11 Innovative Steps to Help You Make a Great Impression at Your Next Interview  

So you got the interview! Good for you. Now it’s time to get down to some serious business.

In my time in the workplace, I have interviewed well over a thousand people — and trust me, it’s immediately apparent who has prepared and who hasn’t. Don’t make the rookie mistake of thinking you can wing it, even if it’s an internal interview at a company where you already work.

A good interview takes a little bit of luck, absolutely, but mostly it takes a ton of hard work. Here’s my formula for getting ready for the big day:

1. Start a Notebook for Each Interview
It can be a cheap 99-cent spiral notebook, a little pocket-sized notepad, or even a plain yellow legal pad. I leave the first few pages blank for the notes I take during the interview itself, and then start writing out prep notes from each of the next steps. That allows me to walk into the interview with clean sheets for easy note-taking, but I know I can flip back to check my notes if I get stuck.  Paper is cheap (and easily recycled) — don’t be afraid to use it.

2. Learn Everything you Can About the Format of the Interviews and Who You’ll be Meeting
Use online resources like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, talk to friends, and do lots of internet searches. Ask the recruiter or hiring manager you’ve made contact with for details and names, if possible.

Side note: Don’t be creepy with this information. Know who you’re talking to so you can focus on the things they’re likely to care about — but please don’t try to be clever and let them know that you’ve been Google-stalking them. That’s happened to me dozens of times and it’s ALWAYS  unpleasant and disconcerting.

3. Read that Job Description with a Magnifying Glass
Print it out and stick it in your notebook for reference. Be prepared to talk about how you’re qualified for every single item mentioned, even if it’s only tangentially. If you have solid work experience, that’s fantastic. But if not, don’t be afraid to mine classes you’ve taken, personal (but not inappropriate) experiences, or experiences you’ve observed from others.

4. Read at Least the Last Year’s Worth of News Reports on the Group and Company
If it’s a publicly-traded company, I start with Yahoo! Finance and look at their stock price and the news reports starting backwards from today. Make notes on big acquisitions or new program announcements, and listen to the most recent results call for clues on what the company wants to focus on for the next quarter. Then think about how you can contribute to these goals.

5. If Possible, Go Experience the Company’s Work as a Customer
Shop there, read their blog, open an account with them. Take notes on your experience. Note what is great, and what could use improvement. No matter which position you’re interviewing for, understanding the customer experience is vital to understanding the strengths and challenges of the business.

6. Think About the Questions you Might Ask if You Were in the Interviewer’s Shoes
Do you have a spotty work record? Have you been fired? Didn’t finish your degree? Been out of work for a while? None of these issues are deal-breakers unless you can’t speak clearly about what happened. This is important. Write down the answers. Go have a snack. Come back and reread it. Edit it. Go for a walk. Edit it again. Now try saying it out loud — or even better, find a friend you can practice saying it to. Now stop worrying about it. You are more than that little flaw, and you have tons to offer. In fact, those flaws probably make you a better person.

7. Think about Three to Five Things of Which You are Super-Proud of Achieving — the Meatier, the Better 
Did you turn a bad thing around? Make a killer sale in the nick of time? Write those things down and then use the STAR method to go through the details to refresh your memory:

• • • What was the SITUATION?
    • What was your TASK?
    • What ACTION did you take?
    • And then, most importantly — don’t forget this part — what were the RESULTS?

8. Think of One Time you Failed 
Use the STAR method for this, too. Don’t be embarrassed. (Only liars and sociopaths never fail!) What did you learn from this mistake? How did you apply that later on? Done. You have a great answer about a failure. Speak of it with no embarrassment.

9. Think About your Answer to the “Tell Me a Little About Yourself” Question
This opener is a gift, so don’t waste it. You can convey anything at all about yourself that might not otherwise be covered in an interview. For instance, are you an avid fan of the product the company makes? Do you have important volunteer work that contributes to your effectiveness in this role? Are you proud of the overall trajectory of your career? Think about what you want to convey — and then practice telling your story with those points as highlights.

10. Put a Copy of Your Resumé in Your Notebook, and Walk Through Each Item on There as Though You Were the Interviewer
If they ask you what exactly the phrase “Drove execution of a strategic project” means, be ready to talk to it.  In fact, make notes on that resumé to remind you of brief talking points. Then bring a couple more clean resumés with you in case any of the interviewers need one.

11. Write Down 3 – 5 Questions for You to Ask the Interviewers
Make them questions you actually want the answers to, don’t try to show off, and realize this is not the time to negotiate the terms of your employment (no talk of start date, salary, or benefits).

Some great ones that I’ve heard over time are: “What do you like about working here?” or “Can you tell me a bit about your experience? I’m curious to learn about what a typical career path here looks like,” or “What are the big goals your team is working towards this year?” or “What does your typical day look like? How about yesterday?”  If you are doing a round of interviews with many people, don’t stress about coming up with questions for each of them. Just keep asking the same one or two. I think it’s helpful to hear how different people answer the same question.

Is that a lot of work? Yes! But it’s totally worth it when you walk into that room with the confidence of a well-prepared boss. Now that you’ve done all that legwork, relax, get some sleep, and get yourself to the interview fifteen minutes early!