Interview Tips & Techniques
We’ve put together some tips that are aimed to help you to prepare for an interview within the JCR. If you have any questions about the contents of this page, or about applications in general, contact the Chair. We will always do our best to accommodate any additional requirements you may have. Please contact the Chair if you would like to receive the interview questions in writing, or if there’s any other accommodation that you require.
You can also see the JCR’s Application and Interview Guidance Policy here.
To start, make sure you understand the role that you’re applying for. Have a look at the Committees and Job Descriptions document, which can be found here, for a description of your role and its responsibilities. For some roles, it might also be useful to look through the Permanent or Operational Standing Orders. If you don’t have much knowledge about the area that you’re applying to, it can be useful to look through the website and social media to see what they’ve been up to recently.
Ahead of the interview, think about what questions might be asked. Quite often, you will be asked something along the lines of:
Why do you want the role?
What relevant experience do you have?
Describe a time where you demonstrated a skill (initiative, leadership, teamwork etc.)
Suggest an improvement that you would make in this role.
Ahead of the interview, take some time to think about your responses to these questions. You’re allowed to bring notes into the interview, so if it’s helpful you can write down your ideas, and use your notes as prompts.
Interview Technique
STARR
An approach that provides a good structure for questions that ask you to show or tell your skills and experiences is the STARR Method. This stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection. By using this method, you can clearly demonstrate how you reached a result, and either why it worked, or what you would do differently. Ahead of the interview, practice answering questions using this technique.
Examples
Make sure you’re using examples in your answers, and making it clear why your examples are relevant. This doesn’t mean you have to have college experience! Anything you can think of that demonstrates useful skills will be valuable, and the interviewers know that not everyone (especially Freshers) has had the chance to gain college experience.
Details
Even if it seems to go without saying, the candidate who goes into detail is more likely to come across as more suited to the role. This is particularly useful for (but not limited to) situational questions. You can’t be penalised for too much detail! Talk the interview panel through your thinking - it helps them to see how you think, and, for situational questions, how you would react and conduct yourself.
Take your time
You do not have to jump in as soon as a question is asked. Take some time to think about your answer, or refer to your notes. Think about what the question is asking, and make sure that you understand it - you can always ask to have it repeated. You can also take your time as you answer; pause to gather your thoughts and make sure you’re not forgetting anything. Speaking slower should also help to choose your words more carefully, and should work to calm you down if you’re feeling a bit nervous.
Lastly, have confidence in yourself; you have been offered an interview because the panel liked your application. Remember that the panel aren’t expecting you to be perfect, or to know everything - just take your time and do your best.