Last year, I was selected for the Chevening Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship, with an acceptance rate of 3%, run by the Chevening Awards for the UK Government.
With this being the season when interviews are being conducted, here are some tips for applicants interviewing:
Bring evidence
When I was going to my interview, I printed out evidence of all my past work relevant to securing a place on the programme.
This included clippings of newspaper articles, printed-out websites featuring my work with the The World Bank, UNICEF Innocenti, Our Future Agenda and my participation in the Global Leadership Challenge by the The Oxford Character Project and St. Gallen Symposium.
With Chevening being super competitive, this was my way of being memorable and showing real-time evidence of my impact.
Show passion:
In your answers, you need to come across as someone passionate about the field of study you have chosen, why you want to study in the UK and why you want to be on the Chevening programme.
You can do this by showing you have researched the Chevening programme and your course of study.
Master your Content
Review the essays you submitted for the application round. Understand them and refer to them during your interview. This will enable your answers to flow seamlessly. Mastering your content also includes showing a grasp of what the UK government is doing in your country and how they relate to your career plans after Chevening.
Show progression
When you submitted your application pack last year, you had a certain impact. You should be able to show at the interview what progress you have made in your work since the application round ended. By showing progression, you show commitment and dedication.
The STAR is your friend.
Use the STAR framework to communicate about your impact. STAR stands for Situation (what was happening), Task (what needed to be done), Action (what did you do), Results(what did you achieve)
I hope these tips help you in your interviews.
If you are not interviewing, repost/share with someone who may find this helpful.
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