[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-391673-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-391673-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","handout-for-interviewing-for-jobs-beyond-academia","Handout for Interviewing for Jobs Beyond Academia","","Handout outlining how to prepare for job interviews beyond academia, including typical interview, competency, strengths-based, motivation, and business awareness questions. Covers what interviewers may ask about weaknesses, pressure, career direction, salary expectations, and why the candidate is leaving research. Provides guidance for different formats—video, case study, and quantitative/technical interviews—emphasizing preparation, showcasing thinking process, technical setup, and realistic expectations when answers are unknown.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/handout-for-interviewing-for-jobs-beyond-academia/391673/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/handout-for-interviewing-for-jobs-beyond-academia/391673.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Kyle","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-25",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What are the typical questions candidates should prepare for in job interviews beyond academia?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Prepare for prompts about yourself, your CV, motivation for the role and company, sector choice, why they should hire you, your weakness, your 5-year career vision, and questions you want to ask them.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How should candidates prepare for competency questions?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Use concrete examples that demonstrate communication, attention to detail, process optimization, innovation, handling difficult clients, and times you made a mistake.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What special advice is given for video, case study, and quant/technical interviews?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"For video interviews, rehearse typical competency and motivation questions, test equipment, choose an energized time, and record with good camera framing. For case studies, practice many examples and review consultancy presentations. For quant/technical interviews, talk through your approach, avoid pretending to know, and expect moments where you do not know an answer.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},391673,1790673075,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,110,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":111,"preview_page_count":4},3985741905716,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Handout for Interviewing for Jobs Beyond Academia  \nPlease note that this course is a support for preparation for jobs that are not academic research jobs (postdocs, fellowships and lectureships) . For support with interviews for academic jobs there are other workshops available through ECRI  \nTYPICAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS  \nPrepare for all interviews  \n• Tell us about yourself  \n• Talk me through your CV  \n• Why do you want this role?  \n• Why do you want to work for us?  \n• Why have you chosen this sector?  \n• Why should we hire you?  \n• What is your weakness?  \n• Where do you see yourself in your career in 5 years time?  \n• What questions do you have for us?  \nCompetency questions  \n• Give an example of a time you demonstrated good communication skills  \n• Give an example of a time you had to pay attention to detail  \n• Give an example of a time you had to optimise a process  \n• Tell us about a time you were innovative  \n• Can you give us an example where you dealt with a difficult client?  \n• Tell me about a time you made a mistake  \nAbout you  \n• What is your proudest achievement in your current role?  \n• Why are you leaving your current position?  \n• What motivates you?  \n• What are your strengths?  \n• What is your weakness?  \n• How do you handle pressure?  \n• What is your salary expectation?  \n• Why do you not want to continue working in research?  \nStrengths based  \n• Tell me about an activity or task that comes easily to you.  \n• What energises you?  \n• What is always left on your to do list at the end of the day?  \n• Can you tell me about some everyday things you enjoy doing?  \n• Are you more of a details person or a big picture person?  \nBusiness awareness  \n• Who are our major competitors?  \n• Tell me about a major development in the field of XYZ. Why does this interest you?  \n• How should our industry respond to the demand to reduce carbon emissions?  \n• Referring to events reported in the media, what would you do? Technical questions Could be…  \n• In depth questions about aspects of your research  \n• Theories and processes which are particularly relevant to the company’s work/ research/ products  \n• A real life or imaginary scenario/problem  \n• Explaining a piece of equipment or diagram (Patent Attorney)  \nADVICE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTERVIEWS  \nVideo interviews  \nThese interviews are commonly used in recruitment for graduate jobs. You are asked to go to a website and record your answers to pre-set questions. The videos you record are then sent to the company to be reviewed by a selector. Tips are:  \n• Prepare for typical competency and motivation questions  \n• Check your technical set up works properly beforehand  \n• Choose a time to record the interview that suits you and when you are energized  \n• Look at the camera not your own face on the screen  \n• Put a sign on the door to stop people coming in  \n• Use a good camera  \nangle – not looking down onto the camera, but level with your eyes  \n• Think about what is behind you in the room, especially bright lights or distractions  \nCase study interviews  \nCommonly used in the consultancy sector. You are given a business problem or scenario and asked to talk through your recommendations. These are specialised and require a lot of preparation. It’s a good idea to practice as many as you can and attend presentations by consultancy firms (hosted by the Careers Service, advertised on JobsLive) as they often talk through case studies in these. Resources can be found at: Case study activities | Administration and support services | Imperial College London  \nQuant/Technical interviews  \nTechnical interviews are common for research jobs in industry or any technical role such as software development. If you are going for a job in finance you may get a quantitative finance interview. Interviews like these test your technical knowledge. Typically you are asked to solve a problem relating to the technical content of the role. They are testing your knowledge and how you think. F","cbCaiekGDiK8bYX5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiekGDiK8bYX5","pdf",112847,"English","# Typical interview questions\n## Advice for different types of interviews\n## Video interviews\n## Case study interviews\n## Quant/Technical interviews","[{\"question\":\"What are the typical questions candidates should prepare for in job interviews beyond academia?\",\"answer\":\"Prepare for prompts about yourself, your CV, motivation for the role and company, sector choice, why they should hire you, your weakness, your 5-year career vision, and questions you want to ask them.\"},{\"question\":\"How should candidates prepare for competency questions?\",\"answer\":\"Use concrete examples that demonstrate communication, attention to detail, process optimization, innovation, handling difficult clients, and times you made a mistake.\"},{\"question\":\"What special advice is given for video, case study, and quant/technical interviews?\",\"answer\":\"For video interviews, rehearse typical competency and motivation questions, test equipment, choose an energized time, and record with good camera framing. For case studies, practice many examples and review consultancy presentations. For quant/technical interviews, talk through your approach, avoid pretending to know, and expect moments where you do not know an answer.\"}]","Handout for Interviewing for Jobs Beyond Academia | PDF",1790357164]