Preparing DD for job interviews after Uni

[Onedayinthesun]

My DD is looking to apply for Graduate schemes in the hope of securing one this year as she finishes her BSc.

We have researched the interview processes and assessments used when big companies hire Grads and I'm wondering if anyone has accessed help for their kids to prepare for attending these interviews.

I want her to have the best shot if she gets invited for any interviews but I'm worried about her inexperience, nerves may get the better of her.

Any ideas or recommendations, costs involved would be really appreciated ð???

Sorry, cockroaches was a law firm. The merchant bank interviews were less interesting, but still varied.

oneday my dad has a interview tomorrow in London this will be her 2nd round of interview she passed the first round a few weeks ago. The train fare is being reimbursed by the comoany. She has had to buy smart wear. But that's about it cost wise. She applied in Autumn last year. The university has given her some mock interview sessions. Think dd says if she passes tommorow there is one more round of interview before hopefully a offer. Its nerve racking

My dd not my dad! He's retired no need to do these things!! Sorry op

"I want her to have the best shot if she gets invited for any interviews but I'm worried about her inexperience, nerves may get the better of her."

It's quite possible that your dd might pick up in this, which may make her unnecessarily insecure. Trust in her ability and let her find her own solutions. She will not get the first or second or possibly third job she interviews for but as long as she learns from thes experience she is likely to score sooner or later.

"Thank you dementedma, appreciate your input. With so many out of work and Young people not getting the job they want when leaving Uni that is helpful to know."

That is a negative and narrow mindset, I'm afraid. I'm pretty successful in my career but always was proactive and driven myself, even at 22. My mum never involved herself in any of my applications or interviews.

However, I owe it to her that I am in a fairly competitive job and a fairly successful professional now because she always believed in me, said so and meant it too. No matter what I was up to, did or don't achieve, she accepted it and conveyed 100% belief that I am competent and will achieve. So, I have. That I am grateful for.

In the nicest possible way, let go of this and let your lovely dd fend for herself. Step back, have faith and be encouraging without meddling too much. Let her find her way, she is a graduate and grown up.

As someone who has interviewed graduates and interns I was very aware that this was probably their first interview, and people who interview adults of that age and background are usually also aware.

However the most off-putting thing and it is happening more and more is these candidates sounding coached and rehearsed. Ideally they need to research the company, and why you want to work for them, but also let their personality come through. Please do not take offence but step away and let her do it on her own, Be there to talk through stuff and you may find she wants to practise questions with someone.

As an interviewer who has interviewed some stupidly coached candidates _ I managed to get a candidate to walk out an interview in tears and then her mother called me to find out why she didn't get the job - please do not be that mother.

I asked what she would do if she one £1m on a scratch card, she looked totally confused and then began to cry as this was not a question she had practised - she missed the point that it was designed to see if she could think on her feet - neither her or her mother could comprehend that this was important in real life - but now she had thought about the question would I be willing to reinterview

She needs to do her research and carefully fill out the application ensuring she answers the questions actually asked.

Answering the questions asked in interview is also good advice. Having some practical examples (Google STAR competency questions).

She needs to be able to articulate exactly why she wants the job and company she has applied for.

Remember assessment centres are testing skills not knowledge learnt by rote. Good soft and interpersonal skills matter as much as strong research/analytical/questioning skills or whatever else they're looking for.

Get in early - grad schemes open from July-October.

OP - I feel your concern, but how does your DD feel about this? I'm a parent of adult DCs so have been through this.

I would say, (politely) I can understand your concern, but please step away and allow your DD to stand on her own feet. She is an adult in her early 20s, you've given her wings, stand back and let her fly........

But she is an adult now, I can imagine my parents ever asking this question when I was preparing for graduate interviews on the milk round.
Is this the done thing now then? I was hoping my input would be over when my kids reached 18!

Can't imagine not can

Hi op. Get dd to look at university of Kent careers service- great advice. Loads on line for interview questions/ psychometric tests etc. business balls website has great stuff too.

I don't have children going through it but I work in the field and I would urge your daughter to accept any help she can. It does make a massive difference and others will be doing it.

Those who know and understand the process do have an advantage but none of it is rocket science or secret. Big graduate employers have dedicated websites with loads of info.

I interview for graduate roles (accountancy). We place lots of emphasis on trying to find out about our firm and the team. There's so much info out there on company websites now. Good research is essential. If she can look further than the company's own website to see what's going on for that company in the news or industry wide that would come across well.

If she can find ways to meet with the employees of the company she works for that could give her an edge. If she can speak to recruiters on the grad scheme she's most interested in and get to talk to the existing graduates that could be excellent preparation.

Showing you understand the job and the company as well as explaining why your skills fit with what the company requires . I don't think you can coach her on this. You just need to make sure she knows to do her homework.

My top one I forgot to mention - get everything proof read. Twice.

Typical typos:

Assistant
Professional

Confusing words with hilarious consequences:

Professional/personal services
Constant/continent

Avoid excessive use of jargon or trying to sound "business-y". At best it seems fake and at worst you will sound like a twat.

I would also encourage her to think about ways she can differentiate herself from her peers - e.g extra curricular activities - not only do these show a candidate with different skills that they can bring, but they also offer some great learning opportunities - e.g Princes Trust, volunteering, mentoring younger pupils, sports etc

My biggest advice is go to all the career fairs the companies are attending to which she wants to apply. Talk informally to their reps regarding the application process, where the company is heading and the type of person the company is looking for as a whole. Take her current CV with her and get opinions on it.

Practice psychometric tests and be ready to talk to a board of interviewers, not just one person. Most university careers advice services have been irrelevant to the interviews that I / DH have been successful at. Their advice was too low level and broad based.

Yes - good eye contact and confidence is good - but also showing that your human and can relate on not just a work level, remember outside interests are good too for breaking the ice.

Finally, any work experience in the chosen field is best. We have both been MD's and attended a fair few interviews from both sides.

Sometimes personalities clash and you just have to move on to the next interview, don't take it to heart. Apply to all levels company, at the beginning we were rejected by the low paying / low level companies and yet got interviews with companies that you wouldn't even dream off as a graduate.

Good luck!

At some point you are going to have to let go and let her be independent.
What will happen when she starts her new job if she is used to you stepping in and assisting with things?
I know this seems harsh, but she is an adult. Basic pointers on good interview technique should be sufficient. She needs to be successful on her own merit since she will be the one doing the actual job at the end of the day.

I really don't understand why OP should not help her DD. She should be applauded not denigrated.

Your DD will first have to pass the online assessments that all grad schemes seem to use, so she needs to practise doing some using online sites. If she passes this and gets at least a 2.1 for her degree, then she has made the starting line. Application forms then require a good one page CV and invariably ask tricky questions, such as 'in 90 words, how does company x differ from company y'. I helped my DD research and answer these questions! Then if she does well, she may get invited for a phone interview and then if she passes this, then a 1 day assessment. Try to find someone who can give her a practice interview - possibly a neighbour or even a teacher at her old school. There are lots of typical questions online so google these.

Good luck.

Offer to give her a mock interview - if she can answer "why do you want this job" and. "tell me about a time you used each skill required in the job description", she'll be doing well.

And remind her to research the company and team - asking a question that shows you've done this always helps.

Uni carEverts service hold preparation and practice sessions and they are excellent, mock assessment centres etc. highly recommend attending don't think I would have got in to a grad scheme all those years ago without it!

Thank you to all who made helpful suggestions and gave me constructive input.

My DD is mature, bright and very independent - this is not about babying her or doing it for her it was about accessing professional help with interview preparation. She talks openly to me and has dreams and career aspirations so I won't apologise for wanting to help her if I can, regardless of her age! I know she is an adult but we all need help and advice throughout life, embarking on a job search is a major event for her. My original question came from a good place with the right intention.

Sink or swim attitude to parenting isn't my style.

Thanks for genuine advise received

OK, breathe! -- there should be a lot of assistance and support available to her at her university, if she takes up the opportunity to use it. (It's astounding how many students are quite passive about this, then complain Grrr)

1st: University Careers Service. They will have Careers officers who can talk her through her CV and interview technique.

A lot of careers services run workshops on these sorts of things.

Most Careers Services will help graduates for at least a year post-graduation.

1. Is there a 'milk round' at her university? She needs to sign up for a load of on-campus interviews etc.

1. Her Department, School, or Faculty will probably be running "Employability" sessions, particularly if she is final year. We have to, as part of the rubbish league table stuff is based on the HESA data about employment in a "graduate-level" job 6 months after graduation. We want to equip our students to get those jobs!

In my Department, we have sessions from a wide variety of visitors (for whom we pay another thing that the £9k fee almost covers) from industries our graduates might aspire to (often the speakers are our own alumni), and dsadly --often there are 2 or 3 students there.

Then they complain that we've not assisted them in employment prep

So if there are such sessions , they'll generally be on a Wednesday afternoon, which is in most decent universities a lecture/seminar free time, then if they exist, she should GO.

1. Here's the thing she can do, or you can suggest to her: think of all the things she's done for assessment which involve speaking in a fairly stressed situation eg a group or individual class presentation, a mock moot, a student-led seminar -- whatever.

Prompt her to think about transferable skills developed through her degree course -- nowadays, the average university student should have some inkling of the so-called 'soft' skills (they're actually quite difficult to learn & perform really well) of:

• to the point analysis, orally
• listening & responding concisely & pertinently -- again, orally & on the spot
• sifting information quickly and responding with the most appropriate & accurate answer
• improvising & thinking creatively
• collaborating with others in developing a line of thought or argument (Not an exhaustive list, but I hope you get my point)

All of that happens in small-group teaching situations, and the skills are honed in assessed presentations, group work, student- and staff-led seminars.

But often students don't see this, or understand how they can transfer these skills. They think that somehow the workplace is "different." It's not really, it's the same skills focused on different content.

What UptheChimney says about attendance at Careers events is unfortunately true, even in my vocational subject attendance at careers events run by the careers service and even recruitment events run by companies can be embarrassingly poorly attended. Students fail to understand that those people they see walking into top internships and graduate jobs have usually been building their relationship with those companies for a while, attending events, asking questions and getting in touch for advice, having mock interviews from the careers service etc etc. The students who attend nothing are the ones in my office moaning that we have done nothing to help them. They are the ones telling me there are "no jobs this year" when more than half the class has one (it is a very bad year for us because of the oil price, admittedly).

Message to all students - its never too early to engage with the careers service and plan for your graduate employment, even if you don't know what you want to do.

UptheChimmney is dead right about transferable skills as well.

Chemenger upthechimmeny - fantastic insight thank you much appreciated

An excellent list of suggestions by upthechimney, I will add a few more on the same theme of university-led opportunities.

Firstly, while I agree with all of the above, I do think that universities aren't always great at communicating the existence of these activities, so I suggest that she calls up the careers service directly and asks them what's on and when. A five minute phone call could cut through a lot of online to-ing and fro-ing. Likewise, the department will probably run tailored events; most have a student calendar on their websites, but a swift phone call to the UG secretary would also do the trick.

I know that my institution's central careers service offers mock interviews, test centres (including the different types of reasoning/aptitude tests), group exercises, etc. All free, all friendly and all regular. I believe our careers service is open to alumni for two years.

With that said, she shouldn't limit herself to her own institution's careers services. Some universities have excellent resources available to external users; Sheffield's careers service, which is particularly renowned, has substantial content freely available to anyone. A quick peruse of its website returns sample cover letters, CVs, links to test banks, etc.

The fourth point above is critical - so many students fail to acknowledge the skills they've developed during the regular course of their studies. Indeed, her university probably offers a short course/workshop/online guide to recognising and conveying the development these skills, so that might be worth considering too.

On a related note, as upthechimney also alludes to, individual departments are increasingly careful to stress the 'employability' aspects of their courses and modules. She should look back at her module guides and websites to see which particular skills the department thinks she should be developing for each module. Markschemes are also a good point of reference here, particularly if she’s looking to find the appropriate terminology to describe her skills.

In short, there's probably a lot more support available from the university than she might think.