Interview practice resources
Interviews are your chance to stand out, to show your potential employers the unique skills and qualities you can offer to the role.
Effective preparation can be the key to unlocking opportunities and making a lasting impression.
Below you will find a collection of resources that you can choose from to help improve your interview confidence and get you ready for that all important interview.
Get to know the STAR technique
Use is the STAR Technique to structure your answers. STAR stands for:
- Situation - Describe the situation: when and where did it happen? Who were you with?
- Task - Explain your task: what were you working on? What were your responsibilities?
- Action - Describe your actions: what did you do?
- Result, Reflect or Relate - Explain the outcome: what happened at the end? Was it positive or negative? What did you learn from this experience? How can you relate your examples to what you would be doing in the job? How relevant is your example with the role and organisation?
Lucie explains each element of the STAR technique
Read a student's story using the STAR technique
Read Alexandra's use of the STAR technique and answering unexpected questions
Use Shortlist.Me for all interviews
Shortlist.Me is an online platform offering a variety of practice interviews to enhance your interview skills. It will help you to:
- focus your interview preparation for a specific career field
- understand different types of interviews including strengths and competency interviews
- evaluate your interview performance with feedback on your answers
- practise interview technique before seeking additional support from us
Use eCareersGrad for all interviews
Use Graduates First for video interviews
Learn about CAMP and SPIES for healthcare interviews
CAMP
If you are applying for a role in the healthcare sector, use the CAMP technique to structure your answer for motivational questions.
- Clinical: Type of setting – does it have areas of expertise, specialism or clinical excellence that are appealing?
- Academic: Are there particular areas of research, education or teaching that you are most interested in?
- Management: How support, progression, professional development and supervision are organised as part of the role
- Personal: Location, working pattern, hobbies and other interests
SPIES
If you are applying for a role in the healthcare sector and need to answer questions on ethics, professional dilemmas or difficult situations, use the SPIES technique.
- Seek information: Explore the issue - what is the situation? What is happening
- Patient, Public or Personal Safety: Is someone's safety at risk? How does this influence your actions?
- Initiative: What can you do within your level of skills and competencies?
- Escalate: How and when to involve others?
- Support: what support might you need and what support might you be able to offer your patient or client?
Go to our other interview pages
I learned how to use the STAR technique in a way that sounded different from the rest, and that is to constantly link what I’m saying to the position I was interviewing for.