Preparing for Your Interview at Kerry: A Guide for Early Career Candidates

Tips and Insights to Help You Succeed

Whether you're applying for an internship or a graduate role at Kerry, you're taking a meaningful step toward a career with purpose. Our Early Careers programmes are designed to give you real-world experience, exposure to global teams, and the opportunity to grow into future leadership roles. This guide will help you prepare for your interview and feel confident in showcasing your potential.

🌎Why Kerry?

At Kerry, we invest in future leaders. In fact, many of our senior leaders began their careers through our Early Careers programmes. Our graduate development journey is designed as a fast-track leadership accelerator, offering global exposure, cross-functional learning, and real business impact.

Internships serve as a valuable precursor to this journey, designed for current students - typically those in the middle of their studies - who want to gain hands-on experience, build their network, and get early access to our graduate opportunities.
We’re proud of our inclusive culture, our commitment to sustainability, and our purpose-led mission to make food and beverage healthier, tastier, and more sustainable.

🔍Do Your Research

Before your interview, take time to explore Kerry’s mission, values, and recent initiatives. Visit www.kerry.com and investigate our sustainability goals innovation in food science, and global reach.

💡Tip: Candidates who demonstrate familiarity with Kerry’s purpose and values often stand out. It shows us that you’ve taken the time to understand who we are—and that you’re thinking about how you could contribute. Try to connect your own values and interests to Kerry’s mission. For example, if you’re passionate about sustainability or innovation, be ready to talk about how that aligns with our work. This not only helps you stand out but also helps you assess whether Kerry is the right fit for you.
 

🧠`Understand the Role

Whether you're applying for an internship or a graduate role, review the job description carefully. Think about:

What skills are being asked for?

What experiences do I have in that match?

What excites me about this opportunity?

Internships are designed to give you a taste of life at Kerry and help you build the skills that will set you up for future success. Graduate roles, on the other hand, are two-year programmes with permanent contracts. They always include rotations, giving you exposure to different teams and functions, and are structured to accelerate your development into future leadership roles.
 

🎯Prepare Your Responses
 

Expect questions like:

“Why Kerry?”

“What excites you about this role?”

“Tell us about a time you overcame a challenge.”

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers. Be specific, and don’t be afraid to show personality—authenticity matters.

💭We want to hear how working at Kerry aligns with your goals. What do you hope to learn? How do you see this experience shaping your future?

Also, think about the skills you bring—both technical and soft. Whether it’s your ability to analyse data, communicate clearly, or adapt to new situations, make sure these strengths come through in your answers.

Take time to reflect on your motivations and how they connect to the role. What drew you to Kerry? What are you hoping to gain from this experience? The more clearly you can articulate this, the more compelling your responses will be.

🤝Practice Behavioural Questions

At Kerry, we use competency-based interviews to understand how you’ve approached real-life situations. These questions help us see how you think, solve problems, and work with others.

Prepare examples that highlight:

Teamwork and collaboration

Problem-solving and initiative

Resilience and adaptability

Communication and leadership

You can draw from academic projects, part-time jobs, volunteering, or personal experiences. What matters is how you approached the situation and what you learned.

💡Pro tip: Practice out loud. It helps you get comfortable with your stories and makes your delivery more natural. You might even consider recording yourself or doing a mock interview with a friend or mentor.

❓Ask Thoughtful Questions

Interviews at Kerry are a two-way conversation—and a two-way decision. We want to get to know you, and we want you to get to know us.

Preparing a list of questions shows genuine interest and helps you assess if this is the right fit. You might ask about:

Team dynamics and culture

Opportunities for growth and development

What success looks like in the role

Kerry’s plans in the function you’re applying to

Don’t be afraid to ask about the internship-to-graduate pathway or how interns are supported during their time with us. Your questions can help you understand how your career might evolve at Kerry—and show us that you’re thinking long-term.

📚Did You Know?

Kerry receives thousands of Early Careers applications annually, but only a select few are chosen for our high-impact programs.

Our graduate retention rate is among the highest in the industry, thanks to strong mentorship, structured learning, and real-world exposure.

Interns who perform well are fast-tracked to graduate assessment centres.

📚Useful Resources

www.kerry.com/careers/graduates

www.kerry.com/about/purpose

www.linkedin.com/company/kerry

💭Final Thoughts

Preparing for your interview at Kerry is more than rehearsing answers - it’s about discovering how your story fits into ours. Be confident, be curious, and be yourself. Whether you're applying for an internship or a graduate role, we’re excited to learn more about you.