Ok, you’re about to achieve one of the greatest achievements of your life: a college degree. Now it’s time to get a job. The application process can be long and stressful; with everything from application documents, CVs and cover letters to writing to aptitude tests and assessment centers . But the last hurdle, the interview, is where it gets really tough.

That’s why it’s important that you understand what employers expect from college students seeking full-time jobs and internships before you go to  McKinsey Interview Cases . In this article you will find the 5 most common questions asked of college students and advice on how to answer them. So without further delay:

1. What kind of things did you learn in college that will help you with this job?

With this question, the interviewer not only asks about professional skills, but also about personal skills. So if you have completed vocational training, be sure to talk about it in the interview. However, remember to talk about what the college experience taught you. How has it made you a more versatile person? What skills have you developed that will help you in your job?

You are probably not aware of the skills you have developed over the 3-4 years of your studies:

• Play on the soccer team? Cooperation.
• Planning a theme evening in your student union? Organizational skills, leadership and decision making.
• Studying for your degree? Problem solving, time management and specialized technical skills.

So before your interview, sit down and write down your academic achievements. You will most likely come across skills you didn’t even know you had. However, remember to focus on the skills most needed by the employer.

• “I decided to select the courses within my degree that I (a) had a genuine interest in and (b) had the most practical relevance to the ‘real world’. That’s why I decided on “Course 1” and “Course 2”. However, I have participated in many other interesting activities at college such as: B. A, B and C where I acquired useful skills like X, Y and Z that I could apply to that particular role.’

2. “Tell me about a time you were involved in a team.”

It is almost certain that this question will be asked at your job interview. Ability to work in a team is essential in any field you’ve applied for – and you need to be able to demonstrate that you’ve worked well in multiple team situations so that the interviewer can clearly see your skills in that field.

Have at least 3 different examples of when you were involved in a team activity (e.g. club or society, sport or an organizational task at college) ready to discuss in detail at your interview.

• “In college I was part of the ___. We used to meet regularly every Wednesday, and that was one of my favorite times of the week. As part of this team I was involved in discussions/debates/decisions/strategic formations (sport) and it was essential that we work together and not as individuals. We found that as a unit we excelled and achieved X, Y and Z.’

Provide (1) the importance of listening to the viewpoints of other team members, (2) an example of how you overcame a problem and succeeded as a team, (3) how you specifically contributed and what your idea was was quickly adopted and (4) as you understand, you also had the responsibility of keeping the team motivated and focused.

If you’re asked if you’ve ever had a disagreement with a team member (a common interview trick!), try to turn the negative into a positive. For example, you could give an example of how during a brainstorming session you had one point of view, another person had a different point of view, but when you put your ideas together , the result came out better than before.

3. Why did you decide to study ___ at this particular university?

A good way to answer this question is to (1) outline how you became interested in the subject (school, lifelong passion), (2) how you decided to deepen your knowledge in the field, or want to specialize in a specific subject area. Most importantly, to apply this answer to the specific job, you can add:

• “I feel that the courses I have taken as part of this degree, such as A and B, have taught me the analytical/quantitative/problem-solving skills that can be applied to this particular position.”

For the part of the question why you have chosen this university, you could name several reasons that outline (1) the excellent reputation of the university, (2) the department in which you studied, (3) the diverse range of clubs , sport and society, (4) the people or (5) the environment and the culture of the university. For example, you could add flavor to your answer by adding:

• “Most importantly, this university is known for producing well-rounded, highly qualified individuals who are very well prepared for the ‘real world’. In this case I wanted to be ready and equipped to enter the business world and I feel I am after attending this college.’

Now you know what makes a good interview Businessacademy1 answer, use it as often as you can, and set yourself on the path to a successful post-college career. Much luck!

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