How to prepare for an interview: a complete prep plan

Research the company and the role

Spend at least 90 minutes on research before any interview. Shallow research produces generic answers. Specific research produces answers that make interviewers lean forward.

Start with the job posting. Read every line. Note the exact words used for skills and responsibilities, because interviewers often ask questions built directly from that language. Then move outward to the company.

• Read the company's About page, mission statement and recent press releases
• Search for news from the past six months using the company name plus 'news' in Google
• Check their LinkedIn page for headcount changes, recent hires and posts from the team
• Look up the interviewer on LinkedIn so you know their background and tenure
• Read one or two recent Glassdoor or Comparably reviews to understand culture and common complaints
• For public companies, skim the most recent earnings call transcript or annual report for strategic priorities

Build your story bank

Most behavioural interviews in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia follow the STAR format: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Prepare six to eight stories that cover the most common themes, and you will be able to answer almost any behavioural question by adapting one of them.

Each story should take about 90 seconds to tell out loud. Longer than that and you lose the interviewer. Shorter and you look like you have nothing to say.

• A time you solved a hard problem under pressure
• A time you disagreed with a manager or colleague and how you handled it
• A time you failed and what you learned
• A time you led something, even without a formal title
• A time you had to learn something quickly
• A time you improved a process or outcome with a measurable result

Prepare questions to ask the interviewer

Candidates who ask no questions, or only ask about salary and benefits, signal low interest. Prepare five questions and expect to use two or three depending on time.

Good questions show you have done your research and are thinking about the role seriously.

1. What does success look like in this role after 90 days?
2. What is the biggest challenge the team is working through right now?
3. How did this role come to be open?
4. What do people who thrive here tend to have in common?
5. What are the next steps in your process and the timeline?

Sort logistics before the day

Logistics failures are avoidable and they cost candidates the job. Handle every practical detail at least 24 hours in advance.

For in-person interviews: confirm the exact address, not just the company name. Many companies have multiple offices. Plan your route and add 20 minutes of buffer. Know where you will park or which stop to get off at. Bring printed copies of your resume even if you sent it digitally.

For video interviews: test your camera, microphone and internet connection the evening before. Use a wired connection if you can. Check your background and lighting. Close every browser tab and app you do not need. Have the meeting link saved somewhere you can open it in one click.

In all cases: confirm the interviewer's name and title, know who to contact if something goes wrong, and have the job description open in a separate tab or printed out.

Do a full practice run

Reading your notes is not practice. Speaking your answers out loud, in real time, is practice. There is a significant difference between knowing what you want to say and being able to say it smoothly under mild pressure.

Ask a friend or family member to run a mock interview using common questions. If no one is available, record yourself on your phone and watch it back. You will notice filler words, pacing issues and answers that run too long.

Practice your answer to 'Tell me about yourself' until it takes exactly 60 to 90 seconds and covers your background, your most relevant experience and why you are interested in this role. That question opens almost every interview and a strong answer sets the tone.

Break-In Bad's interview assistant listens to the interviewer's questions in real time and shows you suggested answers on screen that only you can see, including on a shared screen. It is useful as a safety net during the actual interview, but it works best when you have already done the preparation above and know your material.

The day before and the morning of

The evening before, review your story bank and your research notes. Do not try to learn new material. Lay out your clothes, charge your devices and get to bed at a reasonable time.

On the morning of the interview, eat something, avoid excessive caffeine if it makes you anxious, and give yourself more time than you think you need. Arriving flustered undoes hours of preparation.

Reread the job posting one more time on the way there or just before you join the call. It refreshes the specific language in your mind and helps you mirror it in your answers.

• Review your top three stories and the two or three points you most want the interviewer to remember
• Have a glass of water nearby for video calls
• Silence your phone completely, not just on vibrate
• Plan to join the video call two minutes early, not ten