Wear something respectful. I’m not saying a full suit and tie. Just a clean shirt and jeans, and make sure you’re happy with your hair. No one needs to look like they’re going out to a gala at an interview, but coming in with a crop top and jeans with holes in the knees is a big red flag because it shows you don’t respect how they’d ask you to dress for work.
Try to be there a few minutes early, so you’re not rushing for time. Worst case scenario is you're way too early and you can go get a coffee beforehand, or call a friend and chat until it’s time to go inside.
Put your phone on silent, or do not disturb, or even airplane mode if you have to - your phone interrupting in the middle of questions is just rude.
If you don’t know who you’re there to see, just tell someone you have an interview. You don’t need to remember all the names just yet anyway.
If they offer you a drink, gratefully accept. This will give you something to fiddle with to help calm down, and it’s a pro strat that you can take a sip before answering a question to give yourself more time to answer.
All they really want to hear is common sense and that you’re willing to try things. Remember, these are just people. They interview a lot of people, they’ll forget most of your answers within a day or two and only remember your vibe.
Nervousness is okay. Honestly, saying you’ve never done this before is a good thing - it takes the pressure off.
Listen to their question, and ask them to repeat it or rephrase it if you need to. If you haven’t thought about it before that moment, tell them you need a second to collect your thoughts before you answer. The best way to answer things is honestly, but without dragging on forever.
99% of questions will have answers that follow the same structure. How did you approach a situation? What actions did you take to handle it? How did it turn out? And what would you change next time?
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Common things they might ask in a job interview, and how to answer
Can you tell us a time when you got stuck on a challenging issue?
They want to hear that you have the ability to work through things even if they’re hard.
Tell them about anything, like a hard test at school.
How did you push through it? Did you ask for help? Did you slow down and approach it differently?
And how did it turn out at the end? Are you happy with the result? If you failed to resolve your issue, what did you learn? How will you try not to fail a similar thing next time?
Tell us about a time you had a conflict or disagreement.
They want to know you can work with difficult people, and resolve issues. And that you can bounce back and keep going afterwards.
First of all, acknowledge that conflict is inevitable. Everyone is unique, and disagreements are bound to happen in life. Being able to work through it and keep moving forward is an important life skill. You could work with people from all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles. Knowing how to work through not liking something or someone when you have to is important.
Think of a time you had a silly fight with a sibling or friend. A time you worked in a group where you couldn’t all decide what to do on a project. Anything where you had to problem solve and compromise.
What did you do to get through it? Communicate? Split the group up and take a breather before trying to talk again? Involve a mediator/extra person to help keep things on track?
How did you resolve it? Did everyone agree, or did someone win and someone lose? Was that a good or bad outcome?
What would you do next time to prevent a similar thing? And if you can’t prevent it, would you solve it the same way, or a different way?
Tell us about a time something didn't go quite as planned.
Another resilience question. Except this time they don’t want to hear how it all worked out in the end. They want to know you can accept bad things happen and you don’t always win.
What was the original plan? What went wrong?
Could it have been prevented, or was it sheer dumb luck?
What did you do to get through it?
How did it turn out in the end? Were you angry or sad or disappointed? How did you manage those feelings? What was the impact of the whole situation?
What would you do if you saw a coworker doing something unsafe, or against the rules?
This is a common one if it’s your first job. They want to know you’re there for the company - not for your friends. (This is a terrible mindset from them, but an unfortunate reality in the working world. We’ll just ignore that for now).
They want to hear that safety is everyone’s responsibility. That everyone has to work together to keep a workplace safe for themselves and each other.
They want to hear that you won’t rush in and get yourself hurt trying to be a hero. Or that you’re not going to get involved and break rules too. That instead, you’d stand back and make sure you’re not in danger, and call out to the person and tell them to stop the behaviour.
Then, they want to hear that you’d tell a supervisor or manager so the issue can be resolved.
Ultimately - this probably isn’t always what you’d actually do. But it’s what they want to hear, and that’s the game you're playing when you’re in the interview chair.
What do you think is a strength of yours?
This is so not the time to be a smartass. They want to know what practical skill you're good at, and sets you apart from other people.
The best way to answer this is to expand on one of your resume skills. I went into depth about how to do that in a different post - so I won’t get into it here and repeat myself.
What do you think is a weakness of yours/an opportunity for you to grow?
Something like “I care too much” or "I work too hard” is garbage here. Highlighting a positive trait and pretending it’s a flaw is not the answer.
They’re looking for ways to help you grow and build skills. If you’ve never had a job before, that is a golden opportunity for you to crush this answer.
Having not had a paid job before, I think I have a lot of skills that will need developing and sharpening to be a great worker.
Explain your opportunity for growth. What you’d like to get better at, or what you know you can do better in.
Tell them why they should give you the chance. Explain that you're an eager learner, that you like a challenge, and that you’re not afraid to ask for help to get better at something.
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At the end of every interview, they’ll probably ask if you have any questions for them. I know you’re itching to ask how much you’ll get paid - but that shouldn’t be your first question if you can avoid it.
Ask them what the process is from here, if they haven’t explained that yet. Will there be a follow up interview, what is the timeline to hear if you’re successful, and when would they be looking to have you start if you get the job are all great questions.
Now you can ask what the expected pay rate is. It would be rare to hear an answer above the minimum wage for a first job, but it never hurts to know before signing the paperwork.
And leave them on a positive note. I like to ask “what is your favourite thing about working here”? or “what is the most fun task you do?” It makes the interviewer have to think, leaves you with something positive to look forward to if you get the role, and will make you stand out as someone willing to listen, not just talk.
Best of luck to you when you get to this step. It can be scary, but it’s so worth it to push through.