Proven Results | High Success 200+ Review

Graduate Interview Coaching

Home / Services / Graduate Interview Coaching
Set an Appointment
What does graduate interview coaching involve?

Why do graduates benefit from interview coaching?
  1. As the assessment process for students and graduates is so competitive today it is essential that students receive some interview coaching to maximise every interview opportunity they have. Being rejected at many interview lowers confidence and causes interview anxiety.
  2. Often there is only a short window of opportunity to apply to leading internship and graduate schemes such as the Civil Service Fast Stream or legal Training Contracts so graduates need to be fully prepared in advance of the deadlines.
  3. As well as being very competitive the application process is very long and includes a series of online tests, video interview and an assessment day. If the applicant gets rejected they may need to wait for another year before they can reapply or look elsewhere for an internship or job. Ideally, a student should aim to get through to at least 3 assessment days to maximise their chances of success.
  4. Interviews are no longer just competency based but include competency and strength based questions. Many organisations such as Magic Circle law firms put a greater emphasis on strength based questions so knowing how to handle both types of questions is important.
Recent review

I am emailing you to let you know that I have received a job offer from Arup for the Graduate City Economics position! I am so happy that things have worked out so well – I can’t believe it! Thank you so much for all your help!! I honestly don’t think I could’ve done it without you. This job means so much to me as it was my first choice since the beginning and, in fact, the more I got to know the company and learnt about the role, the more I liked it.

Read hundreds of reviews added by clients.

Graduate & student interview coaching

Interview coaching works and at Interview Skills Clinic. We see great results with leading organisations such as KPMG, Deloitte, CapGemini, Earnst & Young, John Lewis, Goldman Sachs, Atkins to name but a few.

One to one coaching is tailored to each client; the role you applying for, the organisation and application stage.  It often involves two stages:

  • Interview Preparation Coaching. A student would not expect to get a high mark in their university essay or assignment without understanding how they are being marked but most students attend interviews without understanding what organisations are looking for. Preparation coaching is tailored specifically to the internship, placement or graduate role students are applying for. Learn to prepare for competency interviews and strength based interviews.
  • Mock Interview Coaching. Most students practise for an interview by looking for typical questions and writing out their answers. This is the wrong approach and at best results in a wooden response and at worst leads to brain freeze. Students and graduates need to learn how to adapt their answers to a variety of different questions aloud, project confidence and good communication skills.
Interview coaching is tailored to the application stage

Interview coaching is tailored to each stage of the application process:

  • CV and application
  • Video interviews are increasingly being used at the first interview stage rather than telephone interviews. It is a particularly challenging interview as the interviewee needs to answer text or video recorded questions. Many applicants get rejected at this early stage.
    Read this article to prepare for some typical video interview questions.
  • Telephone interviews
  • One-to-one assessment day interviews, competency interviews and strength interviews
  • Assessment day presentations
Interviews for first year & second year students

It’s the early bird that catches the worm! Ideally first year students need to spend time securing a place on an Easter Week or Spring Week Internship. This is a ‘stepping-stone’ to getting a summer internship. A summer internship is very important as many organisations such as Goldman Sachs offer a proportion of their interns a permanent job at the end of the internship. A lucky student might start their third year at University knowing that they have a job when they finish! Either way an internship or placement is going to give a student excellent experience which will help them prepare for competency and strength interviews in their final year.

Where is coaching available?

Coaching is available Monday – Saturday in:

You can decide whether you want face-to-face coaching, available in London or Bournemouth or Skype coaching.

Coaching fees

A one to one coaching course can be designed for you or you can choose coaching in 1 hour sessions as your application progresses.  Click here for details on coaching fees. A discount is available for students.

Free consultation

The best approach is to schedule a free consultation so that we can discuss your objectives. Click the Free Consultation button below or click Contact.

Reuters video report

Set an Appointment

Send Message

9 + 12 =

Or
Set an Appointment

Lucy L on July 19, 2019 at 18:14 pm

I’d had a series of mediocre interviews, and lacked confidence as a result. I contacted Interview Skills Clinic, and was really impressed by the coaching. Matthew was really thorough, encouraging and full of useful advice. He was able, in a short space of time, to transform the way I told stories in interviews, how to prepare for the interview, and gave me confidence going into the interview. I’d had a bad interview coaching experience before, but I can honestly say that Matthew is brilliant at what he does. I got the job I wanted and I also now feel much more confident moving forward! Thank you!

Ahmed Patel on July 06, 2019 at 11:43 am

Thank you very much Elizabeth... Well, I was in an NHS administration position for last five and half years and desperately wanted to move on to the next band within NHS. I attended around 10 or more interviews without success. Then I contacted Interview Skills and Elizabeth took my case. I provided her with the stories I was using in the interviews. Elizabeth taught me to say the same stories in very effective way. That really helped me to restructure my answers and gave me wider view for an interview. After the session with Elizabeth, I had few more interviews and got really positive feedback. Then the day came for a right one and I nailed it. I am much happier that I consulted Interview Skills. I recommend a 90 minute session and provide with some material before hand to the consultant. Also tell them about the feedback you have been receiving from your past interviews. That will help consultant to find out the problem areas in your interview techniques. Thanks you Elizabeth again and to the Interview Skills.

Kim Forrester on June 24, 2019 at 07:46 am

When I found out recruitment had started for the job of my dreams but the person interviewing would have had the (dis)pleasure of interviewing me previously. With no offer made and poor feedback on interview style, I knew I had to do something different this time. A google search led me to find Elizabeth and I booked a 90 minute session in London. I had a fair amount of doubt that 90 minutes would help change my style but went along with an open mind. Elizabeth took me through some initial questions, gave me feedback on body language, content, structure and then guided me through questions again. My nerves were high - similar reaction to normal interviews - but I felt supported throughout. I came away with a completely fresh awareness of what the interviewers would be looking for, how to structure responses and how to be aware of my eye contact / body movement (not as simple as I had thought to control during stressful situations) I secured the job, had great feedback from the panel - particularly the person who had interviewed me before "like a different person" and now looking forward to starting my new role. It is without any doubts that I secured this thanks to Elizabeth's guidance and feedback. I am incredibly grateful and would recommend anyone to invest in their development and career with the coaching Elizabeth and the team offer. Thank you!

Oleg on June 20, 2019 at 21:29 pm

Thanks to Matthew I got a job offer I wanted. Before my scheduled Skype call with Matthew, I’ve had a poor run with recent interviews, and wanted the coaching but was not sure which coach to choose – many coaches have good reviews on the internet but I didn’t know which one would work for me personally. I work in a very technical positions in a relatively obscure field. In our training session, I have found Matthew’s comments extremely relevant, and aced the next interview. I’m glad I went with Matthew. I was immediately impressed with his composure, taking charge of the conversation and keeping the process interesting and relevant. I also noticed very good preparation on Matthew’s part. He has learned the key bits about my work and some of the professional lingo specifically for our conversation, so he made the environment feel much closer to the “real thing”. He readily answered any of my "of the cuff" questions about interviewing process which showed me he is a real interviewing expert. He used an extremely useful feedback model where he would ask a question and then immediately after my answer, he would give very useful points on where I did well or could improve. Overall, I am very impressed with his work. Thanks to his tips I have gained the confidence to ace my interview and got a job offer. I will surely recommend Matthew to any of my friends.

David on June 08, 2019 at 05:59 am

I applied for a senior leadership role, but due to my professional background had very little experience of competency based interviews. There was a lot of work to be done in the two sessions I had with Elizabeth - really starting from first principles. And as as I travelled home from the interview, reflecting on all the things I had been asked and had said, it occurred to me that those two sessions with Elizabeth might just have made the difference between success and failure. And this was confirmed to me when I was later offered the role. I suspect she has something valuable to offer candidates at all levels. It is certainly worth giving her a call. It might make the difference for you too.

Haseeb on May 31, 2019 at 05:07 am

I had couple of unsuccessful interviews and I arranged an interview session with Elizabeth. She suggested me how to prepare for the upcoming interview, how my job experience will fit into the role. I was over the moon to be offered two offers. She made all the difference and would highly recommend to others.

Michaela on May 25, 2019 at 09:06 am

I recently had a very useful session with Matthew, in which he gave me invaluable advice, from targeting my letter of motivation and CV to improving my interview skills. Matthew immediately spotted where I needed help and he really improved my confidence levels. I had lots of interviews following the session, and I was able to represent myself much better with the knowledge and practice gained during the sessions. I am happy to say that as a result I was able to land director-level position with a 50% pay rise in a really interesting company. Many thanks, Matthew!

Kirsten on May 16, 2019 at 12:59 pm

Elizabeth really boosted my confidence, explained what the employers were looking for and prepared me really well for my interviews. I got several job offers after one session with her - highly recommend.

Chris on May 09, 2019 at 12:09 pm

I recently had a fantastic interview skills session with Matthew, in which he gave me invaluable advice about how to prepare for an upcoming interview and tailor my examples to the role, as well as extremely helpful feedback on my answers to practice questions. I was delighted to be offered the role following the interview itself, and am sure that Matthew’s expert support made all the difference on the day. Thanks again!

Leah on May 03, 2019 at 10:51 am

I had a brilliant practice interview session with Matthew to help me prepare for an airline interview. Matthew immediately saw where I needed improvement and the session was a great way to help work on my technique when answering challenging questions. I am pleased to say I got the job! Thanks again