Top ten common graduate interview questions and how to answer them

Whatever job you’re applying for, you’ll almost certainly have an interview at some point in the recruitment process.

Interview formats vary, so ask your interviewer if there's anything you need to prepare. Even if they don’t give you any guidance, there’s still one thing you can do – practise your answers to typical interview questions.

While you can’t predict everything a potential employer will ask you, some popular interview questions come up time and time again in UK job interviews. To help you smash your responses, we've rounded up the interview questions to prepare for:

1. “Tell me about yourself.”
2. “Why do you want this job?”
3. “Why do you want to work for us?”
4. “What do you know about our company?”
5. “What are your greatest strengths?”
6. “What are your greatest weaknesses?”
7. “What would your current boss or previous employer say about you?”
8. “Why did you leave your last job?”
9. “What are your salary expectations?”
10. “Tell me about a time you demonstrated a certain skill.”

We’ll also answer some interview FAQs.

Interviewers will often open an interview by asking you to talk about yourself. It can be tricky to know where to start and end your answer.

Keep your response concise and relevant to the job interview. The interviewer doesn’t want to know where you grew up and how many siblings you’ve got. Focus on your most recent activities and why you’re applying for the role.

Being authentic and accurate here is key, as is supporting any points you make with examples. You don’t need to give too much detail, but don’t be vague either. Finding the balance is tricky, but you’ll get there with practice.

Almost every applicant will face “Why do you want this job?” as an interview question at some point. But even though it’s a popular question, lots of candidates still find it hard.

To answer the question, think about how to structure your response. Try using the art of listing. For example, “I want the job for three reasons,” and then expand on the three reasons.

When selecting your reasons, pick the ones that’ll appeal to the potential employer. Remember you're trying to sell yourself as the best person for them. So, while “reduced commute time” benefits you, it doesn’t give the employer a reason to hire you. They want someone excited about the opportunity who’ll thrive in the role, so show them you fit the bill. Tailor your answers to suit the job and organisation. One way of personalising your response is to talk about specific elements of the role that motivate you.

Don't think of “Why do you want to work for us?” and “Why do you want this job?” as the same question. When an interviewer asks you about why you want to work for them (rather than why you’d like a specific role), they want to know why you think you match well with the company’s workplace culture.

To give a strong answer, you need to do your research. Try to reference something that makes it clear you’ve gone beyond a quick browse of the business’s website.

Read up on what’s going on in the wider industry and why it’s an exciting time to join the organisation. Pick something that matters to you – giving a unique response will make you stand out.

Learn about the potential employer's competitors, as that information will help you explain why you’ve chosen to apply to one company over another. But remember the golden rule: never be rude about other businesses. You never know who knows who.

It’s worth having more than one reason in mind. If you want, use the listing technique here as well. Showing you’ve prepared and thought through your answer to the interview question is great. However, always keep your delivery natural.

Don't get caught out here, so do your research. Check the company’s website and social media. Look it up in the news, too. If you know anyone who already works there, talk to them as well. A top tip is to set up a Google alert for the company so that anything related goes straight to your inbox.

You don't want to talk for too long – after all, the interviewer knows the company better than you do. However, summing up what it does will put you in a good position to progress through the interview process.

Many people struggle when an interviewer asks them about their strengths because they don’t like bigging themselves up. But talking about your talents isn’t boasting; it’s an essential part of a job interview. So, don’t be shy. Tell your interviewer what you’re good at.

The key here is to think of some strengths in advance and have clear examples to back up each point. Perhaps you've had good feedback from a previous employer or hit a target. You need to have evidence for every strength. So, think about your achievements and how they connect to your strengths. For instance, if you say you’re good at public speaking, talk about how much you thrived at uni presentations.

Remember to relate your strengths to the job you’re applying for. If the role is finance-related, talk about your great analytical skills – as evidenced in your course, work experience or extra-curricular activities.

It’s your time to shine, so be proud of yourself and tell your interviewer what you’ve achieved.

It's also important to respond with the right number of strengths. If the interviewer asks you to share three strengths, pick three. If they ask for your biggest strength, stick to one (even if you've got loads to share).

Not sure where your strengths lie? Ask your coursemates, lecturers and colleagues for feedback.

The dreaded reverse of the strengths question. Candidates are scared to answer questions about their weaknesses honestly as they don’t want potential employers to know their weak spots. When you’re applying for a job, it seems counterintuitive to reveal where you struggle. But it’s a frequently asked question for a reason.

None of us are perfect. Everyone has weaknesses, and mature candidates will talk about them in interviews. The trick is to convey them in a way that recognises the weakness but also demonstrates how you’re tackling it. For example, “I struggle with time management, so I’ve been using an online project management tool to help prioritise my workload.” displays honesty and proactivity.

Whatever you come up with, avoid spinning a weakness as a strength. Saying “I’m a perfectionist”, “I work too hard” or “I care too much” has become tired. The interviewer has heard every cliché before. You’ve been warned.

Want more help on how to explain what you’re good at and not so good at? Read how to answer strengths and weaknesses interview questions.

Your interviewer is assessing your self-awareness, so you need to show both positives and negatives.

Our advice is to use the sandwich technique: positive, negative, positive.

“I’m extremely hard-working, always ready to go that extra mile. As a result, I’m sometimes overzealous and my attention to detail will slip when I take on too many projects. But they’d say that I’m a leader in the team and keep everyone focused on the goal.”

Be honest. The person you’re describing will probably provide a formal or informal reference, so think hard about what they’d say.

Being asked about why you left a job is one of those nasty interview questions a lot of us dread. But it’s a predictable one that’ll almost certainly come up.

If you left your last job due to going back to uni or the contract came to an end, that’s completely fine. All you need to do is be honest.

If you’re in a job, it’s trickier. Many people will be leaving as they no longer enjoy their current role. If that's your scenario, it’s easy to give an overly negative answer here, which is an interview no-no. However, there are positive reasons why people choose to move (such as changing sectors or entering a new career stage).

If you don’t like your existing role, avoid falling into the trap of moaning about your current company or colleagues. While honesty is key, a future employer wants to see that you’ve got the maturity to make a change for the better. They also want to understand your positive motivations for applying for the role. For example, if you’re leaving because of a negative working culture, say that you’re looking for a more collaborative work environment with more development opportunities.

If you’re after a new job because you want a higher salary, mention that you’re looking for a role with more responsibility. Tell the interviewer you’re ready to take the next step, rather than seeking a pay rise.

As with every question, set your answer in the context of the role you’re applying for. If you’re moving from one big company to another, don’t say you’re looking for a smaller organisation.

Being asked about money is tricky, and opinions differ on how to respond.

When questioned about what you’d like to earn, be optimistic but realistic. Work out the salary band for your level within your industry and go in with something near the top end. Don’t sell yourself short.

There’s normally a negotiation process on salary, so expect it to go down from whatever you started on. Whatever you state, say it with confidence. If you sheepishly say an ambitious figure, potential employers won’t take it seriously. So, know your worth and get your negotiation off to a good start.

If you’re asked what you currently earn (ie. “What is your current salary?”), be honest. Your new employer will be able to work out how much you’ve been earning if they receive a P45 form, so don’t lie.

When it comes to common interview questions, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll need to prepare numerous examples of when you’ve used certain skills. Some of the skills an interviewer will quiz you on will be generic (eg. leadership in a team) and others will be specific to the role or company culture.

Go through the job specifications and think of examples from work, extra-curricular activities or university where you’ve used the skills the employer is looking for.

Ensure your examples are varied, as you don’t want to be using the same example repeatedly. Once you’ve got your list, practise them using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique and concisely explain the scenario.

Want more help here? Read our guide on how to answer competency-based questions (which includes a handy STAR explainer).

So, now you know what common graduate interview questions to expect and how to answer them. However, we’re sure you’ve got some questions of your own. The good news is that we’re here to answer them.

The exact questions you’ll be asked in an interview will depend on the role you’re applying for, the employer and the individual interviewer’s personal style.

Some interviewers will ask you all the typical interview questions (like “Why do you want to work for us?” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”). Others will prefer to throw more curveballs and ask weird interview questions like “If you were a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be and why?” to test your creative thinking.

If you prepare for an interview by rehearsing answers to the most popular interview questions, you’ll set yourself up for success. While there are some questions you just can’t predict, knowing you’ve done all you can to prepare will ease some of those nerves and help you answer everything the best you can.

Numerous factors affect how many questions get asked in an interview.

While every interview is different, it’s worth expecting an interviewer to ask between five and ten questions for a 30- to 60-minute interview.

In a technical interview, an interviewer will typically ask more questions as they want to know the details of your precise skills. However, alternatively, they might give you a more time-consuming problem-solving activity to test your technical skills instead of asking lots of smaller questions. It depends.

Generally, interviews for more junior roles have more quickfire questions, while interviews for senior positions contain fewer questions that require longer responses.

How far you are in the hiring stage, the employer’s approach to recruitment and how many candidates are being interviewed will also affect how many questions are asked in an interview. For example, if you’re one of a lot of candidates being asked to a short first-stage interview, you might only be asked a few questions to find out why you’ve applied and to see if you’re the right fit at a top level. If you’re down to the final two for a job, an interviewer may ask you lots more questions to drill down into detail about your experience and check you’re the perfect person for the role before making a formal offer. The number of questions an interviewer asks will vary based on the role you’re going for and the structure of each interview.

There’s no way of knowing what the most asked question in job interviews is for sure. However, “Tell me about yourself.” and “Why do you want this job?” are two of the most popular interview questions in the UK.

“Tell me about yourself.” is a great opener, so lots of interviewers use it to give candidates the chance to introduce themselves.

Most interviewers will also ask candidates “Why do you want this job?” as it’s important for interviewers to establish people’s reasons for applying. Interviewers want to hear about your motivations and why you think you’re right for the role.

While you can’t predict everything that an interviewer will ask you, it’s a good idea to rehearse responses to some typical interview questions.

Make a note of the most common graduate interview questions to prepare for, take on our tips and start practising. You’ll soon be able to face any question with confidence (including the weird ones).

Need more support? Visit our advice on how to prepare for your interview.