5 steps to preparing for a job interview

Christian from Smart Military Money asked the question “how do you practice for an interview?” in the comments on my post, Recovering from a bad job interview.  I thought it was a great question and rather than just replying in the comments, I’d write an entire post about it. Because really, for those people who are still interested in traditional employment (and there are a lot of those people out there), practicing for an interview can give them a leg up during the whole process.

When I was interview, there were 5 steps I typically took (and they worked, too, because my success rate at getting jobs I interviewed for is pretty high):

• Research. I not only researched the company or agency I worked for, but I researched the duties of the position as much as possible. I would go online and read the job descriptions (note: most of my interviews were for state employment and the major functions were readily available this way). I would think very carefully about how my experience matched up with those functions and prepared canned statements with those matches in case the interviewers asked questions like “can you give us an example of the time you…”
• Made a practice run. Literally. I drove to the location a few days before the interview. That way, if I got lost, I did so ahead of time and not the day of the interview. Actually, this happened to me once. I was interviewing at an agency in Philadelphia, near the Art Museum and I got lost, I mean REALLY lost, in Fairmount Park. To this day, I still have no idea where I wound up. But I had to call the agency, almost in tears, letting them know that I was hopelessly lost. Fortunately, they were very patient and understanding (and I still got the job) but I never let that happen again.
• Dressed appropriately. Okay, so this is more a day of kind of thing but in the days leading up to the interview, I would try on various outfits (that matched the dress code of the place. My husband once showed up to an interview wearing a suit and the interviewers were in jeans. That was only slightly awkward) to see what looked best. I also determined if the clothes needed to be washed, ironed, dry cleaned, mended or if I needed something new. It’s best to figure this out in advance so you’re not wasting time the day of the interview. That day is stressful enough; no need to worry about clothes.
• Rehearsed questions. In advance of the interview, I would sit and talk to my husband or friends about potential questions that could be asked. I would write them down and then, in a mock interview with my husband (or stuffed animals or my dogs. Yep. I did that. Don’t judge me), I would practice answering those questions. It not only helped prepare my responses but I a) got some nerves out; b) figured what made me sound like an ass and what didn’t; and c) refined my answers. The questions I dreamed up didn’t always match what came during the interview but practicing the whole interview scenario definitely helped.
• Determined my 3 things. This is the best advice I ever received. I met (for free!) with a job coach to practice for an interview (since I hadn’t interviewed in 3 years) and not only did we practice my responses, demeanor and confidence, he drilled into my head this concept: Find three things that you want the panel to know about you. If nothing else happens during that interview, make sure you leave there knowing that you did your best to reinforce those three things. The “3 things” are going to be different for everyone since we all have different skills and strengths, but the concept applies.

It is crucial that you prepare yourself before walking into a job interview, whether that interview is with a potential employer, client or something else. It’s easy to lose out on business (and money) if you are not only sloppy in your appearance but come across as ill suited for the position because you didn’t take the time to practice.

Readers, how do you prepare for a job interview?