How to ace your Apprenticeship Interview
Congratulations! You’ve secured yourself an interview for an Apprenticeship role. Now that you’ve got that first hurdle out of the way, it’s time to wow them with your interview skills. This blog is to help you get a head start with all the interview essentials.
Preparing for your Interview
As with any other professional interview, the more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll feel. This is key in proving to the interviewer that you’re the best candidate for the job. Therefore, I’d recommend you start preparing as early as possible. The recommended time is 5-10 hours of preparation, however this will vary from person to person.
1. Research and Re-read
- Educating yourself on the company serves two purposes. Firstly, it ensures that the company’s mission and values align with your own. Secondly, the ability to incorporate this knowledge into the interview shows them that you are well-prepared and truly interested in becoming a member of their team.
- Research the company as much as you can by following its social profiles, checking Linked In, or searching reviews on GlassDoor.
- Make sure to re-read the job description carefully and make a note of any experience you have that aligns with their criteria.
2. Prepare for typical job interview questions
- Make sure you come prepared with strong answers to common interview questions. Although you won’t know exactly what you’ll be asked, you can have a pretty good guess, especially if you prepare properly.
- It can be daunting if you don’t know where to begin, so start with simple questions such as, ‘How did you hear about this position?’ or ‘How do you stay organised?’
- Write about 50-100 words and try to use specific examples of times you’ve shown that skill.
- Then you can move on to more difficult questions such as, ‘Tell me about a time when you came across a challenge?’ Here, the interviewer is looking for evidence that you can adapt a situation and be able to deal with change, while most-likely also dealing with stress. This is a good time to give a specific example such as adapting in Covid, whether this be in school or in work.
3. Get your backstory right
- More often than not, the interviewer will ask the question, ‘Tell me about yourself’
- This may look simple, but there’s something about being asked to simplify your entire life into 2 or 3 sentences that can stop you in your tracks altogether.
- I find the best way to go about this question is to write a short outline that summarises your professional life, academic training, and passion for the job, that makes you a good fit.
- Begin by talking about your past experiences, then what you’re doing in the present, then what you plan on for the future. This is a good way to give detail but also ensure you’re staying on the right track
4. Prepare questions for the interviewer in advance
- This can significantly increase your chances in impressing the interviewer. It shows that you’re eager to learn, and have a good understanding of the role.
- Consider some different style questions such as opinion-based, process-based, team-based, and company-based.
- Opinion-based: ‘What’s your favourite part abour working here?’ or ‘What’s the biggest challenge about working here?’
- Process-based: ‘When will I hear back from you?’ or ‘Who makes the final hiring decision?’
- Team-based: ‘Is the work more collaborative or independent?’
- Company-based: ‘What type of person usually does well in this company?’ or ‘How long do people usually stay in this role?’
5. Practice your job interview
- This may feel silly, but it is truly the best way to practice talking to an interviewer. You can face a mirror, a wall, or even ask a parent or friend to give you a hand.
- Confidence is key and the more you say your answers out loud, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
- It’s not just what you say, but how you say it. Practice smiling and sounding friendly.
- When we get nervous, we can sometimes speed up our talking to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. You don’t want to do this. Slow down your speech and think about what you’re going to say. It’s okay to take a breath and pause for a few seconds. You’ll sound much more confident and sure of yourself if you slow down.
Good Luck!
If you’re on this page in the first place, chances are you’ll do a good job. Not everyone will be insightful enough to research how to take an interview. I’m sure you’ll smash it, good luck!
