If you want to land your dream job in 2024, you need to be prepared before you head into every interview. Good preparation will allow you to stop worrying about being nervous and start focusing on impressing the interview panel.
It can be tempting to go into an interview without preparing and relying on your ability to think on your feet to get you through, but this can be a risky tactic. You could be missing out on some easy wins that will go a long way to impressing the interview panel.
If you get easily rattled in an interview situation, proper preparation will help to ensure you feel confident. And being prepared for an interview will show the interview panel that you are taking the opportunity very seriously.
If they have a choice between someone who can confidently wing it through an interview and someone who seemed slightly nervous but was nonetheless prepared, the latter option will nearly always be the favourite option.
If you’re wondering how you can prepare for interviews in 2024 and beyond, try these 40 tips. While some might not be relevant for the role you are applying for, you can pick and mix your advice to help spring-clean your interview technique.
40 Best Tips to Prepare for an Interview in 2024
If you want to be ready for anything an interview panel can throw at you in 2024, try these 40 tips. Obviously, you don’t have to apply all of them to your preparation, but these might help you to spot the weaknesses in your current approach.
- Research the Company: Understand the company's recent projects, achievements, and any changes in leadership or direction. This will help you to speak with confidence about where the company is headed and how you might be able to fit in with its objectives. This will also show a keen awareness of the company and demonstrate that you want to work for them specifically, and not just any company.
- Stay Updated: Be aware of industry trends, news, and advancements relevant to the position. Being switched on and engaged with the wider industry will show that you are taking an active role in your career and not just looking for another job with any company.
- Review Job Description: You need to be able to reference the job description with ease so you can show how your skills and experience are aligned with the requirements for the role. When you are applying for roles, you should be drawing parallels between the job requirements and your skills, but make sure you review the job description before you head into the interview to refresh your memory.
- Understand the Culture: Know the company's values and culture to demonstrate how you'll fit in. The final hiring decision will often come down to whether or not you are a good culture fit. Most people are adaptable to a wide range of company cultures, so make sure you understand their company culture so you can project yourself as being the same as their existing employees.
- Utilise Social Media: Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to research interviewers and gather insights. You can also look on websites like Glassdoor to find out more about their interview style and what questions you might be asked. Look at their recent social media posts to get an idea of the type of image they want to create for their company.
- Practise Virtual Interviews: Familiarise yourself with video conferencing tools and conduct mock interviews. There is a chance you could be asked to attend an initial video interview before you are invited into the office. This is to save time and allow the interview panel to pre-screen applicants so they only meet with the best of the best. This is your opportunity to rise above the competition, simply by being prepared for a video interview and taking it very seriously.
- Update your CV and Portfolio: Ensure your CV and portfolio are current, highlighting recent achievements. The start of the new year is a great time to revisit your CV and update the information. When the time comes to start looking for a new role, you will only need to review the information and you won’t be starting from scratch.
- Prepare STAR Stories: Structure your responses using the Situation, Task, Action, and Result framework. Practising answering questions in this style will help to structure your answers in a logical way that communicates all of the relevant information for the interview panel.
- Quantify Achievements: Use metrics to showcase the impact of your contributions in previous roles. For every achievement that you list on your CV, try to also show the outcome of that achievement. For example, you could say that you were responsible for growing the company newsletter by 150%, or that you increased sales from social media by 50%.
- Learn about AI and Automation: Understand how artificial intelligence and automation impact your industry. There’s little sense in trying to ignore AI and hope that it doesn’t impact your industry or threaten your job. Be confident speaking about how AI will impact your industry, how it might be helpful and how it might be harmful. This is far better than the approach of sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best.
- Develop Technical Skills: Stay relevant by acquiring skills specific to your field, especially in emerging technologies. You might not be working in a particularly digital sector, but you can guarantee that digital technology will be working its way into your role in some way. Knowledge is power when it comes to disruption, so make sure you feel confident talking about how this might change your sector and role.
- Enhance Soft Skills: Communication, collaboration, and adaptability are crucial in the evolving work landscape. While technical skills related to your role are essential, the soft skills that are required for every role should not be ignored. Look for ways to enhance these skills and for ways to highlight these skills in an interview setting. Almost all roles will expect you to have good communication, adaptability and the ability to work as part of a wider team.
- Practice Behavioral Questions: Anticipate and rehearse answers for common behavioural questions. Preparing specific answers to common interview questions will help you to feel confident in your delivery. While there is no way to anticipate every question that might be asked, you can practise answering common interview questions so that you can deliver polished and professional answers.
- Stay Professional on Social Media: Ensure your online presence aligns with professional standards. If you don’t want your social media profiles to be under scrutiny, make them private. Otherwise, be careful about what you post and keep it neutral or professional. Under no circumstances should you be bad-mouthing previous companies or interview techniques on social media.
- Network Proactively: Attend virtual events, join professional groups, and engage in networking opportunities. By being active in your industry, you can increase your chances of meeting people who can help to further your career. If you already know people at the company you are interviewing to work for, you’ll have a chance to name-drop and have someone put in a good word for you.
- Prepare Questions: Have thoughtful questions for the interviewer about the company, team, and role. Remember that an interview should be a two-way conversation. Prepare questions for the interview panel that show you are actively engaging with the process and you want to make sure this is the right opportunity for you. This will allow you to move away from the mentality that you just need any job and start moving towards the mentality that you need to find the right job.
- Be Adaptable: Showcase your ability to adapt to change and learn new skills quickly. Most people are adaptable, but not everyone is great at showcasing their adaptability and telling people how they have been adaptable in the past. Think about situations you can share where you needed to pivot your approach at the last minute.
- Create a 30-Second Pitch: Craft a concise elevator pitch that highlights your skills and value proposition. This can be an ideal answer to the question “tell me about yourself”. Many people stumble over this answer and either give far too much detail or not enough. By preparing your elevator pitch, you can give the interview panel a brief and succinct overview of who you are, what you’ve done and where you hope your career will go.
- Know Your CV: Be ready to elaborate on any aspect of your CV in detail. This means reviewing your CV before the interview so you can refer back to it during the interview. If you are allowed to take notes in the interview, consider taking an annotated copy of your CV and the job description. This will allow you to easily refer back to your experience and the description of the role.
- Practice Mindfulness: Stay calm and focused by practising mindfulness techniques before the interview. Learning some deep breathing techniques will help you to remain calm and collected throughout the entire process. Arriving early before your interview and finding a quiet place to gather your thoughts will help you to appear more calm and prepared during the interview, even if you are secretly quite nervous. You can easily mask your nerves by simply taking control of your breathing and finding a way to stay in the moment – easier said than done, but certainly worth trying.
- Research Industry Challenges: Understand the challenges the industry is facing and be prepared to discuss solutions. This will show that you are switched on to the wider industry challenges and are aware of what decision-makers above you are concerned with. This can help you to be adaptable and diligent in your role, as you will anticipate challenges rather than waiting to be told there is a challenge you need to worry about.
- Follow Industry Influencers: Be aware of key thought leaders and their perspectives in your field. It doesn’t matter what industry you work in, you can almost guarantee that there are influencers to follow. Even if you don’t agree with their interpretation of the current challenges your industry faces, you can show you are switched on and engaged simply by being aware of them. Being able to actively engage with criticism of their ideas and approach shows a good level of maturity.
- Dress Appropriately: Choose attire that aligns with the company's dress code, even for virtual interviews. Your choice of clothing says a lot about you, so make sure you are wearing something professional, clean and well-fitted. Also, make sure you are dressing for the weather. Sweating through a summer interview in a thick suit won’t be a good look and could distract you from being at your best.
- Prepare for Tech Assessments: If applicable, practice coding tests or technical assessments in advance. Look on sites like Glassdoor to find out if they typically have tech assessments and what you can expect from them. You can also look for industry-standard tests that they might use to sort through applicants. These assessments are typically quite easy but be prepared for one that simply explores how you approach a problem, not if you can solve every problem.
- Update LinkedIn Endorsements: Ensure your LinkedIn endorsements reflect your current skills and strengths. Rather than waiting until you want to look for a new job to ask for endorsements, make a habit of requesting them around twice a year. This will help to keep your profile fresh and up to date.
- Demonstrate Remote Work Skills: Highlight your ability to work effectively in remote or hybrid environments. If you had to adapt to home working during the COVID-19 pandemic, make sure you include this on your CV. If the role is a remote role or a remote hybrid role, make it clear how you create a productive work environment at home.
- Prepare for Case Interviews: If relevant, practice solving case study questions common in certain industries. These types of questions may ask you to review a case study and then share your interpretation of the study and how you would approach the task. This requires you to be able to quickly assimilate information and think on your feet.
- Understand the Company's Digital Presence: Know how the company leverages digital platforms for marketing and communication. If they aren’t very active on social media, don’t bring up posts that they made months ago. Read between the lines and learn how the company wants to be perceived based on its digital presence.
- Brush Up on Industry Jargon: Stay familiar with the latest industry terminology. You don’t have to litter your interview with jargon, but it can be helpful to refresh your memory of how people in the sector talk. In an interview setting, if a jargon phrase is unclear, always ask for clarification rather than pretend that you know. There is a good chance it could be a company-specific phrase that they wouldn’t expect you to know.
- Familiarise Yourself with Remote Tools: Know and be comfortable using collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, etc. Even if you don’t currently use them in your day-to-day role, you should have a good awareness of how these tools could fit into the industry.
- Show Enthusiasm: Express genuine interest in the company and the role. Many interview candidates spend so much time trying to appear prepared and confident that they forget to show that they really want the job. Showing enthusiasm isn’t a weakness, it’s a sign that you are willing to pursue your dreams and put yourself out there in difficult situations.
- Send a Thank-You Email: Send a personalised thank-you email after the interview expressing your gratitude. This might feel like an outdated practice, but sending a short note after your interview can help set you apart from the competition. It’s also a great way to open a dialogue with the hiring manager so you will be able to keep in touch, even if you don’t land this particular role.
- Understand Data Privacy: Be aware of data protection and privacy regulations relevant to your industry. Data protection has changed a lot in recent years, so it’s helpful to be up-to-date with the latest trends, and regulations and how this might impact how you do your job. Respect for the rules will show that you are a responsible and diligent employee.
- Prepare for Diversity Questions: Be ready to discuss your experiences with diversity and inclusion. This could include questions about how it affects you and if you think companies are doing enough to address diversity in the sector. Companies will appreciate it if you are honest with this answer, as it shows you aren’t going to shy away from the real issues just to make life easier for yourself.
- Mock Video Presentations: If presentations are part of the job, practise delivering them virtually. There are far more challenges in presenting virtually than there are with presenting in person, so make sure that the contents of your presentation don’t suffer because of technical issues. Practising your video presentation style will help you to spot potential issues and address them before the interview.
- Highlight Continuous Learning: Emphasise your commitment to ongoing professional development. Employers want to know that you are a switched-on and engaged individual and that you are actively seeking out new opportunities to learn and expand your skills. Highlight evidence of your continued learning, even if this is outside of your professional scope. Continuous learning that is not related to your sector could be even more impressive to employers, as this is self-sufficient and self-starter behaviour.
- Stay Informed on Industry Regulations: Know about any recent regulatory changes impacting your industry. Read the latest trade publications in preparation for your interview so that you’ll have some interesting facts to pick up on. Engaging with your industry outside of work hours is a simple way to show you have the ambition and drive that many employers are looking for.
- Take a Break: If interview preparation is starting to dominate your life and conversations, make sure you take a break and do something else for a while. Switching off and doing something that brings you joy is a simple way to return to the preparation feeling refreshed. If you have faced multiple rejections and are starting to feel down on yourself, take a break from the job hunt and connect with your friends and family. This will help to take your mind off the difficulties and prevent you from getting stuck in a negative mindset.
- Stay Healthy: Prioritise your physical and mental well-being leading up to the interview. Don’t let the stress of the interview preparation derail other health practices. Make sure you are eating well, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and hydrating well. By focusing on these core aspects of your health, you can develop healthy coping mechanisms that ensure good emotional regulation during stressful times.
- Reflect on Failures: Be prepared to discuss challenges you've faced and the lessons you've learned. Not all interview talk will be positive and you need to be prepared to reflect on your performance and ask important questions about what you could have done better. Employers will appreciate someone with the self-awareness to be able to reflect on their own performance and ask important questions about what they could improve.
Conclusion
As you can see from the advice listed above, there is always more you can do to prepare for an interview. Even if you feel confident in your approach, there is more you can do in order to make it clear you are the ideal candidate for the role. By following the advice listed above, you can ensure that you are as prepared for the interview as you can possibly be.
This will give you the confidence of knowing the only reason you fail to land a role is simply that you either aren’t the right fit for the company, or you aren’t at the right stage in your career. Preparation and presentation should never be a reason that you fail to secure a job.