How to prepare for an interview

It's hard to prepare for an interview when you're new to the job market. How can you feel ready if you don’t know what to expect?

We've compiled this handy interview prep guide to help you prepare (and to calm those nerves). Brush up on our advice and you’ll soon feel confident and ready for action.

Contents
Step 1: Do your research
Step 2: Practise, practise, practise
Step 3: Nail the logistics
Step 4: Get ready on the day

You’re about to meet the people who not only work at the organisation you want to join but are also in charge of who gets the job. So, guess what? You need to know everything you can about them.

Give yourself the best chance by researching the job, company and industry.

Of course, you read the job description when you applied for the job, but a few days or even weeks will have passed since then. It's easy to forget the details during this time – particularly if you’ve applied for lots of roles. Be sure to re-read the advert, so that you know what to talk about and highlight in the interview.

There are the obvious things you can do to swot up such as checking the press and looking at the organisation’s website and LinkedIn.

However, if you really want to get ahead of the competition, find out about the organisation by downloading its annual report (most big companies have them) or see if you can grab a coffee with any contacts or friends of friends who work there (or have in the past).

Intel is everything – use it to your advantage!

If you can, try what the company offers. So, if they sell food, take a bite.

Trying a company’s product helps you get an idea of what they do. Being a customer also helps you see their values and market standing.

Research beyond the company and look at the general market trends, competitors and what the future looks like. Having this knowledge shows the interviewer how serious you are, and it's a great opportunity to show off your commercial awareness.

While every company has slightly different duties and tasks for the same role, it's good to look into what you'd usually do in this kind of position. So, research the role in general – not just within this company.

The more industry knowledge you have, the more serious you’ll come across.

Sometimes organisations will tell you who’ll be interviewing you. There’s no harm in knowing all you can about the person who’ll be asking you the questions.

Their seniority, expertise and anything else (like published research work) will help you know them better.

It’s always a good thing to be more informed than less. Interviewer research will also make you feel more relaxed about the people you’ll meet.

LinkedIn, the company website and Google will all help you here.

Learned a lot about the company you’re interviewing for? Great. Now it’s time to learn about yourself too.

To get to the interview stage, you’ll normally have already given the recruiters information about yourself, usually through a CV or online application form. The great news here is that you’ve made it to the interview stage – lots of applicants will have been screened out already. So, there’s a reason why the company want to speak to you. The risk factor now is that you can’t back up the claims you’ve made.

Take another look at your CV and application form (or have a friend do it) and spot the areas that’ll prompt the interviewer to dig deeper. When you said you ‘Co-Founded’ a start-up, what was your exact role and how did the business do?

If you’ve put down three weeks of legal work experience, what exactly did you get up to and what did the experience teach you about the world of commercial law?

Ask yourself these questions and prepare how you’ll respond to them.

They say that practice makes perfect. Now, nobody’s expecting you to be ‘perfect’ but lots of practice will still help you relax for the real thing.

When you walk into an interview, you’re trying to sell yourself. It’s hard, especially if you’re not used to it. You can practice how to sell yourself by defining your main selling points, such as skills, qualifications and experience.

There are a lot of graduate interview questions you can expect, such as strengths and weaknesses. You need to be clear and concise when you answer these questions.

Some questions to prepare for are:

• Why do you want this job?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What are your salary expectations?
• What’s your greatest strength?

Interviewers expect you to ask questions because it shows that you’ve got an interest in the position and the company. Plus, it helps you get a lot of useful information to learn whether you’ll suit the company and whether they’ll suit you. Remember, an interview is also for you to figure out whether you want the job.

The best way to get ready for being asked challenging questions in an unfamiliar environment by people you don’t know is to replicate that experience. People are always keen to help, so see if any of your friends and family will sit you down and put you through your paces and give you some honest feedback.

Get them to ask you questions until you feel confident answering whatever’s thrown your way. If you’re applying for a job in investment banking and you don’t know what happens to bond prices if interest rates go up, it’s better to find this hole in your knowledge before the interview than in the real thing.

It’s the ‘small things’ that often let people down at interviews; the alarm not going off, not having the right interview garb good to go or getting lost (and therefore) being late.

All of these ‘little’ things have the potential to become a ‘big thing’.

So, make sure you’re all set for ‘operation interview’ – not only will it make sure you arrive on time, you’ll also be more mentally relaxed and in control.

Making a good first impression is important, and this includes dressing properly. Some employers have casual dress codes but if you’re unsure what to wear for an interview, go for something smart. Wearing suitable clothing shows that you value the interviewer's time.

You should pick out what you need to wear and make sure that it’s clean and crease-free. Looking the part helps you feel the part. So even if the interviewer will only see your head and shoulders on a video call, dressing smartly from top to toe can still help you feel more confident.

Ideally, you should prepare your outfit the night before your interview. You don't want to be doing this last minute as it’ll add to the stress.

You don’t need to worry about this tip if your interview is a video call. But if you do have to go anywhere, pack your bag the night before. Packing in advance takes away stress on the morning of your interview and it also makes you much less likely to forget anything. Check if your potential employer has sent you a checklist of things to bring in advance, such as ID to gain access to an office building. Be sure to read all your emails before you pack and again before you leave.

Travel is often stressful, especially to somewhere you haven't been before. So, check out your travel route before you go and make sure that you know how to get to your interview. Be sure to leave plenty of time in case buses run late or you get lost. If you're driving, remember to look for parking options as well.

Don’t get complacent if you’ve got a virtual meeting. Give any video calling software a test run to make sure your microphone and camera are working. You also need to find a comfortable space with good lighting so that your interviewer can see you clearly. Identify an area with easy access to a socket for your charger. You don’t want your device to die on you mid-way through your interview.

Most preparation for interviews can be done leading up to the interview, but some of it will happen right before.

Whether in-person or virtual, try to have some kind of break before an interview. If you rush straight from something else into the interview, you’ll often find that you’re flustered and not in the right mindset. This could be the case whether you’re coming from work, university, a hobby group, or anything else. So, give yourself some time to reset before starting.

It's polite to arrive at an interview a few minutes before it starts. It shows that you value the interviewer's time and respect the company. You probably also want to arrive a bit early so that you’ve got time to get comfortable in the location. With time to spare, you can get a drink and go to the bathroom. You also want to make sure that you allow extra time in case your transport is late, as you never want to arrive rushed and stressed.

If you’re joining a virtual interview, get your device set up ahead of time. You should also dial in a few minutes early so that you know that everything is working as expected.

It's easier said than done but try to relax during the interview. If you relax, you’ll be able to present yourself better. Whether you need to meditate beforehand or practice until you’re confident, find a way to enter the interview room relaxed.