Interviews · 4 min read
Common interview questions in the UK and how to answer them
Most UK interviews mix a few general questions with competency-based ones, where you're asked to describe a time you did something. Preparing a handful of strong examples will cover most of them.
Questions to prepare for
You'll very likely hear some version of these:
- Tell me about yourself
- Why do you want this role, and why here?
- Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult situation
- Give an example of working as part of a team
- What are your strengths, and what are you working on?
- Do you have any questions for us?
Use the STAR method
For 'tell me about a time' questions, structure your answer as Situation, Task, Action and Result. Spend most of your time on what you did and what changed because of it.
Build your examples from the advert
Look at the skills listed in the job advert and prepare one real example for each. The same example can often answer more than one question.
Ask good questions back
Have two or three ready, such as what success looks like in the first six months, or how the team works together.
Know what they're looking for
Run a job check on hire me. to see the keywords and skills the employer wants, so you know which examples to prepare.