Staying Authentic During the Application & Interview Process

Early Careers recruitment expert Darren Page, with experience in sectors ranging from Big Four consulting to the Civil Service, shares his advice on remaining your genuine self while navigating modern application tools and standing out to recruiters.

Navigating Applications with AI

Use AI to help you build research and speed up your knowledge acquisition, which can aid in planning your application.
If you use AI-produced information, you must personalise it and tailor the content to reflect your own reasons and motivations for applying.
Avoid simply generating an answer with AI and then doing a ‘lift and shift’ into your application, as recruiters can easily detect content that lacks personal thought.
Be aware that AI detection software can identify if responses are scripted versus conversational.

Showcasing Your Successes

To determine what is relevant, study the person specification or detailed criteria provided alongside the job advert.
Draw on your own experiences to give examples of when you demonstrated the required attributes, not theoretical definitions of what leadership or teamwork looks like.
Leverage your self-awareness to talk about where you excel, but also show the maturity to discuss areas where the role will enable you to develop further.
Before you apply, ask yourself why you are applying and use that answer to focus your application.
Employers know graduates are at the start of their journey and are looking for individuals who can grow, not just for technical experts.

Selecting and Presenting Relevant Experience

View the interview as your opportunity to celebrate the successes you have had, as you have been invited based on merit.
Be honest about your achievements. You are unlikely to come across as arrogant or bragging unless you significantly overstep the mark.
When discussing your achievements, ensure you provide enough evidence to meet the specific criteria. Recruiters cannot ‘second guess’ or assume the depth of your experience.

General Interview and Assessment Centre Advice

Video Interviews: It will be detrimental to use AI tools to script your answers, as software can pick up non-verbal cues (such as looking away) and a scripted tone. Keep notes to one or two key words rather than long, grammatical notes.
Assessment Centres: Don’t view the other people in the room as competition. It is about being yourself and being friendly to other candidates.
Passion: Talk about something you enjoy and are passionate about early on in the interview, as this naturally demonstrates engagement and sets a high benchmark for the rest of your answers.
Authenticity: The worst thing you can do is fake your personality or skills to get a job that is not right for you, as you will not be able to keep the act up in the role, wasting your time and the employer’s.