If you are here because you have an upcoming interview and you’re not sure exactly how to get ready, this is the perfect post to read and it will guide you through how to prepare for an interview.
I’ll update it constantly so it holds all of the latest resources for interview preparation. Also, I’ve done plenty (maybe too many!) interviews in my career, so this advice is coming from a reliable source.
Preparing for an interview takes time and effort (that part is unavoidable). There are quite a few suggested resources here to help you cover your bases so use the below checklist to keep track:
1. Know the job you are interviewing for “inside and out”
It’s important to really understand the job description for many different reasons but the most important one is that you’ll need to know it so you can successfully prove you can do the job.
- Read this article about being able to relate your experience to the job description
- Use this template to go through a really important exercise (note: you will need to “save a copy” in order to edit the doc)
2. Do your research on the company you are interviewing with
It is incredibly important to do your research and know about the company. Not knowing anything about where you are interviewing is a big red flag and could definitely be counted against you. The theory is, how can you know you really want to work there if you don’t know anything about the company?
- Learn about the company’s past
- Learn about the company’s “current state”
- Use this checklist to make sure you’ve covered your bases
3. Learn about the most common interview questions & prepare your answers
It’s kind of incredible how when interviewing for totally different jobs in totally different industries, the questions can still be so darn similar. They’re called “common” interview questions for a reason… It’s because they are almost always asked in one form or another. This is an area where there are many resources – and you should use them!
- Learn about the 10 most common questions and how to answer them
- Read this article about what types of questions to ask your interviewer and this one about how many
- Read about what all good interview answers have in common
4. Pick out an appropriate interview outfit
How you dress for the interview is really important. The goal is not to necessarily always look the most formal but rather to look like you already work at the company (aka: you want to to dress like you fit in)
- Read this article about dressing for an interview and learn about common dress codes
- Determine what you want to bring with you on the interview
5. Some other recommended reading…
- Learn about the basic interview etiquette
- Read about some tactics to help you calm your nerves before an interview
Hopefully this checklist will be a great resource for you as you prepare for an upcoming interview. Look out for additional checklists for other parts of the job search and interview process in the near future.
