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Final Interviews

29 September 2015 |

Whilst three or four structured reasons for wanting to work at a particular firm may scrape you through an interview to secure an internship, much more may be expected of you in an end-of-internship interview. Having spent a number of weeks immersed in a firm's culture, meeting many employees and engaging in real work, your reasons for wanting to work at the firm will have to be more personal, more substantive and less reliant on graduate recruitment marketing materials.

Ask yourself whether there was a similar type of personality within the firm. Were there people you particularly enjoyed meeting? Was there a culture that really resonated with you (if so, describe this culture and why it appeals)? Were there pieces of work that you felt were particularly interesting and indicative of the type of work that the firm carries out? Did you attend a presentation on the structure of the training that helped to differentiate the firm from its competitors or suggested that the firm"s approach to developing its employees aligns with your preferred means of learning and developing?

Be ready to discuss the work you have completed in detail and how this work fits in with the wider context of the firm's operations. Prepare some carefully considered questions for your interviewers. These might relate to the firm"s culture, its future strategies, the challenges it is facing (or may face in the future), its training or anything else you can think of that demonstrates your genuine interest in working there. If you do ask about the firm"s challenges and future strategies however, make sure you have undertaken some related research as you may be asked to express a personal opinion.

Be prepared to give feedback. What have you enjoyed? What did you not enjoy? How does the firm compare to other firms you have interned at? Has your opinion of the firm changed since your internship commenced? If so, how? What has differed from your expectations and preconceptions?