Apprenticeship Interview Tips

Each employer may ask different questions, but some of the most common ones you can prepare for are:

• Tell me about yourself? Most interviews will start with this question. You can explain why you’ve applied for the apprenticeship vacancy. Are you leaving education? Or maybe you’re changing careers?
• Why do you want this job? Be specific about why you’ve applied for that vacancy with that employer. How does the vacancy match your interests and goals? This is also a good chance to showcase any research you’ve done on the employer. Perhaps they’re local to you and have good career development opportunities.
• What are your strengths? List two to three personal or professional strengths, like collaboration, an eye for detail or communication. A top tip: always back up your strengths with an example, whether it’s an example from everyday life or school/work experience.
• What are your weaknesses? Employers don’t want you to say that you don’t have any weaknesses – because in reality, everyone does. What’s important is to discuss one weakness that you can turn into a positive. For example, you may say “I like to get involved in a lot of projects, but this causes me to struggle with time management. I make sure to keep a to-do list so that I achieve my tasks on time but will ask for help if needed.”
• Can you give an example of when you had to cope with a difficult situation? This is another good opportunity to spin a negative into a positive. It can be personal or professional, but end it by discussing how it helped you develop new skills to cope the challenge.
• What has been your greatest achievement? This could be an academic, professional or personal achievement. Explain why and how you achieved it.
• What are your goals? Focus on your professional goals. If you’re still figuring out your long-term career goals, then talk about short-term goals, like achieving your apprenticeship so that you can progress a career in IT or tech.
• Why should I hire you? Talk about how you think you’d fit in with the team and company. Draw on the skills that you could bring to the job – you could even say it’s because you’re enthusiastic to learn and a hard worker.
• Do you have any questions? This is a chance for you to ask the interviewer any questions about the job, apprenticeship or company. Prepare a few questions ahead of time by researching the company. It’s best not to discuss salary at this point, but you may have questions about things like working hours or what kind of customers the company works with.

Consider these questions ahead of your interview and spend some time researching the company and writing down how you would answer any potential questions.