Here at The Upskill Company, we don’t focus on what you’ve done in the past, but rather on your potential to succeed in the new role. We strongly believe that personal qualities, motivation, and the ability to quickly learn new things are more important than the titles or degrees on your CV. That’s why our interviews are different from the traditional ones, where past experience and formal qualifications are usually the focus. Instead, we want to understand how you practically apply your competencies and how you can contribute in your future role.
To help you prepare in the best way possible, we’ve gathered five concrete tips that can increase your chances of acing the interview:
1. Study the job posting
Take your time to carefully go through the job posting and identify the competencies and requirements it describes. By understanding what we’re looking for and reflecting on how you specifically match this, you’ll boost your chances to ace the interview.
2. Use concrete examples to show us your competencies
Prepare yourself with clear examples that highlight your competencies. Think of specific situations where you’ve used your abilities to solve problems or reach goals, for instance through your analytical thinking, communication skills, or self-leadership. These examples give us a clearer picture of how you apply your competencies in practice and provide insight into how you’d act in similar situations going forward.
3. Show us how you fit with both our company and our clients’ values
We care a lot about our company values and our clients’ values, and we want to know how your personal values match up with them. Find out what we and the client you might potentially work for stand for, and prepare examples from your past experiences where you acted in line with similar values. For example, situations where you’ve demonstrated integrity, teamwork, or a strong desire to contribute to a culture that promotes responsibility, drive for change, and continuous learning. This helps us understand how well you’d fit into both our and the client’s company culture.
4. Present your unique contribution
In our recruitment process, it’s important not only to talk about what you’ve been a part of, but also to clearly show what you personally contributed with. We want to know how you personally impacted the outcomes of the projects or teams you’ve worked in. Focus on explaining your individual efforts and the measurable results they led to. We want to understand not just what was achieved, but how you specifically contributed to it.
5. Structure your answers using the STAR-method
Many of our interview questions are based on different situations and aim to understand how you’ve handled challenges in previous roles. By structuring your answers using the STAR method, you provide a clear and cohesive picture of how you approach problems and achieve results.
The STAR-method stands for:
Situation: Describe the specific situation you were facing.
Task: Explain what task or responsibility you had in the situation.
Action: Share the concrete steps you took to handle the situation.
Result: Describe the outcome of your actions, ideally with measurable or specific results.
We hope these tips help and give you a solid foundation to prepare for your interview. Good luck!