How To Prepare for An Interview.
Here’s your ultimate guide on how to prepare for an interview — so that you’ll walk in confident and be able to give thoughtful, compelling answers to your interviewer’s questions.
1. Before your interview, spend some real time on the employer’s website:
Read about them, their clients, and their products or services. Your goal here isn’t just to learn about what they do but, crucially, to learn about how they see themselves. In reality, there might not be a ton on their website that distinguishes their work from other employers in their field. But you’ll probably get a sense of what they hope makes them different from their competition (whether or not it really does).
2. Dig into the job description:
Spend some time going through the job posting line by line and thinking about how your experience and skills equip you to excel at the job
3. Write down the questions you’re likely to be asked, and practice saying your answers out loud:
It’s a decent bet that you’ll be asked questions like: Why are you thinking about leaving your current job? What interests you about this opening? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What experience do you have doing _____ (fill in with major responsibilities of the job)?
4. Come up with questions of your own to ask:
Toward the end of the interview, your interviewer will probably ask what questions you have for her. Contrary to popular belief, you should not see this time primarily as an additional opportunity to impress your interviewer.
5. Figure out what you’re most nervous about being asked:
Sometimes when people dread having a particular topic arise in an interview (for example, a past firing or even what salary they’re seeking), they don’t prepare a polished answer and instead just hope it won’t come up.
6. Get yourself into the right state of mind:
If you get nervous before interviews, it can help to remember that the employer almost certainly thinks you’re qualified, or at least that you’re very likely to be qualified! They wouldn’t be interviewing you if they hadn’t already determined that you’re at least plausible for the job.
