Interview preparation questions, questions for the employer and examples/key phrases

Here are some of the questions that you should look at writing out answers for in advance so that you are better prepared, I included the joining words for my answers, you can essentially just fill in the gaps with information relevant to you. At the bottom you can find some good questions for the employer, interview prep books will cover this more thoroughly. If you're in computing, cracking the coding interview and other books will be really helpful, work through them well in advance. 

What my experiences/aspirations are

My career aspirations are …

I would like to find a …

What are your salary expectations?

I understand these internship opportunities have a large range of salaries… I would be happy to accept anything in the region of

Will you travel? What % of overnight travel would you be willing to do on a monthly basis?

I am willing to travel, I’d be willing to have up to 20% overnight travel a month..

Microsoft Office

I am very proficient with all of the Microsoft office packages, recently I have been learning …

I have studied …

Why X? Why do you want to work here/What interests you about this job?  What are your interests and goals, how does interning at X accomplish that?

I want to work for X because you’re a ... The many opportunities to ... I really want to be part of a ...The success of ...

What do you know about X and the position you applied for? Which X businesses would I prefer

IT is exciting to me because it is a constantly changing environment that provides for a great career. It is really interesting to me that ... I also like the staying power ...

The quality of my work is ... and I think this internship would ... I’m very interested in learning and excelling at ...The aspects of ...

Why X

This internship seems well structured and I feel it would support me very well in learning ... I am a ...

Why my background and experience would be a good fit.

I have been involved in several work experience placements that I have ... The responsibilities given to me, particularly in the ...  as I was in a ... role for a few days and this gave me a good understanding of how to ... My strong ... lend themselves well to this role

I believe my skills and experience are a ... As you’re looking for an ... I meet all of those requirements.

Leadership experience, extra responsibilities, left in charge

Within the first year we had a ... I encouraged them to collaborate ... ...the other group members were shy, and so I delegated work to each person. Next time ...having the group ... allowing us to ... I used this experience of working as a group to improve ...

What motivates you?

I like ... - that point you reach in a project ... you have to ...

What will I contribute to the company/Why should we hire you

I’m a ... with a ... I’m motivated, ...

Which tasks do you get the most satisfaction from?

I get the most satisfaction when I have ... or I have ...

Greatest strengths/How would you describe yourself?

I am ..., and I have a ..., when I’m working ..., I don’t just ..., instead I’d prefer to ...I enjoy ...

Greatest accomplishment/Challenge

I’ve always had an interest in ... and I have had the opportunity to ..., later returning to the ... we completed the ...  and it was a wonderful experience.

Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?

After I’ve completed my bachelors, I’d like to do a ... After I have joined a company and ...I can see myself in a supervisory or management role as I’m a ... enjoy ... I’m ... with others and enjoy the challenges of leadership.

Drive and motivation to meet your ambition

A time where I had to be extremely motivated and driven was during training for the ...where I represented ... Before the selection I was ... this led to my ... This was a great learning opportunity and allowed me to ... I have stretched myself while at university by representing the University ... and a local club ..., this represents a commitment of more than 20 hours a week which ... to ensure I also get my university work done ... I have done this in addition to being a member of the ... where I represent my ...

Time you set high standards

During a group project we were ... and some group members had ... I encouraged everyone to just ... and then did ...

What are your career goals?

My short term goal is to ..., my long term goal is to have a ...

How do you handle stress

Although I don’t ... pressure is very ... good pressure like ... helps me to ...There are times that too ..., but I’m quite good at balancing ...I prefer to react ..., as focusing ...

Friends consider as your best qualities/How would your friends describe you?

People who have worked with me can tell that I’m ... I’m always willing to ...

In my personal life I'm always ...People look to me ...

What are your weaknesses?

Being ... wasn’t my ... but I’ve found that ... I have had to ... which has really ...

I also used to prefer ...but I’ve learned to ...

What can technology be used for?

Technology can be used for ... it makes ... and ... as we are demonstrating now. It has been used in ..., and simplifies ...

If you could pick any piece of technology to work with/work on, what would that be?

I am always interested in ... there are a lot of ...

Teach someone of an older generation how to use a piece of new technology 

I actually have experience with this from my time ... I had a ... I evaluated ... I showed ... and outlined where ...

Tell me why you like IT/interested in technology, and tell me how you keep up with the latest in the IT world/new technologies. 

I keep track of the ... which is where ... for this I ... I follow a ... which helps me ...and stay ...

How did I solve a problem without asking a professor or student.

When programming an ...I was having trouble ... I spent some time ... and then ... which I feel has given me a ...

Favourite class you've taken and why? 

Last year I did ...and this year I have been doing ... and will be starting ...

 I have most enjoyed the ... where we have been creating ... next semester we will be creating the actual system. I have found it very ...

Technical leader.

 I feel that a technical leader should have ..., with the ability to ...about how ...They should be ...

Failed technology

Honestly it has never really happened thus far, the largest extent has been while using the ...

How do you separate yourself from the group?

I ensure we ... When all group members are together we ... using our ...

Deal with a member that was an issue. Conflict/disagreed with a co-worker or teammate.  Tell me about a time you had to deal with a team member who wasn't carrying their weight;

During a ... I attempted to ... one of the ... was unhappy as they felt ... As the deadline ...I asked each ...

Bad news or made an unpopular choice

While working in the ... On one of his visits, after a problem with the supplier ... I was able to make an alternative recommendation ...

Describe a time you didn't agree with a manager. How did you handle it/overcome?

Middle of a project and it was decided to move in a completely different direction. How did you react? 

Within ..., we had been settled on ...then one of the members ... this was then brought to the ... and they decided they wanted to ...I wasn’t ...however it didn’t ...

Tell me of a time where someone changed your mind 

How have you ever went away from a process to perform a task differently than expected.

Give me an example of when you implemented a new process for a business.

Tell me about a time you had to innovate (while you were in an organisation)

Tell me about a time you did something that made you uncomfortable 

The first time ...and as they had not ...

Tell me about a time you had to do a challenging project. 

My approach when ... and then try to ...I make sure I ...which I do by ... I aim to use ...After writing ... I immediately ...by ...

Can you think of any improvements to our products/services?

Your products are ... However... Some of your ...

What makes a good team?

A good team needs ...and also ... Each person has to be ... There has to ...

Had to learn something, and there was shortage of time. What was the outcome of this/what did you learn?  

For my ... I had to learn ... although I had ... I ordered ... then ...

Good team member?

Being ...

Good team leader?

Being able to ...and being ...

How many TV's do you think were sold in the UK last year? 

Perhaps around ... The UK population is ...

Questions for the employer

What training opportunities are there during the 12 month placement?

What is a typical day or week in the job?

How many in the team

When should I expect to hear back from you?

Could you give me an example of the type of project I would be likely to work on

Is there anything about my skills which you’re unsure of? As I’d rather reassure you of my capabilities now

Ask if that what you needed to know/do you want me to go into more detail

Make sure have interviewer’s email details so after the interview ends you can write them a thank you note and reiterate interest in role + outline key points discussed + what you think you bring to the table.