Guides to application form questions
How to answer the questions UK placement and graduate scheme forms keep asking, each with a structure to follow and a fictional example answer.
How to answer "Why do you want to work for us?"
Name two or three things that are only true of this employer, and link each one to something you've actually done or want to learn. If your answer would still make sense with another company's name in it, it's too generic.
The STAR method for UK application forms, with examples
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It's a way to tell one specific example clearly. On a written form, keep the situation and task short and spend most of your words on what you did and what changed.
"Tell us about a time you worked in a team": how to answer
Pick one specific time a group had a shared goal and something got in the way. Spend most of your answer on what you personally did to help the team get there, then say what happened and what you learned.
Can you use ChatGPT for job applications? What UK employers say
Many UK employers accept AI help with ideas, structure and checking your writing, but not with inventing experience, copying generic answers or completing tests. The safe rule is that the facts must be yours, because interviewers ask about what you wrote.
Why do you want this placement? How to answer
Show that you understand what the placement actually involves, and connect two or three of its features to what you want to learn and what you've done so far. Recruiters know you have less experience than a graduate. They're looking for clear reasons and genuine interest.
Competency questions for graduate schemes: 13 examples
Competency questions ask for one real example of when you used a skill, usually starting "Tell us about a time…". The same 13 come up again and again, so prepare a bank of six to eight stories you can adapt, and answer each with STAR.