Work Experience Placement Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Most Work Experience Placement interviews in the UK follow a pattern, and knowing it beats guessing. Below are eight questions from our bank of 25, each with a note on what the interviewer is really after.

Eight Work Experience Placement interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. Why do you want to do your work experience placement with us?

Why they ask: They want to know you chose the placement for a reason and are not simply filling a school requirement.

2. What do you know about what we do here?

Why they ask: A simple check that you have done basic research.

3. What would you like to learn or achieve during the week?

Why they ask: They are checking that you have sensible goals and will make the most of the week.

4. What do you think are the most important health and safety rules in a workplace?

Why they ask: Young people on placement must understand basic safety rules.

5. What does it mean to be professional in the workplace, and how would you show it?

Why they ask: Teachers and employers look for professional behaviour from pupils on placement.

6. How would you make sure you arrive on time every day?

Why they ask: Punctuality is an easy, important signal of reliability.

7. On your second day, nobody has given you anything to do. What would you do?

Why they ask: They want to see maturity and initiative from a young person.

8. Tell me about a time you were responsible for something at school or at home.

Why they ask: They want to see evidence of reliability from your daily life.

A sample answer to question 1

Why do you want to do your work experience placement with us?

I want to find out what it is really like to work in this kind of place, because I am thinking about a career in this area and I would like to be sure before I choose my sixth form or college subjects. I have read about what you do on your website, and I am especially interested in how the different teams work together. I also like that you take on young people for a week and give them real tasks, instead of just letting them watch. I hope to learn how a workplace runs day to day, improve my communication skills and find out what jobs I might not know about yet. Most of all, I would like to be useful to the team, even in small ways, while I learn.

Common mistake to avoid: Saying school made you; knowing nothing about the organisation

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 25 questions are on the Work Experience Placement interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.