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Vacation scheme interview tips

I did three vacation schemes over the summer - the interviews were more difficult than I expected, and generally are very similar, if not the same as, the interview for a training contract. The main thing to do is make sure that you have a range of examples about where you show skills. This is where extra-curricular stuff really pays off! You need to have examples of where you show leadership skills, organisation, prioritisation, communication skills, teamwork, multitasking etc. It really helps thinking about this stuff in advance - firms do not like you using the same examples for everything. With commercial awareness, look at a deal in the FT, like a merger, takeover bid or a competition issue. Try to pick something that you were drawn to because of your outside interests e.g. the Cadbury deal because you love chocolate! Then think around the deal to the various legal issues that might be involved. Alongside picking an article and developing your idea about it, just keep looking on the BBC News website and make sure you are up to date on the financial crisis. However, I would suggest not bringing it up yourself - your interviewers will know a lot more about the situation in Greece than you! Still, I would concentrate more on finding examples of skills rather than being too concerned about commercial awareness. Some firms give you an article to discuss instead, where you basically need to show no prior knowledge at all! Hope this helps.

8-Feb-2012

2:49 pm