Interviews and salary conversations
Interviews reward preparation that is specific to the role: a short list of real examples, a clear account of why you want the job, and calm answers to the questions you would rather avoid. These guides break that preparation into steps you can practise.
Prepare with interview practiceGuides on interviews and salary conversations
How to prepare for a job interview
A practical plan for interview preparation: understand the role, choose your evidence, rehearse aloud, prepare questions and settle the logistics early.
Read: How to prepare for a job interviewCommon interview questions and how to answer them
What interviewers are really asking in the most common questions, how to structure honest answers and examples you can adapt to your own experience.
Read: Common interview questions and how to answer themHow to answer “Tell me about yourself”
A simple structure for answering “Tell me about yourself”: who you are now, the evidence that matters for this role and why this is your next step.
Read: How to answer “Tell me about yourself”The STAR method for interview answers
How to use the STAR method — situation, task, action, result — to give clear, specific answers to competency and behavioural interview questions.
Read: The STAR method for interview answersQuestions to ask at the end of a job interview
Questions to ask an interviewer about the role, team, success measures and next steps, plus the questions to save for later and how many to prepare.
Read: Questions to ask at the end of a job interviewHow to answer “What are your salary expectations?”
How to research a fair salary range, when to give a number, how to phrase your answer and what to do if the offer is lower than you hoped.
Read: How to answer “What are your salary expectations?”How to handle a phone screening interview
What a recruiter checks in a short first call, how to answer the usual screening questions briefly, and what to have in front of you when the phone rings.
Read: How to handle a phone screening interviewHow to prepare for a video interview
Set up camera, sound and light, rehearse on the platform the employer uses, and agree a backup plan so a dropped connection does not derail the interview.
Read: How to prepare for a video interviewHow to handle a panel interview
Why panels ask set questions and score each answer, who usually sits on them, and how to keep eye contact and your examples working for everyone in the room.
Read: How to handle a panel interviewHow competency-based interviews work and how to prepare
How employers turn competencies or behaviours into questions and scores, and how to build an evidence map so every competency has a strong example ready.
Read: How competency-based interviews work and how to prepareBehavioural and technical interview questions: what's the difference?
How behavioural questions test what you have done and technical questions test what you can do now, with a preparation plan and an example of each.
Read: Behavioural and technical interview questions: what's the difference?Case interviews: how to structure your thinking out loud
A plain introduction to case interviews: how to clarify the problem, build a structure, work through numbers aloud and give a clear recommendation.
Read: Case interviews: how to structure your thinking out loudWhat to expect at a second interview
Second interviews go deeper, often with more senior people or a task. Learn what usually changes, how to use first-round notes and which questions to expect.
Read: What to expect at a second interviewWhat happens at an assessment centre and how to prepare
The exercises an assessment day usually includes, from group tasks to in-tray and role-play, what assessors look for in each and how to prepare.
Read: What happens at an assessment centre and how to prepareAptitude and psychometric tests: formats and how to prepare
The main types of employer tests, from numerical and verbal reasoning to personality questionnaires, what each measures and how to prepare honestly.
Read: Aptitude and psychometric tests: formats and how to prepareHow to answer “What is your greatest weakness?”
Choose a real weakness that is not a core requirement, show what you are doing about it, and avoid the fake-strength answers interviewers hear daily.
Read: How to answer “What is your greatest weakness?”How to answer “Why do you want this job?”
Link the work, the employer and your experience with research you can show. Includes examples for career changers and internal moves.
Read: How to answer “Why do you want this job?”How to answer “Why are you leaving your job?”
Honest, forward-looking ways to explain leaving a job, including redundancy, a difficult manager, a short stay or being dismissed, without criticising anyone.
Read: How to answer “Why are you leaving your job?”How to answer “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Answer with a direction, not a job title: the skills and responsibility you want to grow into, linked to this role. Includes answers for uncertain plans.
Read: How to answer “Where do you see yourself in five years?”How to answer a conflict interview question
Choose a real but contained disagreement, show how you listened and what you changed, and avoid examples that blame others or never resolve.
Read: How to answer a conflict interview questionHow to answer “Tell me about a failure”
Pick a real mistake of the right size, own your part plainly, show how you fixed it and what you changed. Includes examples and the answers that raise concern.
Read: How to answer “Tell me about a failure”How to answer “What are your strengths?”
Choose two or three strengths the role needs, prove each with a short example, and prepare for strengths-based interviews that ask what energises you.
Read: How to answer “What are your strengths?”How to answer “Why should we hire you?”
Summarise how your strongest evidence meets the employer's main needs in under a minute, using a needs-to-evidence match rather than a list of qualities.
Read: How to answer “Why should we hire you?”How to prepare an interview presentation
Read the brief closely, structure to the time limit, keep slides simple, rehearse aloud and prepare for questions, with a ten-minute structure to adapt.
Read: How to prepare an interview presentationInterviewing for a job you might seem overqualified for
Name the reason for the move, address worries about pay, boredom and leaving early, and show how your experience helps rather than threatens the team.
Read: Interviewing for a job you might seem overqualified forHow to manage interview nerves
Practical ways to reduce interview nerves: preparation that lowers uncertainty, what to do in the room when your mind goes blank, and when to seek support.
Read: How to manage interview nervesHow to stand out in a group interview
What happens when several candidates are interviewed together, what assessors watch for in introductions and team tasks, and how to contribute well.
Read: How to stand out in a group interviewHow to prepare for an informal interview or chat
An informal chat is still an assessment, just a relaxed one. What employers use it for, what to prepare, what to ask and how to follow up afterwards.
Read: How to prepare for an informal interview or chatHow to research a company before an interview
A focused research plan: what the organisation does, how it is changing, who you will meet and what the team needs, and how to use it in your answers.
Read: How to research a company before an interviewInterviewing for your first management role
The people-management questions first-time manager candidates face, how to evidence leadership you have shown without the title, and what to ask the panel.
Read: Interviewing for your first management roleHow to ask for adjustments to an interview
What adjustments you can ask for in interviews and tests, when and how to ask, example wording, and the official UK and US sources on your rights.
Read: How to ask for adjustments to an interviewHow to negotiate salary after a job offer
Prepare evidence, make one clear and polite ask, consider the whole package and know when to accept. Includes wording you can adapt for a call or email.
Read: How to negotiate salary after a job offerInterview warning signs about the employer
Signals during an interview that a role may be different from the advert or the workplace may not suit you, and questions that help you check before accepting.
Read: Interview warning signs about the employerHow to answer situational judgement questions
Hypothetical questions need a different structure from STAR: clarify, prioritise, act and follow up. With a worked answer and tips for written tests.
Read: How to answer situational judgement questionsHow to approach a take-home assignment
Clarify the brief, set a time limit, show your reasoning and present the result clearly. Also how to raise concerns if a task looks like unpaid work.
Read: How to approach a take-home assignmentInterview day checklist
A practical checklist for the day of an interview: timings, what to bring, last-minute preparation, and what to do if something goes wrong on the way.
Read: Interview day checklist
Other topics
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