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Job interview preparation checklist

Preparation beats confidence and is easier to arrange. Two hours across the week before covers everything here; the night-before list should take fifteen minutes.

33 items

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

The items

  1. The week before
  2. Re-read the job description and mark the words they repeat
  3. Research the company: what they sell, to whom, and how they are doing
  4. Look up who you are meeting
  5. Prepare six stories from your own work, with numbers where you have themSix covers almost any question. Trying to have twenty means having none.
  6. Practise saying what you do out loud, in ninety seconds
  7. Prepare three questions to ask them
  8. The questions that always come
  9. Tell me about yourself
  10. Why this role, and why now?
  11. A time something went wrong and what you did
  12. A time you disagreed with someone
  13. What you are looking for next
  14. Salary expectations — decide your number in advance
  15. Logistics
  16. Confirm the time, the format and the time zone
  17. Route and travel time, checked for that hour of that day
  18. For video: test camera, mic and the actual meeting link
  19. Charge everything
  20. Clothes decided and ready the night before
  21. A phone number for whoever to call if you are delayed
  22. What to bring
  23. Printed copies of your CV×3
  24. Your notes and your three questions
  25. Photo ID, if the building needs it
  26. A pen and something to write on
  27. Water
  28. Portfolio or work samples, if they apply
  29. Afterwards
  30. Write down what they asked while you still remember
  31. Note anything you answered badly, for next time
  32. Send a short thank-you within a day
  33. Ask when you will hear back, before you leave the room

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

Questions people ask

How long should I prepare for an interview?
About two hours, spread over the week before. Longer usually turns into anxiety rather than preparation, and the last hour never adds anything.
What questions should I ask them?
Three, about the work rather than the perks: what the first six months look like, what makes this hard, and why the role is open. Write them down and bring them.