Preparing for a job interview

Research with a purpose

Spend thirty minutes on the employer before you go. What do they sell or deliver, who are their customers, and what has changed for them recently? You are not memorising trivia — you are looking for one or two specific things you can refer to naturally.

Read the job advert once more and write down which parts of it you are weakest on. Those are the questions you will be asked.

Prepare stories, not scripts

Most interview questions are variations on "tell me about a time when". Prepare four or five real examples from your work: something you fixed, something that went wrong, something you led, something you learned.

Structure each one as situation, what you did, and what resulted. Keep them to about two minutes. A memorised script sounds like a memorised script; a well-chosen story does not.

Have an honest answer about weaknesses

The question is not a trap, and "I work too hard" is heard as evasion. Name something genuine, then say what you have done about it. Interviewers are assessing whether you can see yourself accurately more than what the weakness is.

Sort the logistics the day before

Confirm the address, the time, and who to ask for. Work out the journey and add a margin for traffic. If the interview is online, test the camera, the microphone and the connection in advance, and have a phone number as a fallback.

Take a printed copy of your CV, the names of your referees, and anything the advert asked you to bring.

Ask questions that show you were listening

When they ask if you have questions, say yes. Ask what success in the role looks like after six months, what the team is like, or what the biggest challenge facing the role is.

It is also reasonable to ask what the next step is and when you can expect to hear. Knowing the timeline saves you a week of uncertainty.

Follow up once

A short thank-you email within a day, referring to something specific you discussed, is enough. One follow-up is professional; three is a reason not to hire you.