Top Internship Interview Questions You Must Prepare for in 2022

by Hiration

In today’s job market, with fierce competition, simply having a good degree as a fresher is not enough to land great jobs.

Most recruiters now look for candidates who have at least a few months of internship experience under their belt.

And besides making your resume and candidacy look good, internships help you gain hands-on experience and skills while offering a possibility of a full-time job in the same position.

Therefore, if you want to solidify your chances of getting hired for an internship, you must prepare well for internship interview questions.

The only way to build confidence, reduce nerves, and ace the interview is through proper preparation, including thorough research and practice.

Read on to learn more about internship interview questions and related FAQs like the following:

How Should I Prepare for an Internship Interview?


Preparing well before an internship interview is crucial because you only get one chance at interviews - there are no retakes.

Follow the below-given guidelines that will help you fortify your interview preparation and double your chances of getting hired:

Do Your Research


Research is vital when it comes to preparing for internship interview questions.

Learning about the company’s mission, values, milestones, products, and services will help you form impressive answers to common internship interview questions like “what do you know about the company?” or “Why do you want to work for us?”.

Plus, it shows that you’re genuinely interested in working for the company and are not simply walking in for the first interview callback you received.

Also Read: How to research the company before going in for an interview in 2022?

Analyze the Job Description


The job description provided in the listing by the recruiters is key to understanding the top requirements and expectations of the role.

When you have clarity about the same, you can align your skills, knowledge, and academic achievements to showcase that you’re capable of meeting the role expectations.

The job description will also give you an idea about the type of internship interview questions that recruiters will likely ask you.

Also Read: How to analyze the job description to prepare for an interview?

Practice Common Internship Interview Questions


Knowing what to expect is best to gain confidence and reduce nerves for your upcoming internship interview.

Familiarize yourself with the common internship interview questions and practice delivering answers out loud.

Identify projects, coursework, and skills that you’re going to talk about in your answers, and create a mental outline of the key points that you’d like to highlight.

But, you must avoid mugging up the answers. The point is simply to get comfortable with the flow and build confidence.

Prepare Questions


At the end of the internship interview, recruiters will most likely ask you if you have any questions for them.

If you haven’t prepared a couple of thoughtful questions for the recruiters, you can come off as a candidate who isn’t really interested in the position.

Hence, to avoid such scenarios and to learn more about the role and the company, you must prepare at least 3-4 questions for the recruiters.

Also Read: What are the best questions to ask an interviewer during a job interview?

Common Internship Interview Questions and Answers


Given below are some of the general internship interview questions that recruiters can ask for any job profile:

Tell Me About Yourself


Although this question seems straightforward and simple, you must put some thought into it as it can set the tone for the rest of your internship interview.

Avoid providing excessive personal details about yourself in your answer and focus on highlighting your skills, qualifications, and academic accomplishments that are relevant to the role.

Ensure to keep your answer brief and professional.

Sample Answer:

“My name is Jane Swift and I’m a 21-year-old graduate from Stanford University with a degree in marketing. I maintained a GPA of 3.8 through the final year of my study and took part in various marketing projects and contributed to the team by strategizing online and offline marketing campaigns, which resulted in a 20% increase in organic traffic to the college admissions website. And I believe with my knowledge of the latest industry trends and innovative ideas, I can become a valuable addition to your stellar workforce.”

Why Do You Want to Do an Internship with Us?


With this question, the recruiters want to know about your intentions and see how serious are you about the position.

Leverage the research you’ve done about the company and show the recruiters how you’re a good fit for the role, not just in terms of qualifications but culturally as well.

Your answer can also tell the recruiters how this position aligns with your future goals.

Sample Answer:

“I’m an avid user of your company’s products and it has been nothing short of inspiring to see your company’s come up in the market within a short time. Your brand’s mission to bring quality products to customers in a clean and sustainable way resonates with my personal values of being environmentally conscious. And I couldn’t think of a better way to kickstart my professional journey than by leveraging my knowledge and skills to become a contributing team member of a company like yours.”

Why Do You Want to Work in This Industry?


Recruiters ask this question to see how passionate you are about the industry and the role.

Your answer must state your reasons for choosing the industry and briefly explain how this internship position will help you realize your future goals.

Sample Answer:

“Since the time I can remember, I’ve always been a people person. I love meeting new people and understanding the different perspectives they have. And when I choose sales and marketing as my major in college, it became certain to me that the customer service industry suited me the best. I would love nothing more than to kickstart my career in this industry with this position, gain valuable experiences, and learn from the best.”

Also Read: What are the most common job interview questions of 2022?

Accounting Internship Interview Questions


Listed below are some of the common role-specific accounting internship interview questions for your reference:

  • According to you, what is the most challenging aspect of accounting, and why so?
  • Why did you choose accounting as your major?
  • How familiar are you with bookkeeping software and MS Office?
  • What are the 3 main financial statements and how do you prepare them?
  • What qualities make a good accountant?
  • What do you do to reduce accounting mistakes in your daily workload?
  • How do you stay abreast with the latest accounting trends?

Also Read: What are the top accounting interview questions and sample answers?

Engineering Internship Interview Questions


The following are some of the common engineering internship interview questions you can prepare for:

  • Why did you choose to pursue a career in engineering?
  • What skills do you have that will help you excel as an engineering intern?
  • Tell me about the most challenging engineering college project you’ve worked on.
  • Describe a written technical report or presentation you had to complete.
  • Which engineering software packages are you familiar with?
  • Why should we hire you as an engineering intern?
  • What motivates you?

Also Read: What are some of the common engineering interview questions in 2022?

Points to Remember from the Blog


  • Besides making your resume and candidacy look good, internships help you gain hands-on experience and skills.
  • Preparing well before internship interview questions is crucial because you only get one chance at interviews - there are no retakes.
  • You can prepare for internship interview questions by researching the company, analyzing the job description, practicing your answers, and preparing some questions that you’d like to ask the interviewers.
  • “Tell me about yourself” “why do you want to do an internship with us?” and “Why did you choose this industry” are some of the common internship interview questions.

Should you require expert guidance to help you prepare for internship interview questions, visit Hiration’s Career Activator Platform with round-the-clock chat support. You can also reach us at support@hiration.com.