15 Ways to Prepare for a Job Interview in 2024

I have been doing a lot of interview coaching this year for friends and colleagues who are moving to their next adventure and here are my top 15 ways to ACE YOUR INTERVIEW. If you want the job, your preparation should start before the first interview and you should put in time and effort to showcase your best attributes. Nearly all hiring managers are looking for candidates that can do the work, show a desire to do the work and will be a good teammate. Your job is to demonstrate that to everyone you meet.  After running this play a dozen times this year, this is my top advice. 

1. Read and understand the job description of the job you are applying for so you understand the key skills and attributes that are required.
   
   
2. Spend an inordinate amount of time on the website, social, and doing research on the company, mission, vision, and value proposition. size, locations, growth rate, executive background, upcoming marketing programs and webinars, press releases, community, key blog articles, videos. You should know almost as much about the company as an employee does.
   
   
3. Check for interview questions on Glassdoor.  You should have a pretty good idea of the types of questions that they ask in every step of the interview. If you can’t find them, try to determine the common interview questions.
   
   
4. Create an INTERVIEW supersheet and write out the perspective questions and your thoughtful, concise, smart answers that differentiate your candidacy.
   
   
5. Practice those answers to #4 so it sounds natural and you are not reading them.
   
   
6. Ping 2-3 people at the company on Linkedin and ask to connect because you are doing initial research on the company for a potential job opportunity and you want to understand if it is as good as it sounds. This is a slight imposition so be polite and respectful.
   
   
7. On the day of the interview find a quiet room with GREAT internet and no background noise.
   
   
8. Be professionally dressed and find a place where you can stand as you answer questions so you have good voice tone.
   
   
9. Be rested, caffeinated, and ready to present your best self.
   
   
10. Be ready at your desk location 15 minutes before the interview and review your notes.
    
    
11. If you are amped up BREATHE, if you are nervous BREATHE, if you are excited BREATHE. If you are a smiling person, smile.
    
    
12. Repeat the mantra - this will be GREAT... this will be FUN... this is EXCITING, to set the right tone.
    
    
13. Nail the first question, which is usually. “Tell me about YOU? You should practice this so you sound smart, concise, have quota #’s if you are a salesperson. This is 3-5 minutes of your greatest hits and then stop and smile. If they have questions they will ask.
    
    
14. Have three prepared questions that show your research, and understanding. Make the recruiter think that is a good question.
    
    
15. After each interview, rate your performance on a scale of 1-10 and write down any questions that you could have better answers for and put them in your interview sheet and get better answers.

Good luck!