10 Things to Help You Prepare for an Interview

Let’s talk about ten things that you can do to help you prepare for an interview. Being prepared is everything, so jot these things down or save them somewhere for your reference! They are going to set you up for success when it comes to your next interview. 

First, do research on the company. Take the time and do some research on the company; check out their industry, how big they are, what is being said, where are they in their company history: are they just getting started or have they been around for 20 or 30 years? Do some research in advance on the company so you can speak intelligentially about them and ask some meaningful questions. Do not feel like you need to know everything about the company before going into an interview. An interview is a great opportunity to ask questions about things you don’t know and to learn more about the company, but you don’t want to go in blind. Make sure you have reviewed their website and looked at their LinkedIn page (most companies have one). Try to get a sense of how long they have been in business, how many employees they have, and you can even look at LinkedIn and see where those employees are fall in terms of functional area, so you can see if they have a large accounting team, or a large technical or marketing team. That will give you some of sense of how the company operates and their organizational chart. 

Number two: Make sure to research the decision makers. I referenced LinkedIn a moment ago as a great tool to do some research on the company, but you can do a deeper dive. Look through some of the employee profiles, and you want to specifically look at the profiles of the people that you know you will be meeting with in an interview. So, that does mean you will have to ask who you will be meeting with before going into an interview. Again, you don’t need to know everything about their background but have an idea of how long they have been with the company, what did they do prior to that, and if you have anything in common. Did you go to the same college, or maybe you are part of the same groups? Any common ground that you can find and speak to throughout the interview is going to help you.

Number three: Review the job description in advance and reflect on how it relates to your skills. When you read the job description try to get a good understanding of what skills you feel really confident in, but also look through those areas where you might fall a little short. You want to go into an interview with a really good idea of how comfortable you would feel if you were to get that job. Where are those areas that you feel like you would excel, and where are those areas that might be a challenge for you? You want to go into the interview knowing that, so you can be prepared to speak to those areas or to ask questions as it relates to those different strengths and/or skill gaps. 

Number four: Network with current employees. I have done this in the past myself when I was looking for a career change. I really gained some valuable insight into the company and what it was really like from a day-to-day perspective. When you are going through the interview process you are going to be meeting with the decision makers and asking questions. I am sure they are going to provide some great information, but it is one-sided. So, I always find it very valuable to speak to someone who is in the seat. If there is not someone else who is in a similar role to what you are applying for, try to find someone who might be in the same department or a department that partners with the opportunity that you are applying for. In addition to the insight, maybe they will give you some insider tips that will help you prepare even more for that interview. 

Number five: Compile a list of questions before the interview. With these questions you want to think about a handful of things: you want to think about your strengths, your weaknesses, what challenges you might encounter if you were to get this job, and what would you be excited about. Write out all of the questions you have. These can be questions about the company, about the culture, about the job responsibilities, about the career path, about compensation, or benefits. There are a million different questions that can come up in the interview, but you want to make sure that you have questions to ask. It is a bad thing to come to the end of the interview and not have any questions to ask, because it gives the impression that you don’t care that much or that you are not that engaged in the process. So to prevent this, go into the interview with a nice solid list of questions, that way you always have something you can ask at the end of the interview. Know that a lot of your questions might be answered throughout the interview process and that’s okay, but make sure that you have enough questions so you can still come back and ask something when the time comes. You want to ask questions about everything that you are wondering about. This could be things that you are excited about, challenges, if there are certain concerns that you have, things that are may be red flags that you saw on a review site, or maybe from the networking you did with a current employee. If there are any concerns that you have, the interview is a perfect time to ask about those. I have mentioned this in the past, but an interview is a two-way street. Yes, the company is trying to identify if you are a good fit for them, but you should be trying to identify if the company is a good fit for you. You want to make sure that you are doing your due diligence, you are getting all of your questions answered before you’re in a position to make a decision if they were to offer you the job. Ask the questions and be prepared with those going into any interview.  

Number six: Know the dress code. You want to go into an interview being dressed to impress and making a great first impression, so you need to know what their dress code is. It is perfectly okay to ask whoever is coordinating the interview for you. Ask them what the attire is on a typical day. You want to dress up just a notch from what their dress code is. If they are casual environment, dress it up to business casual. If they are business casual, maybe dress it up to professional and put on a suite and tie, or a blazer if you are a female. But you always want to make a good first impression and dress just slightly above what their dress code is, so you will be memorable in the best sort of way. 

Number seven: Ask if you should be prepared for anything specific. I think many people are afraid to ask this question, almost like it will make them seem like they don’t know what to expect or whatever the case may be. Every interview, whether it be a specific interview or an entire interview process, is going to be a little different for every company. So, it is perfectly okay to ask if there is anything that you should be prepared for or anything that they would like you to be prepared with or bring with you to the interview; ask in advance. You always want to be prepared, you want to make a great first impression, so don’t be afraid to ask those questions to set yourself up for success. 

Number eight: Really take some time to anticipate what questions they may have for you. Of course they are going to ask you about your background, ask you to walk them through you career history. Be prepared to explain why you left different opportunities, be prepared to answer questions about what you have accomplished, about your strengths, and about your weaknesses. They are most likely going to ask you about failures and how you have overcome them or what you have learned from those situations. So, take the time to think through these things and prepare for some of questions they may ask you. This will lead to a much smoother interview and you are going to have more confidence from the get-go. 

Number nine: Have references ready. All employers check references. They are going to want to talk to someone else that you have worked for or with in the past, to validate you can do what you say you can do, that you are who you say you are, and that the values you have articulated throughout the interview process are consistent with what you actually represent. So, make sure you have a handful of references that you are prepared to share. I recommend you let your references know you are applying for different opportunities. Tell them a little bit about the opportunities and any other necessary information.

Number ten: Know your numbers; both your salary requirements and your results. Know your results, especially if you are coming from a sales background, marketing or even accounting, any kind of job where you were held accountable to metrics, you had a quota, or you were measured in some quantifiable way. Be prepared to talk through those numbers and results you have achieved in your career. Going back to salary, so you want to know what salary you are looking for if you were to get this job. Start by thinking about what you are ideally looking to make. What is that ideal number where you are going to feel really excited about taking this job, taking that next step in your career? And hopefully that is an increase for you if you’re taking on more. You also want to know where your numbers need to be; know what you need to make to afford your life, because you do not want to put yourself in a situation where you’re not going to be able to pay your bills and then you’re worried about money all the time. That is not going to be good for anybody, so know your bottom line and know what you are trying to achieve. Be prepared for companies to negotiate a little bit, so really go after what you are looking for, but know where and how much, you might be willing to settle for the right opportunity that resonates with your core values. 

So, to quickly recap the ten things that you should do to prepare for every interview, number one: do research on the company. Number two: Do research on the decision makers; look up the different individuals that you are going to be meeting with and get a general sense of their background and anything you may have in common. Number three: review the job description, job responsibilities and reflect on how they relate to your skills and what you bring to the table, so that you are prepared to speak to all of that throughout the interview. Number four: Network with current employees. This is a great way to get some behind the scenes insights and tips to help you prepare yourself even more for an interview. Number five: Compile a list of questions in advance. Always have questions to ask. Number six: Know the dress code. Make sure you are dressed to impress and feeling confident when going to an interview. Number seven: Ask if you should be prepared for anything specific in advance. Number eight: Anticipate questions they are going to have for you and prepare. Number nine: Have your references ready. Number ten: Know your numbers. Know what your salary requirements are, know what your salary goals are, and be prepared to speak to the actual numbers, metrics, results that you have achieved in your career so far.

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