7 interview tips for new grads to land the job every time

Going through an interview process can be nerve-wracking experience - especially as a new grad.

Walking into foreign buildings, meeting the interviewer (that you definitely creeped on LinkedIn) and attempting to be charming, but also still professional, while trying to remember what you researched about the company can be a recipe for a shaky handshake.

The Busy Blooming community has curated some interview tips to make you nail each interview with confidence and help you land the job.

Write out potential interview questions in a document with your answers - anything you think the interviewer might ask (top 10 interview questions), write it out in a google or word document along with your answers.

Practice your answers out loud the night before. This is a huge game-changer. Practice out loud and/or in the mirror your answers to interview the questions you’re anticipating, for example - tell me about yourself, why do you want to work at this company specifically, why should we hire you over the other candidates. When you’re in the interview and you hear them ask the question that you’ve practiced out-loud it will help calm your nerves.

Learn how to tell a good story. When the interviewer inevitably asks you to ‘tell me a little bit about yourself’ - don’t just list facts about your grad year and major - tell a story. Talk about why you chose your major, if you switched in the process, talk about what you’re passionate about, what you’re hoping to do in the future, etc. - tell the story of you (in like 1-2 min or less). A great tip from our live session with recruiter Charlotte!

Ask good questions at the end. This is your interview - you are also interviewing the recruiter to see if this job would be a good fit for what you’re looking for. Ask about what you’re curious about the role - is it a lot of individual or team work, what defines success in the role, is there room for growth, what is the office culture like?

Research the company. This is important for two reasons. First, you may be tested on your knowledge in the interview to see if you did your research - you’d be surprised how many interviewers use this as a tactic. Do some light research on what the company does and some big projects they’ve worked on recently so you have something in your back pocket just case. Second, this can be a great opportunity to stand out in an interview - ask the interviewer questions about recent work you’ve seen on their website or an interesting partnership the company just landed.

Send a follow-up email. If you’re really interested in the job, send a follow-up email within 24 hours to thank them for their time. You can find follow-up email templates here.

Show your personality + be yourself. It can feel daunting to meet your potential boss or executives in interviews - but they want to hire good, fun, kind people onto their team - not corporate robots. In corporate interview environments, it can feel like you are supposed to act/talk a certain way - but just be yourself and don’t let the nerves overshadow your charm!

Remember - you got this! If the role is meant to be yours, there’s nothing you can say or do to make it happen, it will happen if it’s meant to be as cheesy as it sounds.