A week ago, landing an internship interview seemed tough. Show
Now that you have one lined up, however, it feels like a cakewalk compared to actually facing the interview. What can you even talk about in your interview if you have no work experience? Hey— You must be doing something right to get an interview invite, so pat yourself on the back! And don’t worry: You’ve got this. With a bit of preparation and lots of research, you’ll ace your interview. Especially since you’re about to learn the questions ahead of time! This guide will show you:
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Here are the most common internship interview questions and answers: 1. Tell me about yourself.This one seems easy— But think about it for a minute, and you’ll see the problem. What does the recruiter want to hear? The purpose behind this question is to get a feel for your communication skills and find out more about you in terms of your goals and priorities. Here’s how to answer:
Here’s an example from a growth marketing intern:
With little or no work experience, passion is your greatest asset. Don’t be afraid to use it—and avoid answers like this:
The first half of this response is obvious, and the second doesn’t add anything to the conversation. You only have one chance to get this right, so try to use every answer to your advantage! Read more: Tell Me About Yourself: How to Answer [Tips & Example Answers] 2. Why are you interested in this internship?Also: How will this experience help you meet your career goals? and What do you hope to gain from this experience? The employer needs to know you’re not just doing it for the credits, or for a line on your resume. When answering this question:
Here’s an example:
Conversely, avoid answers that show you’re not all the way convinced this is the right choice for you. Yes—an internship is an opportunity to see if a profession suits you, but your interview is not the time to bring up those doubts.
3. What attracted you to our company?This question does several things:
If you’ve written a great cover letter for your internship, you shouldn’t have any trouble with answering, but just in case— Here’s how to answer:
Like so:
See? A powerful combination of passion and well-informed flattery! Read more: How to Answer: Why Do You Want to Work Here? 4. What skills can you bring to the company?This one’s pretty straightforward: The interviewer wants to know how you can contribute to the company and how well you understand the role. When answering this question, focus on skills that you have and that the employer mentioned in the job ad. Be specific about your hard skills and include a few soft skills that will come in useful. Also, it’s a good idea to mention your willingness to learn and your positive attitude—both are among the top qualities that employers look for when hiring interns. For example:
Read more: 99+ Best Professional Skills to Mention to Employers 5. Do you work better alone or with a team?Shoot! What’s the right answer? If you say you work better alone, you’ll come across as a poor team player. If you say you prefer teamwork, you might seem unable to take responsibility. So, the best way to answer this question is to say “both” and talk about the advantages of each. Here’s an example:
With an answer like this, you cover all the bases and show you can handle any kind of project. It follows that you should avoid answers like this:
6. How would others describe you?This question is designed to get a measure of your most prominent qualities— But you should still use it to your advantage and show your suitability for the internship. Here’s how to answer this question:
Like this:
Notice how the context in the first two sentences makes this person’s claims more believable? If we remove it, we’ll end up with a dry, unrealistic answer like this:
...and a unicorn who’s able to levitate. Without a story to back up your claims, your answer just won’t be convincing. Read more: How to Describe Yourself in a Job Interview and Get Hired 7. What type of work environment do you prefer?Despite appearances, this isn’t a trick question: It’s designed to simply check whether you’d be a good fit with the team. To answer this question:
For example:
8. Why did you choose this university?Do they really care? Yes— Your answer will give the interviewer a series of insights into the priorities that guide your decisions. So, to answer this question:
Here’s an example:
A mature answer that shows informed decision-making and enthusiasm for the field. Unlike this example:
So, who would you hire? 9. What are/were your favorite and least favorite classes?Spoiler alert: Classes relevant to the internship were your favorites. Here’s how to answer this question:
For example:
10. What are your plans after graduation?Did you know that according to studies, 56% of interns secure a full-time job with the company after graduation? An internship is not just for you to see if it’s the right profession for you: It’s also a common method companies use to find top talent for permanent opportunities further down the road. So, in your answer, make sure to highlight that you’re determined to continue on the same career path and actively work towards earning a job in your field of study.
It’s okay if you don’t know this for sure—few people are 100% certain of their plans. However, if you want to give yourself an opportunity to keep working for the company, avoid giving away your doubts:
11. Why are you the best candidate for this internship?Now’s your chance to really sell yourself to the interviewer and secure your internship. But how can you do that if you have no way of knowing how you stack up against the competition? Here’s how to answer:
That’s a lot to fit into one answer, isn’t it? Well—good thing you’re practicing ahead of time! Here’s an example to help you craft your answer:
See? This example incorporates all of the above elements, with just the right amount of confidence. Conversely, avoid vague statements like this:
Telling the interviewer that you care won’t help much: it’s far better to show that you know what you’re in for and you’re determined to succeed. Read more: Interview Questions: How to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?” 12. Tell me about a time you had to quickly learn something new.This one requires little explanation: An internship is all about learning, and recruiters need to know you’ll be able to handle the pace. Notice the question starts with “Tell me about a time…”— This tells us it’s a behavioral question. Behavioral questions focus on how you behaved in specific situations in the past to get an idea of how you’d deal with similar situations in the future. The best way to answer these types of questions is by using the STAR method: describing the situation, task, action taken, and result achieved. Like this:
A solid answer and proof this person’s a motivated fast learner! You can use the STAR technique to easily answer every behavioral question. It’s equally useful for situational questions: those asking how you’d behave in a hypothetical situation in the future. Now for a bad example:
See the difference? Read more: Common Situational Questions and How Best to Answer Them + Examples 13. Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback on your work.Oh. Are they trying to catch you out on your mistakes? Don’t worry— With this question, the interviewer is just trying to find out how well you deal with feedback and whether you take steps to learn from senior or more experienced professionals. So, focus the majority of your answer on how you use feedback to grow and improve your skills. Like in this example:
See? Only one sentence here deals with the shortcomings of this person’s work. The rest is all about how they make the most out of constructive feedback. Here’s a bad answer for comparison:
Other Common Internship Interview QuestionsBy now, you should have a good understanding of the types of questions to expect and how to answer them. Here are more internship interview questions you can practice on:
That’s all! Take some time to prepare your answers to these questions, and nothing will surprise you during your interview. Thanks for reading and good luck! Which internship interview questions did you find most difficult to answer? Perhaps you can offer some advice of your own? Drop us a line in the comments, we’d love to chat! What are the top 5 questions to ask an interviewer?Smart questions to ask about the interviewer. How long have you been with the company?. Has your role changed since you've been here?. What did you do before this?. Why did you come to this company?. What's your favorite part about working here?. What's one challenge you occasionally or regularly face in your job?. What questions should I ask at the end of an internship interview?What you should gain from the end of the interview. Ask about the company. ... . Ask about the role. ... . Ask about the manager. ... . Ask about the team. ... . Ask questions to figure out if this is the internship you want. ... . Ask about challenges. ... . Ask questions that focus on the future.. What are the top 5 questions to ask an interviewer at the end?20 smart questions to ask at the end of your next job interview. What do you personally like most about working for this organisation? ... . How would you describe your organisation's culture? ... . Can you tell me about the kind of supervision you provide? ... . What have past employees done to succeed in this position?. |