August 6, 2021, by jhillary1

Using the Support From the Careers Service To Ace My Interviews

Hannah Wright, MSc Mental Health: Research and Practice

As an undergraduate, I had heard that career support would be available throughout our studies and as alumni, but it wasn’t something I’d engaged with yet as I had planned to move straight to postgraduate study. Now in the position where I am nearing the end of my education, I started to investigate the options… and the support I have received from the Careers Service has exceeded my expectations!

First Interview

I first engaged with the Careers Service after receiving my first interview offer, when I felt like I was way out of my depth! How do I prepare for this? What am I supposed to say?

I began by looking at the resources on the careers website to get the generic information, but I still wanted to benefit from tailored one-to-one support. I booked a coaching session with one of the advisers and completed a video interview practice recording through Sonru beforehand.

As many interviews are now being held online, (at least in the early stages), this was great practice to help me feel more comfortable with this process. I then had a Microsoft Teams call with an adviser who talked through my answers with me, and allowed me to ask any questions. It was encouraging to hear the things I did well, which gave me a much-needed confidence boost, while also being given pointers for the real interview, with advice on how to prepare for the specific role.

Writing another application

After such a positive experience the first time, (especially after being successful in the role!), I did not hesitate to get back in contact with the Careers Service as soon as I had another application to write. It was straightforward to book a careers appointment on the Careers and Employability Service website for a time that suited me. I also uploaded my draft application beforehand so the adviser could look at it before my appointment. I was so grateful to have an annotated copy with feedback to go through in my meeting. I was even offered a follow-up meeting after I had made changes, to have another check through before submission – I couldn’t be more impressed with the service!

While the generic advice we can all read about is useful, I have always been unsure if I am applying the tips correctly. Is what I have written correct? What are they asking? I was able to discuss all of these things with the careers mentor, and I came away confident that I had done the best application that I could. Having one-to-one support after having a go at writing an application was invaluable to me and is an avenue I would encourage anyone to take advantage of as a student or alumni of the University of Nottingham.

Whether you are looking for help with video interviews, acing the case study aspect, or just trying to brush up on your technique you can find all the support you need on our Interviews webpage.

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