Your Pre Interview Checklist
Congratulations! You’ve managed to secure yourself an interview - now comes the prep. You want to make sure you step into, and out of, an interview showing the best of you. Here is your pre interview checklist.
You cannot prepare enough for an interview, and although they are not the be all and end all of an application process, an interview is still one of the most effective ways of showing an employer you embody their culture and their future.
The way you communicate that in your interview, therefore, is essential, and like any skill it can be practiced, and it can be honed.
Our recommendation is to prepare a checklist of everything you need, pre-interview.
Your Pre-Interview Checklist should be a quickfire list of everything you need to do before an interview: it will incorporate everything from company research and background to preparing any paperwork, to dress, to questioning.
Write it down, and make sure everything is ticked off before you go into your interview!
Consider this list like your sales script - you can deviate of course, but the essentials are there for you to deliver the pitch of your life.
Dress Code:
- Irrelevant of whether you’re doing an online interview via Zoom for a startup, or an in-person interview with a panel of corporate bosses, you must still dress to impress. Dressing up, may feel crass, or unsuitable to some workplaces but professionalism is key, and if your potential employer has a dress-down company policy, you only dress down when you’ve earned it.
- Prepare your outfit! There is no shame in laying out your interview outfit and adjusting to make sure it’s both professional but also YOU.
Company Research:
- Your employer will expect you to do your research on their company.
Interviewer Hack!
Interviews are nerve wracking places, and your interviewer knows it. They won’t expect you to reel off a Wiki history of the company, but remembering a few key lead points about the company are all you need, for example:
The founder’s reason for starting the company,
Last year's key announcements,
A certain product or project that took your interest
That’s it! Use one of those points to highlight what you love about their firm, and why that specific point drew you to applying.
Wider Industry Research:
- Apply the above preparation points to the wider industry. Take an interest in the market, do the research, and show that you are (somewhat of an) authority on your interviewer’s business. They will expect you to care about what they do, so don’t pretend otherwise and most definitely never say “Oh a job is a job” - that’s one straight fail.
- Understand your interviewer’s company in context - nothing sounds more authoritative than you saying your interviewer’s company delivers a better product or service than their competitors, or that they’re answering a customer need better than others in the industry.
Paperwork:
- Some items to take with you to interview, if it’s in person, in a neat file: your resume, the job description printed out, any complimentary qualifications (certificates, results etc), a notepad, a pen, and a spare pen. Not only will you look prepared, but they can act as prompts about your work history, or the company job advertisement if you have a mind blank (and they do happen!)
Prepare your Questions:
- Prepare questions for your interviewer, and practice them. Then practice them again. Then again. Do not ask questions that are generalist or impersonal, be specific and humanise the process (please refer to our article Sample Interview Questions for You to Ask for more details).
Remote Interview Sense Check:
- Prepare your space. Charge your laptop, check your tech set up, and sort out your screen background. Mute your phone, tell any housemates/family that you’re in an interview at a certain time, and double check any working links for issues.
In-person Interview Sense Check:
- Research the address and travel time to the interview, give yourself at LEAST 20 minutes wiggle room to factor in any delays, and arrive approx 15 minutes before your interview.
Remember!
Review any notes from your interviewer or recruiter ahead of your interview - there could be some hidden gems of direction (such as a sliver of company news, a company newsletter, or some information on what your interviewer has been doing), you only get one chance to make a first impression.
You’re allowed to be nervous, and you’re even allowed to fluff some answers (to an extent), but you cannot afford to not prepare.
Interviewers want you in the room. They want you to sell yourself, and to show the best of what you could offer. Preparing with the above points and hacks makes sure you’re more than ready to step in and wow your interviewer.