Many people are nervous prior to an interview. That is not necessary. You should see it as a chance to find out if the internship is what you expected. During the interview, you must also show that you are a suitable candidate for the internship, by emphasising your qualities and competences. You can use the STAR method for this, which will help you to illustrate your point in a structured, compact way.
The steps of the STAR method are:
- Situation
What is the situation? What should happen? - Task
What is your task? What is expected of you, or what do you want to achieve? - Action
What action(s) do you take? How do you handle this? What qualities or competences will You Use? What knowledge do You need? - Result
What will be the result of your action(s)?Below, you will find an example following the STAR method:
“I will give you an example that shows that I am working well with others.”
- Situation: During my study, we had to work in groups a lot. Last semester, we were given the group assignment X, and I was in a group in which two out of five students did not agree with the approach, and refused to cooperate.
- Task: I thought it was my task to make sure that everyone was happy about the approach, so that everyone would feel involved with the project.
- Action: I suggested to start over and to brainstorm about the best approach.
- Result: In the end, we used two methods that we combined. The result was that everyone felt heard, and everyone supported the new approach. The collaboration went great after that.
A good preparation is half of the work
Always prepare for a meeting. Read about the company and their products or services. Think about questions they might ask you and prepare an answer. A few of the questions that are used often are:
- Why are you interested in this internship?
- What appeals to you in this internship?
- Why do you want to intern/graduate at this organisation?
- Why are you the right candidate for this internship?
- Describe yourself.
- How would your friends describe you?
- What are your ambitions?
- What are your strong suits?
- What are your worst characteristics?
- What have you done that you are proud of?
- What was your favourite subject and why?
- What are your hobbies or interests?
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