Before every successful interview is a well thought out plan! Here’s our checklist for the day before your interview, make sure that you go through all the steps, prepare interview questions and you’ll be sure to walk into your interview confident, poised and ready for anything.
- Read through the job description carefully
This is quite important because everything that you’ll be asked in your interview will link back to what’s in the document. If they ask for organised candidates, it’s likely that you’ll get a question asking how you can demonstrate your organisational skills. If you’re familiar with the job description then there’ll be no nasty surprises! - Read through your CV – and take copies!
‘Talk me through your CV’ is a popular starting point in interviews, and you’ll need to have dates and positions to hand, quickly. We’d recommend that you take some copies of your CV along to the interview. That way, if you face this question you can simply take your copies out of a folder and have all the details in front of you. This will work to your advantage in two ways, firstly you’ll demonstrate that you’re organised and prepared – and secondly it will jog your memory in case you panic and forget employment dates. - Plan your outfit
The day of a job interview can often be tense and leave you feeling anxious. To make sure that you have as much time as possible to relax and prepare, make sure that you’ve got a clean and smart outfit in advance. The details are important too – the last thing that an interviewer will see is the back of your shoes, so make sure they’re a clean pair! It’s worth keeping the jewellery and accessories to a minimum as well; you don’t want to divert attention from your answers. - Plan your journey
One of the very worst things that you can do is turn up to an interview late – it doesn’t set a great example and could leave you rushing and flustered. In order to make sure you get there on time, make sure you plan your journey in advance. If you’re using public transport, check if there are any strikes on or major road works that could disturb your journey. If you’re driving you’ll want to check for traffic as well as where you can park locally. If you need to walk anywhere – have your brolly handy in case it rains! - Practice practice practice!
Get a friend or relative to quiz you in a mock interview the night before. You can download our interview questions here; they’re really useful for practice. Then make sure that you leave plenty of time to get a great night’s sleep, and relax. Remember, you’re interviewing them as well to see if the job is right for you!
