If your grad landed an interview, congratulations! That’s a big milestone. Now comes the fun part: helping them prep with intention (and not wing it). Interviews can feel daunting, especially for first-timers, but a little guidance goes a long way. Here’s how your college grad can take the lead and walk into their next interview confident, prepared, and ready to shine.
As a parent, you’ve likely supported your child through it all: from taking their first steps to filling out college applications. Now you’re watching them transition into a very competitive job market where preparation isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. And with the way headlines read today, it’s clear the career playbook we had as new grads years ago looks nothing like it does now.
In this post, we’ll cover simple ways to support your recent grad as they prep for the job interview process. And if they are struggling to land interviews, check out this recent post on how to network to surface job opportunities. It’s a great foundation for this Recent College Grad Career series.
Step #1. Start with Role & Company Research
First off, if your grad landed an interview, that’s worth celebrating! If they did the work to get to this point, it’s important they dedicate the time to prepare for the interview vs try to wing it. This isn’t like college where you can cram for it the night before and expect it to go well. Encourage your grad to start by looking up the company’s website. They should read the About section, explore recent press releases, look at recent media coverage and even review quarterly results if available. This helps them understand the company’s values, goals, and major initatives so they can provide tailored responses that align to what matters most to the company.
While it’s ideal to talk to current employees through the networking process about the culture, sites like Glassdoor or Indeed can offer helpful insights into what it’s like to work at the company and understand employee sentiment (just take it with a grain of salt. It’s much better to talk to current employees).
In addition to doing their own research, they can use this prompt below in ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot to synthesize relevant info to help them prep:
AI Prompt: “Summarize what [Job Title] at [Company] typically does and highlight the company’s recent priorities or initiatives based on their website and recent news.”
This quick exercise will help them connect the dots between their skills and what matters most to the employer, and will convey to the hiring manager they have done their research.
Step #2. Research the Interviewers
Encourage your grad to ask the recruiter or hiring manager who they’ll be meeting with during the interview process. They may not always get a full list in advance, but if they do, have them look up each interviewer’s LinkedIn profile to learn about their background, role, and any shared connections or interests. This small step can give them an edge and make it easier to break the ice, especially in video or panel interviews.
Remember that the interviewer may get a notification that their profile was viewed and by whom. Ensuring your grad has a job-ready LinkedIn profile is worth doing first. This kind of advanced preparation can help them stand out before they even get in the virtual room.
Step #3. Craft a Personal Introduction
One of the most common (and deceptively tough) interview questions is, “Tell me about yourself.”
Coach your grad to craft a short, engaging intro that highlights their academic background, relevant experience, and enthusiasm for the role. For example:
“I just earned my degree in psychology and recently completed an internship at a community health center where I supported wellness workshops for teens. I’m excited to bring my curiosity about people and motivation into a role where I can keep learning and make a meaningful impact.”
Avoid having them memorize a script. Instead, help them practice so they feel natural and confident when the question comes up.
“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
— Paul “Bear” Bryant
Step #4. Review Common Questions and Develop Answers (With Examples!)
I’m working on a dedicated post that will dive into the different types of interview questions and include a detailed guide you can provide your grad. I’ll also provide a couple frameworks they can use to strengthen their responses. In the meantime, your grad can use ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot or their favorite AI tool to generate common questions based on the role. Some companies actually provide guidance on the interview process and how to prep for an interview in their careers section so it’s wise to see if that’s an available resource. Here’s an example from Microsoft for early in profession roles in the careers section of the website. For more technical roles at companies like Amazon, Netflix, Google etc., here’s a resource called Interviewing.io that provides interview expectations by company.
Step #5. Help Them Prep Questions to Ask
Hiring managers expect candidates to ask questions during the interview; it shows curiosity and initiative. Encourage your grad to prep at least 3-5 questions to ask during the interview that includes a mix of questions about the role, the team and the company. While it’s tempting to ask generic questions, encourage them to add specificity.
Remember, interviewing is a two way street. Your grad should be using it as an opportunity to assess the role, the culture and the people they would be working with. Here are a few sample quesitons:
1. “What would you consider a successful first 90 days in this role?”
→ Simple, confident, and professional. It invites the interviewer to share priorities and learn what the short term expectations are of someone in this role.
2. “If I were starting in this role tomorrow, what would be most impactful to support you and the team?”
→ Conversational and proactive. Gets the hiring manager to envision your grad in the role and shows initiative along with a “ready-to-contribute” mindset.
3. “What are the biggest challenges someone in this role might face?”
→ This is a great question to gain different perspectives from the interview team and be able to provide follow up answers in email about how they can address the challenges.
Their questions should reflect genuine interest and, ideally, tie back to something they learned during their research.
Step #6. Build in Interview Practice
Encourage them to run a mock interview with someone they feel comfortable with so they build up their confidence. Practicing out loud multiple times is helpful so it becomes more like story telling vs feeling clunky in the moment.
Some people benefit from recording themselves and watching it back to see where they can improve tone, pacing or body language.
If your grad doesn’t want to practice with you (shocking, I know), there are cost effective digital AI tools you can purchase like Yoodli.ai and Propare.ai they can experiment with. I haven’t tried these specific features out myself but it’s an option your digital native might appreciate more than practicing with a parent 😉
More to come in this series. Stay tuned for more specific tips on the actual interview, including the differnt types of questions they might receive and how best to follow up after the interview.
Thanks for reading and sharing. xx
