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Graduate Interview Skills - The Importance Of Interview Skills Training For Graduates

By Annette Lewis

Effective interview skills are essential for graduates and school leavers entering the job market and trying to persuade a prospective employer to offer them that often elusive first job.

A common problem and something to avoid is to approach the interview with the attitude that a top end degree is enough to land a job.

All candidates may have equally impressive qualifications however it is that candidate who knows what to say and how to say it in the interview who will win the job. The ability to do this successfully can be learned and Interview skills training will teach you how to communicate in an interview, how to sell yourself and how to convince the interviewer they you are the best person for the job.

While schooling takes students by the hand and leads them to knowledge, most Universities and other higher learning institutes also provide excellent interview skills training to help graduates get their first job. Through a combination of online and offline resources the Careers department teach students all the skills they need to succeed in their first job interviews.

As a first port of call, we advise graduates to contact their Careers departments and in these pages and throughout this site we provide additional and supplementary advice all of which will help on the big day.

A Key Skill – Learning to Relax at the Job Interview

When it comes to your first job interview a more relaxed attitude is sometimes needed. Many interviewers will give allowances for the fact that you won’t have finely honed interview skills, but you still need to appear confident, even if you're quaking inside.

Interviewers will also possess the skill to know that a successful interview process needs to be a genuine two-way street; you need to be sure you will want to do the work as much as they want you to do it, or you are both wasting your time.

But how can you develop those essential interview skills other than going to a lot of job interviews? The answer is training.

Informal Interview Skills Training

As mentioned above your careers departnmet will be able to provide advice and help. This can be in the form of a 1-2-1 training session or can be through online training or guides that you can take away and study.

A great way to practice is with friends and family. Get some real job adverts for school leavers or graduates and check the job descriptions out on their websites. Try and work out what questions the interviewers might ask real graduates or school leavers, and put in some that you might be dreading being asked. Then take turns to ask each other these questions in interview role-plays.

If you can get some older adults, perhaps managers or executives to help, perhaps act as interviewers, then all the better. By going through this a number of times you can get some answers straight in your head and they'll flow from you in a more confident way. At the same time you will, to a lesser extent, get used to the pressure of the interview process.

But informal training in interview skills like that isn’t, unless you happen to know an HR professional who'll help you out, going to uncover some of the questions that are likely to be asked in a modern interview, with competency based frameworks and other up-to-date techniques. Companies who take on large numbers of school leavers and undergraduates will have invested in the latest techniques and will have a good idea of what works for them.

Consider Commercial Skills Training

Interview skills training aimed at graduates and school leavers can help you get over those hurdles. There are a number of commercial offerings out there, some delivered online, some held at conference venues, others one-to-one in offices. These will help you discover the best way to present yourself, how to draw out your best qualities, and, most importantly, give you the practice you need to get over the butterflies and approach interviews calmly and confidently.

Commercially available training like this will be up-to-date with the latest techniques and can vary the interview skills training according to the positions you are looking at, from accountant to zoologist. When you think of the importance of getting the right job for you, the investment could well be worthwhile.

»  Click Here To Learn How To Answer Any Interview Question With 100% Confidence

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About the Author

Annette Lewis is an accredited interviewer and has recruited for many organisations within Healthcare, Education, Customer Services and Banking.

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