Article 9: Preparing for the Interview | Research, Presentation, and Practice

The Interview Is Won Before You Walk In the Door

There is a common belief that interview success comes down to how well you perform on the day. Your confidence, your charm, your ability to think on your feet. And while those things do matter, they are not the whole story.

The candidates who consistently perform well in interviews are almost always the ones who prepared the most thoroughly beforehand. They walked in knowing the company inside out. They had thought carefully about the most likely questions and prepared honest, well-structured answers. They knew exactly what they were going to wear, how long the journey would take, and where they were going to park. Nothing caught them off guard, because they had already thought everything through.

Preparation does not eliminate nerves. But it does transform them. When you are well prepared, nervous energy becomes focused energy, and that comes across as confidence.

This article covers everything you need to do before an interview to give yourself the best possible chance of performing at your best when it counts.

Step 1: Confirm the Details and Do Your Logistics

As soon as an interview is confirmed, the first thing to do is make sure you have all the practical details sorted. This sounds obvious, but interview logistics trip people up more often than you would think.

Confirm the date, time, and location. Read the confirmation email or message carefully. Write it down. Put it in your phone calendar with a reminder.

Confirm the format. Is it an in-person interview? A video call on Zoom or Microsoft Teams? A phone call? Each format requires slightly different preparation, and we will touch on this shortly.

Confirm who you will be meeting. If the invitation includes names and job titles of the people interviewing you, write them down. If it does not, it is perfectly acceptable to reply and ask. Knowing who will be in the room, or on the call, allows you to do a quick LinkedIn search on them beforehand, which is a small but useful preparation step.

Plan your journey. If the interview is in person, figure out exactly how you are getting there. How long will it take? Is there parking? Where is the entrance? If you are using public transport, what is the route and what time do you need to leave? Do a test run the day before if the location is unfamiliar to you.

Aim to arrive at least fifteen minutes early. This gives you time to compose yourself, find the building, use the bathroom, and not walk in flustered and out of breath. If you arrive too early, wait nearby rather than in reception. Arriving more than twenty minutes early can actually create a minor inconvenience for the reception staff.

Prepare for a video interview. If the interview is online, check your technology well in advance. Test your camera and microphone. Make sure your internet connection is stable. Check the background behind you, it should be clean, tidy, and neutral. Make sure the lighting is good, ideally with the light source in front of you rather than behind you. Close any unnecessary applications on your device. Charge your laptop or phone fully.

Step 2: Research the Company Thoroughly

This is where many candidates put in the bare minimum, and it shows. A candidate who knows the company well immediately stands out from one who clearly just read the first paragraph of the website’s About page.

Good company research takes about an hour and covers the following:

The company’s core business. What do they actually do? What products or services do they offer? Who are their customers? How do they make money? You should be able to explain this clearly in your own words.

Their mission, vision, and values. Most companies publish these on their website. Read them carefully. These statements tell you what the company believes in and how they want to be seen. Referencing them in an interview shows that you have done your homework and that your values align with theirs.

Their recent news and developments. Google the company name and look at recent news articles, press releases, or social media posts. Have they recently launched a new product? Opened a new office? Won an award? Faced a challenge? Knowing what is currently happening at the company gives you relevant, current talking points that very few candidates will have.

Their position in the market. Who are their main competitors? What sets them apart? Understanding the competitive landscape shows commercial awareness, a quality that many employers value highly.

The specific team or department you are joining. If you can find out anything about the team you would be working with, the department’s function, or the manager you would be reporting to, that context will help you ask better questions and give more relevant answers.

The person or people interviewing you. A quick LinkedIn search of your interviewers is entirely appropriate and widely done. Knowing their professional background, how long they have been at the company, and what their role involves can help you tailor your answers and make more meaningful conversation.

All of this research also feeds directly into one of the most important parts of any interview, the questions you ask at the end. We will cover that in detail in Article 10.

Step 3: Re-read Your CV and the Job Description

This sounds almost too simple to mention, but it is genuinely important. Before your interview, read through your own CV carefully. Remind yourself of the details of every role you have listed. Dates, responsibilities, specific achievements. You should know your own CV so well that you can speak to any part of it without hesitation.

Then re-read the job description and remind yourself of the key requirements. Think about how your experience and skills connect to each one. The interviewers will be using the job description as a framework for their questions, so having those connections clear in your mind will help you answer more relevantly and confidently.

Step 4: Prepare Your Answers to Common Questions

Interviews feel unpredictable, but the truth is that many of the most common interview questions are entirely predictable. Preparing thoughtful, honest answers to these questions in advance takes away a significant amount of the pressure.

Here are the questions you are most likely to face, and some guidance on how to approach each one.

“Tell me about yourself.” This is almost always the opening question, and it is a gift because it lets you set the tone. Your answer should be a brief, professional summary of your career journey, your key strengths, and why you are sitting in this interview today. Two to three minutes is the right length. Do not tell your whole life story. Keep it professional and relevant.

“Why do you want to work for this company?” This is where your company research pays off. Give a genuine, specific answer that references something real about the company, not a generic “because you are a great company with a good reputation.” Talk about something specific that attracted you, their values, a project they are working on, the role they play in their industry, or the kind of work the team does.

“Why are you leaving your current job?” or “Why did you leave your last job?” Be honest, but keep it positive. Focus on what you are moving towards, growth, new challenges, a better fit for your skills, rather than what you are running away from. Never speak negatively about a former employer in an interview, even if you have very good reason to. It always reflects more poorly on you than on them.

“What are your strengths?” Pick two or three genuine strengths that are directly relevant to the role. Back each one up with a brief, specific example from your experience. Saying “I am a strong communicator” is fine. Saying “I am a strong communicator, for example in my last role I was asked to present our department’s quarterly results to the board, which I did for two years running” is far more convincing.

“What are your weaknesses?” This question makes many people uncomfortable, but it does not have to. The key is to be honest without undermining your own candidacy. Choose a genuine weakness that is not a core requirement of the role, and follow it immediately with what you are doing to address it.

A good example: “I have historically found it difficult to delegate, because I like to make sure things are done properly. But I have been working on this consciously over the past year. In my last role I started using a simple task tracker with my team, which helped me feel confident that work was on track without micromanaging, and I have seen a real improvement.”

That answer is honest, self-aware, and shows growth. That is exactly what an interviewer is looking for.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” The employer wants to know two things: whether you have ambition and direction, and whether your goals align with what the company can offer. You do not need a detailed five-year plan. Just show that you are motivated to grow, that you are thinking about your development, and that you see this role as a meaningful step in that direction.

“Tell me about a challenge you faced and how you handled it.” This is a behavioural question, and it is one of the most important types you will encounter. The employer is not just interested in the challenge. They are interested in how you think, how you handle pressure, and what you learned. We will cover the STAR method for answering these kinds of questions in Article 10.

Step 5: Prepare Your Questions

An interview is a two-way conversation. At the end, you will almost certainly be asked, “Do you have any questions for us?” The worst answer you can give is “No, I think you have covered everything.”

Having no questions signals a lack of genuine interest or curiosity. Having good questions signals that you are serious, that you have thought carefully about the role, and that you are evaluating the opportunity as much as they are evaluating you.

Prepare at least three or four questions in advance. Good questions might include things like:

• What does success look like in this role in the first six months?
• How would you describe the team culture?
• What are the biggest challenges facing the team right now?
• How does the company support professional development and growth?
• What do you enjoy most about working here?

Avoid asking about salary, leave, or perks in a first interview unless the interviewer brings it up first. Those conversations are appropriate later in the process. At this stage, your questions should show curiosity about the role, the team, and the company.

Step 6: Decide What to Wear

What you wear to an interview matters. Your appearance is part of the first impression you make, and first impressions are formed very quickly, often before you have said a word.

The safest approach is to dress one level smarter than the company’s typical dress code. If the company is casual, wear smart casual. If they are business casual, dress in business formal. If you are unsure, err on the side of being more formal rather than less.

Your clothes should be clean, ironed, and well-fitting. Your shoes should be clean. Your hair should be neat. Avoid strong perfume or cologne. Keep jewellery and accessories simple and understated.

This does not mean you need to spend money on new clothes. It means you should present yourself with care and intention. Employers notice the effort, and it signals that you take the opportunity seriously.

If your interview is on video, dress as you would for an in-person interview. The formality of the occasion does not change just because it is on a screen.

Step 7: Prepare Everything You Need to Bring

The night before your interview, get everything ready so that you are not scrambling in the morning.

Bring copies of your CV, at least two or three printed copies in case you are meeting with multiple interviewers. Bring a pen and a small notepad. If you were asked to bring any supporting documents, such as certificates, your ID, or a portfolio, make sure these are organised and easy to present.

If your interview is online, have your CV open on your screen so you can refer to it easily.

The Night Before and the Morning Of

Get a good night’s sleep. This sounds simple but it genuinely matters. A tired mind is slower, less confident, and more prone to anxiety. Do whatever helps you wind down the night before, whether that is a walk, a meal with family, a favourite TV show, or some quiet time. Avoid staying up late rehearsing your answers.

Eat something before you go. It is very hard to think clearly and perform confidently when you are hungry.

Give yourself more time than you think you need. Arriving flustered because you were running late is one of the most avoidable interview mistakes there is.

Preparation Is Confidence

There is no shortcut to being well prepared. But the investment is absolutely worth it. Every hour you spend on research, practice, and preparation translates directly into confidence in the room. And confidence, even when you are nervous underneath it, is one of the most attractive qualities a candidate can bring to an interview.

You have done the hard work to get to this point. The interview is your chance to show the person sitting across from you who you really are and what you are truly capable of. Go in prepared, and give yourself the best possible chance to do exactly that.

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Next up: Article 10, Mastering the Interview, where we get into the room itself. How to handle nerves, how to answer tough questions using proven techniques, how to read the interviewers, and how to leave them with no doubt that you are the right person for the job.