What are some things you should be familiar with before going for a job/scholarship interview?

Here's an Interview Prep Series which includes a number of useful articles that deep dive into specific tricky intervw questions, such as Why should we hire you? and What are your weaknesses?

You can think about it in three key categories. For each category, also shared some ways to prepare for the interview. Hope it will be useful for anyone else prepping for an interview as well!

Knowing yourself: To sell yourself, you need to know yourself.

Dive into your motivations, skills, personality and traits. Take all the experiences you've had and develop each of them into your "personal story bank" - you can use the STAR method to structure each story. When you go into the interview, be clear what are the key takeaways you want your interviewer to have about you. Depending on the questions you get asked, you can take the relevant stories to apply to each question.

Knowing the company: They've hired you to help them solve a problem.

Do your homework on the current problems that the company or industry is facing. There are various ways you can do this. First, read their websites and annual reports. Then, do some stalking on their social media channels. Also, you can run a quick Google search to find media mentions of the company.

The next part is critical. Think about solutions that can contribute to solving these issues – especially those related to the role you are applying for. This gives them a compelling sneak preview of the value they’ll get from hiring you, and why you are a worthy hire. You just came to them with a possible solution and proved your worth as an asset.

Knowing the job: How you will deliver & thrive in this position

Study the job description and note down which job requirements you meet, exceed and do not meet. This helps you better understand how you can value-add to the company when they hire you.

For the requirements that you do not meet, demonstrate a growth mindset by sharing what you have started doing (or will start doing) to level up in them.

Some ways you can better understand the role apart from Google is to read LinkedIn profiles of people who held this position or talk to people whom you know are taking on this role.

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If you have an upcoming interview, here's another resource of over 350 real interview questions crowdsourced from jobseekers you can use to help in your interview prep.​​​

Let me speak from my own experience and what I have observed and learnt from giving a few interviews myself in my leadership positions through the years! This is purely my opinion :)

I think the most important thing interviewers are looking out more than confidence is having a good, down-to-earth attitude. No matter how excellent you are, bragging about your achievements and having a self-entitled attitude will turn any interviewer off. To the interviewers, they look at both aptitude and character. You should be someone they want to work with and nurture, someone with potential.

Hence, I would suggest when answering the questions, try to frame your answers such that you display yourself as someone who is willing to take up new opportunities, is diligent and willing to learn. Of course, you need to truly believe in this first and work hard to be such a person you frame yourself to be, even after getting accepted :)

All the best!​​​

Be familiar with what the company is doing, what are your aspirations, what have you learnt from the previous job/cca, what can you bring to the table if they hire you...

Hi there, I think the most important is you being able to make a good first impression and being able to sell yourself to them as the perfect candidate they want to take under their wing and nurture you!

You will need to research about the company first and be well-read, but that's only the basics! I think what's more important is you understanding yourself and your own goals. Be clear about what you want to achieve in the scholarship/job. The difficulty would lie in communication: how you are able to link your past experiences to who you are today, without sounding like you're bragging but as someone who has learned from them. I think its vital to show that you are genuine about learning and have the potential for growth!

You may also prepare some relevant questions beforehand or catch what the interviewers say during the interview and ask them about it when they ask if you have any other questions at the end of the interview.

Hope this helps! Don't be nervous, be genuine about your story and it should be alright :)​​​

1. What makes you stand out

2. Why you want that job/scholarship specifically

3. What is your story

4. How can you contribute

5. Any relevant experience

I just watched a MasterClass with Robin Roberts, the anchor of Good Morning America. While researching as much as you can about the company and industry is pretty much run-of-the-mill advice, she advised that the interviewee come in with creative ideas about what the company can be doing differently/additionally. I thought that this is pretty neat advice because I typically prepare 1-2 company-related questions to ask the interviewers, but never have I prepared any creative ideas of my own. haha

She said that we may not be able to compete with others who graduate from elite colleges but we can hold our own in terms of creativity.

Be confident. Research on the background of the company and be prepared to ask intelligent questions. You need to strike yourself as an unique individual so make a point to say somthing unique and special to leave a deep impression of you.

You should research more about the background of your company and prepare for a few answers to questions that they may ask you about.

The most basic question we always ask is the background of the company, to test the interviewee's interest in this industry.

Another question would be any specific skill that u possessed and relevant to the job that u apply.

If possible, do research on your interviewer. I find that building a connection helps to leave a deeper impression on the person interviewing you and be considered.

Instead of focusing on how the institution or the job can help you, focus on how you can bring the institution to the next level.

Understanding the institution's background, culture, and position in the market can help too.

Here is everything about me and what I do best.