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Graduate Interview Coaching

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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.

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Joseph M on March 15, 2019 at 13:13 pm

Matthew Eastlake was instrumental in helping me to prepare for my interview , building my confidence and landing my dream job. I had a mock interview session with Matthew. He provided excellent feedback and helped me to align my examples with each competency. I would strongly recommend Matthew. Thanks Matthew!!

Marcus Yorke-Long on March 11, 2019 at 08:44 am

James helped me better understand my skill set and identify a more fulfilling, progressive career. When preparing for the role opportunity he built my confidence and provided a perspective that contributed to a successful outcome. I’ve recommended James before and would happily do again.

Moni on March 08, 2019 at 09:55 am

I had one session with Elizabeth before going on a last minute interview. The session really helped me to understand what the interviewers were looking for in my answers and how to adapt my answers to meet the competencies. Elizabeth highlighted the importance of showing leadership and that this is the 'golden thread' that is woven through all the competencies. I'm pleased to say I was offered the role and got top marks for each of the competencies I was assessed against. I have no hesitation in recommending coaching with Elizabeth/the skills clinic - it's an investment that will pay off! Thanks again

tiffany adonis on February 27, 2019 at 16:32 pm

I would like to thank Elizabeth for both her skills and patience in supporting me to get where I wanted to be. The face to face recorded sessions were invaluable. They gave me the chance to work at pace but also the opportunity to review the material in my own time. Thank you Elizabeth, the experience was greatly appreciated.

Tim Healy on February 25, 2019 at 07:14 am

James is a true expert in his field. His combination of deep technical knowledge combined with his personable and empathetic approach is extremely effective. James goes out of his way to ensure his clients get the very best advice and support from someone who is a seasoned industry professional. I found James’ help to be extremely valuable and can recommend him without reservation!!

Zahra Waheed on February 18, 2019 at 09:02 am

James, thank you very much for the session today, I found it incredibly useful and I enjoyed discussing interview answers with you. You helped me draw out my own experiences and how to phrase them in a way that sounds genuine but also appealing for an employer. Overall it was genuinely a really positive experience. Thanks for the great list of insightful questions that I can use to ask the employer too, and the tips about describing an object in detail!

Yemi on February 14, 2019 at 11:17 am

Thank you very much Elizabeth and Matthew. I was total rubbish in my first coaching session and a bit better in my second. I got very good feedback on what to improve and areas to tidy up. Surprisingly, I got a G7 offer in the civil service and I am here preparing for a G6 role. Still counting on them (of course!) to coach me through the finishing line. Now my confidence is high and I am so happy and grateful. Thanks a million, you saved my family.

Claudia Quintela on January 31, 2019 at 17:03 pm

James is a fantastic career coach and a delight to deal with. He is very creative in his approach and really thinks outside of the box when trying to come up with alternatives avenues for people to explore in their careers. He is also super helpful in coming up with a different way of helping you present your capabilities and strengths.

Alexandra Powell on January 29, 2019 at 10:49 am

After several unsuccessful job applications and a subsequent drop in confidence, I sought professional guidance from Matthew. From the onset he was incredibly supportive and helpful. Matthew provided clear direction and advice on my Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letters to help ensure they would ‘stand out’ from the rest. Within 4 days of receiving Matthew’s guidance I was offered a job! Not only has this boosted my confidence but I will be able to use the information he has taught me in future job applications. Matthew is extremely experienced, professional and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.

Amelia Lloyd on January 29, 2019 at 10:47 am

Matthew helped prepare me for Medical School interviews. I had two layouts - one in an MMI format with questions sent out prior and one was a little more unknown but told to be more group and scenario based. Matthew was excellent in helping me with my questions - running through with the good aspects of my answers, highlighting how I could improve, gave me suggestions to think outside the box, everything. He helped me practice answering to improve my confidence with the interview setting and gave me tips for feeling at ease. With the other interview where I was unsure how to prepare, he gave me skills and actions appropriate to all situations to help improve me generally as an interviewee. Overall excellent service and a huge help with my interviews!