Interview skills

Online Careers Library

Career Discovery provides information and resources designed to support you with preparing for interviews.

Our UCL guides include top tips and examples:

• Interviews
• Preparing for your consulting case interview
• Technical interviews
• Developing commercial awareness

You can also browse a broad range of informative articles from TARGETjobs. Search for key words such as interviews, video interviews, telephone interviews, case interviews, and technical interviews to view a full list of resources.

To filter for more sector specific content, include the sector in your search, such as banking interviews, law interviews, teaching interviews, engineering interviews, and postgraduate interviews.

Graduates First

This resource can be used for interview preparation. The website includes a 'Question Identifier Tool' which allows you to answer a series of questions about a job description/specifiation and their tool identifies the types of questions that are likely to come up at interview. It also has a facility to practice video interviews, which includes feedback on your facial expression and provides possible answers and approaches to common interview questions. At UCL Careers we partner with this test provider to save you having to pay for these yourself. You simply need to register* via the links below.

Register now

Simply register using your UCL email address ending in @ucl.ac.uk for current students or your 'email for life' ending in @alumni.ucl.ac.uk for graduates.

Interview preparation loan books

The IOE Library holds several interview books that you can borrow to work through sample interview questions in your own time. Books available cover different types of interviews and highlight the types of questions commonly used by graduate recruiters in different sectors.

Visit the library catalogue to view titles available.

Many of the sites and resources above will focus on UK-based interviews. For those seeking work overseas, more specific resources are available.

GoinGlobal

UCL Careers subscribes to this online resource to give you direct access to country-specific guides on different interview formats.

Log in to GoinGlobal

Digital careers library

Use search tags such as 'working abroad', 'study abroad' and/or the name of a country to get listings of resources including 'country profile' guides to working or study overseas which will include tips on typical interview procedures.

We organise a wide range of events where you can find out more about how to stand out during your interview.

• Careers Essentials programme (Repeated throughout the year) A series of Careers Consultant led talks aimed at all students and recent graduates which includes different sessions on preparing for interviews amongst other topics.
• Employer-led skills sessions (Autumn and Spring terms) A series of employer-led Q&A panels and interactive workshops which cover interview preparation generally plus sessions on how to provide evidence of specific skills when being interviewed.
• Researchers employability programme (Repeated throughout the year) A series of Careers Consultant led talks and employer-led skills development events aimed at research students and staff which includes sessions on academic or other types of interviews for those with a research background.
• Sector-specific recruitment fairs (Autumn Term only) A chance to network with large numbers of major graduate recruiters from a specific sector to get insider tips on how interviews are assessed to ensure you stand out.
• Jobs market (Summer Term only) A chance to network with large numbers of major graduate recruiters from a variety of different sectors at one event to ask about interview tips.
• Employer presentations (Autumn and Spring Terms) Talks by individual companies about their current vacancies which will usually include an overview of their interview process and format and provide tips on how to prepare.
• Sector themed weeks (Autumn and Spring Terms) Network with professionals from a range of sectors popular with UCL students to learn more about how interviews are typically structured for that sector.

Register for event updates

View events listing

If you have been or are expecting to be invited to an interview, (this could be for a job, course, PhD or anything else), you can get one-to-advice on what to expect and how to prepare or get more specific, role-play based coaching.

• Short guidance appointments: A discussion with a Careers Consultant to cover any queries or concerns you may have about interview preparation and can be self-booked online at any time even if you haven't been invited to interview yet.
• Practice interview appointments: A more role-play based coaching exercise to give you practical experience of being interviewed and answering the types of questions which are likely to come up in the real thing. These sessions will be based on an invite to a real interview.
• Employer coaching A range of graduate recruiters who interview candidates for different roles on a regular basis will be on campus to share their experiences and give you practical experience of typical interview scenarios whether you have a real interview coming up or not.

Alumni networking - Speaking to UCL graduates who are working in the roles and sectors you're interested in is a great way to get an insider's view on what you might expect during the interview process. Through LinkedIn you can search for alumni by UCL course or department, job sector, current organisation, location, and more. Many UCL alumni will be happy to connect with you and tell you about their experience. This is a great way to explore your career ideas, enhance your interview skills and expand your professional network.  

Bookable space for video or phone interviews

If you have been invited to a video or phone interview with a recruiter and need to find a quiet space where you won't be disturbed, UCL Library Services provide access to bookable study spaces. We don't have any bookable interview space available at UCL Careers.