For many international students, you may have failed your interview without knowing you made some common mistakes. Please see below 3 mostly asked questions and rectify your answer if you also made the same mistake.
[Question 1 What is your contribution in the project ? ]
Sounds easy right ? Please see below 2 answers and choose which one you believe you would go for.
A: I performed well in the project and collaborated smoothly with other team members. I did not make any mistake , and we had catch-up meeting every week to dicsuss progress. In the end, we achieved a 20% increase in sales and brought back 10% more clients.
B: I was in charge of streamlining the onboarding process and created a step-by-step guide for all clients. As a result, we saw a 20% increase in sales, and clients who benefited from the guide referred others, leading to a 10% growth in our client base.
While the first answer is not wrong, it doesn't focus on what you did in the project. Teamwork is important, but the purpose of the interview is to understand your individual contribution—not just what the team achieved. Modesty is a good virtue, but when you're competing with other candidates, you don’t want it to hold you back. So the answer is simple: in most cases, Answer B is preferred
[Question 2: Have you ever challenged your boss ?]
When asked such a question, what is your instinctive reaction? If you come from a culture where you're expected to respect decisions made by your seniors and avoid questioning authority, you may naturally demonstrate obedience—showing how you would follow your senior’s request without causing trouble. However, in UK work culture, unconditional obedience is not always seen as necessary or even as a positive quality. Instead, you're expected to ask questions. If you identify a problem in a project or see something that doesn’t make sense, speak up and ask. A good example is provided below:
A:I respect decisions made by my seniors, but I also ask questions when I see something that doesn’t make sense. In my previous role as a receptionist, I questioned the necessity of having all guests sign in twice, which caused unnecessary inconvenience for them and added time-consuming, meaningless administrative work. My manager agreed with my suggestion, and as a result, we changed the process so that guests only needed to sign in once upon entering the building. This saved us a significant amount of time that could be spent on more meaningful tasks.
[Question 3 How do you handle conflicts in a project ?]
To answer this question, never start with something irrelevant. Focus on what the interviewer is actually looking for—how you handle conflicts. Begin your answer with a clear and direct statement, such as: 'The way I deal with conflicts in a project is through effective communication with both parties.' You only have 2–3 minutes to make a strong impression, so avoid telling a long, detailed story. If the interviewer can’t grasp your main point within the first two minutes, there’s a good chance you won’t move forward in the hiring process.
Ending
In the next blog, we will discuss more interview questions that international students would fail without knowing they fail.
