Choosing career advice for interviews and salary discussions

Katerina Galkina · EN · 07/10/2026

Decide what help you need

A careers adviser helps with direction and a search plan; an industry mentor explains the profession; a recruiter finds candidates for an employer. One person may combine roles, but their interests and service outcomes differ. Define the task first: a CV review, English interview practice, a sector change or salary-range research.

For an initial discussion, use official careers support ↗. In England, the page directs adults to the current DWP Jobs and Careers Service; other UK nations have separate routes. Do not rely on old service names or telephone details from past conversations.

Assess a paid adviser

Look for experience of your industry, seniority and British recruitment. Ask them to explain their method and show an anonymised example of the output. Reviews are useful when they describe a specific service. A guaranteed-offer promise is not evidence of expertise.

Before paying, agree session length, language, preparation, revision allowance, total package price, cancellation and confidentiality. A single diagnostic session can be sensible before committing to a larger package. The official mentoring guide ↗ also suggests routes through employers and educational institutions.

Prepare for interview practice

Send the adviser the vacancy, current CV and recruitment stage. Ask for a realistic mock interview with follow-up questions, followed by separate feedback on content and English. Prepare examples of a project outcome, conflict, mistake, prioritisation and teamwork.

The official interview tips ↗ focus on the role's requirements and concrete previous experience. Do not memorise someone else's perfect answer: it will fail when the interviewer probes. After practice, keep short prompts and rehearse difficult explanations aloud.

Discussing salary

Collect recent adverts with comparable duties, seniority, location and working patterns. Compare gross annual base pay, bonus, pension, holiday and expected hours. State an evidence-based range and ask about the role's budget rather than trying to guess one perfect figure.

Ask the adviser what supports their estimate. A market range does not guarantee an offer, and your personal expenses do not establish your value to an employer. The consultation should leave you with an improved document, practised answers and specific next actions you can carry out independently.