Once the pre-interview cosmetics are out of the way – you’ve got a great-looking suit, your shirt is clean and pressed and ready to go, and you’re feeling ready, it’s time to focus on the rest of your preparation for the interview.
Mental preparation: In the days leading up to the interview, spend some quiet time focusing on what you want to achieve. Remind yourself of all the ways that you are qualified for the job. Think back on the many good things you’ve done during your career. Rehearse a list of key messages that you want to be sure to mention during the conversation. Think through some of the questions you want to ask the employer – what excites you about the job? What interest you about the company? What do you want to get them to talk about so that they’ll be reminded of why you’re the right choice for the job? Visualize a positive outcome. Imagine your interviewers responding with interest and enthusiasm to your ideas, your energy and your professional presence. Sometimes to get great results, you first have to envision it in your mind – “if you can believe it, you can achieve it.”
The night before: Get a good night’s sleep. Go to bed early. Don’t drink caffeine after 5 p.m., and turn off the TV by 7 p.m. Get some exercise during daylight hours to help your body’s rhythms get you ready for a restful sleep. You’re going to have a big day tomorrow, and you need to rest up for it so that your body and mind can be sharp and effective.
The day of the interview: Wake up early – give yourself plenty of time to get ready. Eat a nutritious breakfast with plenty of protein to keep you from feeling hungry during the interview. Allow yourself plenty of time to find your way to the interview location – you don’t want to cut it close and then get lost in the last 5 minutes before your interview starts. Show up 10 minutes early – but don’t interrupt the interviewer; he or she might be busy with a prior appointment. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and confident eye contact. This is it! Your interview is about to begin – it’s game time!
Once it begins: Treat the interview like a comfortable conversation. You’re not being interrogated, you’re not trying to put on a show, you’re not trying to be overbearing or excessively energetic or ingratiating; you’re having a professional dialogue with new colleagues who you’re interested in getting to know. Make steady eye contact and use easy hand gestures. Don’t be afraid to use humor – but make sure it’s natural to who you are and how you would normally communicate in the workplace; if you normally talk with colleagues in a more reserved, “just the facts” style, don’t try to turn into Conan O’Brien overnight. Above all, be yourself – “be real” but without trying too hard. Ask good questions to show that you care – and show that you have a broader understanding of the needs of the interviewer and the company, beyond your immediate concerns of wanting a job.
After the interview: Send a hand-written thank you card, via U.S. mail, to every person who interviewed you. If at all possible, send these thank you cards as soon as you get home from the interview – try to have them postmarked on the same day. Hopefully you have the interviewer’s office mailing address from the business cards you exchanged that day, but if not, use Google, YellowPages.com, or even make a quick phone call to the interviewer’s administrative assistant. A hand-written thank you card shows that you care, it shows that you’re thoughtful, thorough and able to follow through. All of these qualities are important if you want to get a job offer. Make the thank you cards brief and personalized – if possible, refer back to something funny or memorable that the interviewer said during your conversation.
Acing an interview is about more than just shaking hands and showing up on time; it’s a process that starts well in advance of the interview and continues until you get a job offer.
If you make every effort to look and feel your best, communicate your key messages, rehearse what you want to say, and cultivate warm connections with the people you meet, your next interview will be more likely to get you closer to your ideal job.
Ben Gran is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. He is an award-winning blogger who loves to write about careers and the future of work.
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