Most candidates answer “What are your core values?” with a list of virtues: honesty, integrity, hard work. The interviewer nods, writes nothing down and moves on, because every other candidate said the same. A values answer becomes useful only when it shows how a value has changed what you actually did, especially when doing the right thing cost you something.
A workable answer names two or three values, defines each in your own words and backs at least one with a short example of a decision it shaped. Where you can do so honestly, show how your values overlap with the employer’s published ones. The six steps below build that answer from scratch.
Why employers ask about values
Some organisations build part or all of their selection process around values. Graduate careers site targetjobs explains that values-based questions assess how well you match the employer as a whole, rather than your skills for a specific role, and that they can sit alongside competency and strengths questions or form an entire interview. It lists the NHS, the NSPCC, the College of Policing, Arup, Danone and the Financial Conduct Authority among employers that have often focused on values, and notes the approach is common where mistakes could cause serious harm or where brand trust matters. It also reports Institute of Student Employers figures showing 36% of large graduate recruiters used values-based approaches in 2020.
Even where an employer does not run formal values-based recruitment, the question gives the interviewer a quick way to judge self-awareness and whether you would be comfortable in the team. For broader questions about fitting into a team’s way of working, culture-fit questions follow a related logic; this guide stays with your personal values.
Step 1: Collect values from evidence, not from a list
Starting from a list of attractive words produces generic answers. Start from your own history instead. Write brief notes on:
- A time at work or study when you were proud of how you behaved, not just of the result.
- A time something made you angry or uncomfortable at work. Frustration often points to a value being breached.
- A decision where you gave something up (time, money, credit, an easier option) to do what you thought was right.
- The colleague or manager you most respected, and the specific behaviour you respected.
Now ask what each story has in common. The values that recur are your real ones.
If you need vocabulary, the US O*NET occupational database groups work values into six broad categories: Achievement, Working Conditions, Recognition, Relationships, Support and Independence. These are a useful prompt for thinking about what you need from work, though in an interview you will usually want something more specific than a category name.
Step 2: Turn each value into a behaviour
A value word means different things to different people. “Integrity” to one person is never shading the truth to a client; to another, it is finishing what you promised even when nobody checks. Rewrite each value as a sentence that describes what you do.
| Value word | Vague | Behavioural definition |
|---|---|---|
| Honesty | “I’m an honest person.” | “I flag bad news early, even when it’s my mistake.” |
| Fairness | “I believe in fairness.” | “I make sure the person who did the work gets named when it’s presented upwards.” |
| Craft | “I care about quality.” | “I’d rather ship something smaller that works properly than something bigger that needs fixing.” |
| Reliability | “I’m dependable.” | “If I commit to a deadline, I either meet it or tell people well before it slips.” |
| Respect | “I respect everyone.” | “I adjust how I explain things to the person in front of me rather than expecting them to adjust to me.” |
The right-hand column is what the interviewer remembers. All rows are illustrative.
Step 3: Read the employer’s values properly
targetjobs advises checking the “our values” section of an employer’s website, its recruitment pages, news and annual reports before the interview. Many organisations go further and break each value into expected behaviours.
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, for example, publishes its values as Continuous improvement, Accountability, Respect, Enthusiasm and Support, with sample questions for each. Under accountability, the trust’s examples ask candidates to describe a mistake they made or how they handled competing priorities. That tells you something important: a values question is often a behavioural question in disguise.
When you read the employer’s list, look for:
- Genuine overlap with your behavioural definitions from Step 2. These are the values to lead with.
- Behaviour statements under each value, which hint at the stories they want to hear.
- Values you do not share. You do not have to mention them, but notice them. A strong mismatch is worth weighing before accepting an offer.
Step 4: Choose two or three
One value sounds thin; five sounds like a recitation. Pick two or three using this order of priority:
- A value you can prove with a strong example.
- A value that overlaps with the employer’s, honestly.
- A value that matters for the role itself. Accuracy suits a compliance post; patience suits a patient-facing one.
Avoid choosing values only because they appear on the employer’s website. The interviewer has read that list many times and can tell when it is being repeated back.
Step 5: Attach a short story to your lead value
Mersey Care’s guidance to candidates is direct: do not just say you share a value, give examples, and those examples do not have to come from work. A short situation-action-result outline is enough here; you do not need a full competency answer unless the interviewer asks for one.
The strongest stories have a cost: you chose the value over something easier. Telling a manager about a reporting error you found in your own work, pushing back on cutting a safety step, or turning down a quick sale to a customer who did not need the product all show a value under pressure.
Step 6: Assemble and rehearse
Put it together in this order: name the values, define the lead one, give its example, connect to the employer in one line. Aim for about 90 seconds.
Illustrative answer: finance graduate applying to an audit firm
“The two values I’d say really drive how I work are accuracy and candour. Accuracy for me means I check my own numbers before anyone else has to. Candour means I’d rather tell someone about a problem early than let them find it late.
During my internship I was reconciling supplier payments and found an error in a spreadsheet I had submitted the week before. It was small, and nobody had noticed, but it fed into a monthly report. I told my supervisor that afternoon, corrected it, and suggested a simple check column we then added to the template. It was uncomfortable, but it meant the report went out right.
I noticed that professional scepticism and integrity are both in your values statement, and that’s a big part of why audit appeals to me.”
Why it works: two values with behavioural definitions, one story where the value cost something, a concrete improvement, and a brief, honest link to the employer.
Illustrative answer: experienced customer service supervisor
“Respect and ownership. Respect means I treat every customer complaint as information, not an attack, and I expect my team to do the same. Ownership means if something reaches me, I follow it to the end even if another department caused it. Last year a customer’s refund had been bounced between three teams for a month. I took it on, tracked down who could approve it, and called the customer myself when it was done. We then changed the handover note so it couldn’t happen the same way again.”
When your values and theirs pull in different directions
Sometimes your research turns up an awkward gap. An employer that prizes speed and “bias for action” may unsettle someone whose strongest value is thoroughness. Do not pretend the tension does not exist. Present your value with its limit: “I’m careful by instinct, and I’ve learnt to match the level of checking to the risk. A draft social post doesn’t need the same review as a client invoice.” That shows judgement, which most employers value more than a perfect match.
targetjobs also warns against questioning the employer’s values, being vague about your own, or answering with cynicism. If you have serious doubts, save them for the questions you ask at the end, phrased as curiosity: “How does the team balance speed against accuracy in practice?”
Common mistakes
- Listing values with no evidence. The interviewer cannot score a word.
- Choosing values that are really skills. “Communication” and “Excel” are capabilities, not values.
- Copying the employer’s list word for word. Overlap is good; recitation is not.
- Stories where the value cost nothing. Being honest when it was easy proves little.
- Inconsistency with the rest of the interview. If you claim collaboration as a core value, your other answers should not all be about solo achievements.
If the same values appear in your personal statement or summary, keep the wording consistent with what you will say in the room; the cover letter guide covers how to show motivation on paper without empty adjectives. Graduates building a first CV around values and projects rather than job titles may find the fresh graduate resume builder a practical starting point.
Frequently asked questions
How many core values should I mention?
Two or three. One gives the interviewer too little; more than three becomes a list without depth. Lead with the one you can support best.
Can my example come from outside work?
Yes. Values-based recruiters such as Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust state that examples can come from any area of experience. Volunteering, study, caring responsibilities and sport all count.
What if the employer does not publish its values?
Look at how it describes itself in job adverts, its careers pages and any public reports. Then lead with values that suit the role itself, such as accuracy for finance or patience for patient-facing work.
Is “family” or “faith” an acceptable answer?
They may be your deepest values, and you are free to mention them, but you are not obliged to share personal beliefs in an interview. Most candidates choose values that show up in how they work, which gives the interviewer something to assess.
How is this different from a strengths question?
A strength is something you are good at. A value is something you care about enough to act on when it is inconvenient. The two can overlap, but a values answer should show a choice, not just a capability.
Sources
- Answering values-based interview questions for graduate jobs, targetjobs (checked 2026-11-03)
- Values based questions, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (checked 2026-11-03)
- O*NET 30.0 Data Dictionary: Work Values, O*NET Resource Center (checked 2026-11-03)