Lots of internships interviews will have a section of competency questions like this, where you’re asked to provide an example of a time when you’ve exhibited a particular strength or behaviour.

The above is a common competency question in internship interviews because it is so broad and can be answered without needing a job or previous internship for examples. Our top tips are:

☛ DO use STAR to structure your answer, spending most time on the A and the R, rather than scene setting

☛ DON’T use an example where the problem was of your own making; equally, avoid ‘blaming’ someone else for the problem

☛ DO talk about what you did, rather than your coursemates, for example, as you are the only interesting person to the interviewers right now