview practice is available 24/7 from any location. You can access the platform directly and complete practice interviews independently at a time that best suits you.

How to use Shortlist.Me

Shortlist.Me is used by real graduate recruiters and will give you a realistic view of what a video interview is like.

You can choose from a range of video interviews, including Graduate Management Trainee, Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Teaching and HR. We also have a strengths-based interview.

You may be asked questions on your reasons for wanting to work at a particular employer or why you want a specific role. This is an opportunity to practise your response to commonly asked motivation questions such as these. If you do have a particular employer/role in mind, you may want to answer based on this. If you're not at that stage in your career plans yet, you can answer more general and focus on the broader sectors or roles you are considering and what research you have done on these so far.

To access Shortlist.Me, log in to UL Shortlist.Me

Click on the practice interview you want to take. You'll be asked to complete a brief registration form, and then you will have up to 5 days to complete the practice video interview. All interviews you complete are available to the Careers Service.

After your practice interview, you will be sent a report with access to your recorded answers and automated AI feedback, which looks at your pace of speech and the number of filler words you use.

If you require reasonable adjustments to complete your video interview and would like extra time to think and answer or have any problems accessing Shortlist.Me, please let us know via Careers@ul.ie