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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

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Answering with your evidence to hand

An interview is won on precise, verifiable examples. Preparation starts from your actual work, turns it into short narratives and trains you to answer in the format that recruiters themselves use, question after question.

The method, in four moves

  1. 01

    Choosing the example

    A real piece from the programme or the field, that you know well enough to answer three consecutive questions about.

  2. 02

    Setting the context in one sentence

    The organisation, the stake, the constraint. A recruiter needs those three to judge what follows.

  3. 03

    Saying what you carried out

    First person, action verbs, decisions taken. This is the part most often wrongly cut short.

  4. 04

    Ending on the result

    What changed, and what you learned. An example ending with no result leaves your listener halfway across.

Recurring questions, and what they are after

The questionWhat it seeksWhat you draw on
« Tell me about yourself »Your ability to situate your plan in a minuteThe opening sentence of your file
« A problem you solved »Your method, more than the resultA piece from the programme, context included
« What your training gave you »What you can carry out, by nameThe competence blocks of the title prepared
« A disagreement inside a team »How you work with othersA group assignment and its record of decisions
« Where do you see yourself next »The fit between your plan and the roleThe written criterion from the guidance appointment

What you bring with you

  • The skills file, in a version viewable on a phone
  • The award's verification address, openable in front of your interviewer
  • Two pieces of work, ready to open if the question comes
  • Three questions to ask, showing what you have understood about the role

The admission interview, a first rehearsal

The motivation interview that opens the programme follows the same format as most professional interviews: thirty minutes, remote, in a slot you choose, around your plan. It is therefore a first rehearsal under real conditions, and the reasoned decision that follows tells you what landed and what would gain from being phrased differently.

of admission interview
30 minutes

The reason is written in every case.

for the reasoned decision
10 jours ouvrés

If your documents are ready.

to submit an application
15 minutes

Questions about interviews

How many examples should I prepare?

Three are enough, chosen to cover different situations: a technical resolution, a piece of teamwork, a decision taken under constraint. One example will serve several questions, provided you know it well enough to approach it from several angles.

How do I talk about an unconventional path?

By presenting it as a trajectory, with what each step taught you to carry out. A path carried by a clear plan tells better than a linear one with no direction, and that is exactly what the admission interview already works on with you.

What do I answer about the value of my award?

Open the verification address in front of them: they read the title, the date, the taught volume and the validated skills. Evidence consulted live settles the question better than any explanation.

Answering with your evidence to hand — Support | IHETC — IHETC