The night before your interview could be quite intimidating. The following day could affect your professional life for the next several years. It’s important to prepare for it the right way. 

Before heading in for the interview, you need to take your time and consider the big day thoughtfully. You need to do a lot of research, as well as practice. 

Let’s take you through a step-by-step checklist to prepare for your next interview. 

• Go through the job description one last time

The job description often includes information on what the employer is looking for in their ideal candidate. You can leverage this information to make your pitch sound better during the interview. 

What you need to do is go through the description, find out specific qualities the employer is looking for, and mention those qualities in your pitch. Simply put, you need to align yourself with the requirements of the employer. 

• Find out why you’re the best person for the job 

“Why should we hire you?” — it’s a question asked in almost every interview. You need to prove that you’re the best person for the open job position. Align your interests, skills, and aspirations with what the employer needs. 

Target as many pain points as possible to wow the interviewers. 

• Research the employer company 

This is an important one, so don’t slack. 

Open up your web browser and research the employer company as much as you can. Find out everything you can about them. The most important thing to search for is their company culture. After you’ve got that, you need to align your work methodologies to their culture. This will boost your chances of putting a great impression and landing the job. 

• Prepare answers for common questions 

It’s simply not possible to predict every question that the interviewers could ask you. However, you can still prepare for some common questions.

Some of the most common questions are:

• “Why do you want to work with us?”

• “Why are you perfect for this position?”

• “Why is this role appealing to you?”

• “What are your greatest strengths?”

• “What are your biggest shortcomings?” 

Apart from these, the interviewer may also ask other common, industry-specific questions. For instance, if the position is about programming or development, the interviewer may ask you to write a code snippet on the spot. Make sure you’re prepared for stuff like that. 

• Prepare your suit beforehand 

You want to dress up properly for the occasion. So, make sure you’ve got a suit ready beforehand. 

Many people try to be cool and end up at the interview without dressing up formally. This kind of attitude only works in the movies. In real life, you must always stay formal on such occasions. 

• Practice your body language and vocal tone 

After you’ve noted down your introduction, pitch, and answers to common questions, you should practice them vocally. If you don’t, you might not be able to say your script in the way you wanted. 

You must also practice how you’re going to sit, stand, and present yourself on the stage if needed. 

• Ready some questions to ask from the interviewers 

You’re not the “less important” individual during an interview. You’re also giving your time and skillset to work for the employer company. Both parties are equal in the hiring process. 

Hence, make sure you’re confident and act like you’re an important person. And a solid way to showcase that is by asking questions. 

Before going in, research the company and find out the recent projects it has been working on. Then, come up with some questions directly related to that. 

You could also throw in some common candidate questions in the mix. Some of those are:

• “What is it like to work for this company?”

• “What does a typical day look like for employees here?”

• “What do you love the most about working here?”

• “What are the next steps in the hiring process?” 

• Practice with  a friend or family member 

To set yourself on track, it’s a great idea to conduct mock interviews with your friends or family members. Doing that will give you a chance to set the tone right. 

If you don’t have a person to help you with it, you could act as your employer yourself. Just say the questions out loud, then answer them yourself afterward. 

• Print out and ready your documents 

Last but not least, make sure your documents are printed and sorted out before the big day. It is to make sure you don’t run into unexpected friction at the last minute. 

Some of the most important documents are your resume, passport, and travel ticket. 

The bottom line

Preparing for an interview is a crucial step of your career success. Even if you have best-in-class skills, you won’t succeed until you can pitch yourself the right way during interviews. 

Make sure to follow this guide for your next interview, and see how well it goes for you.