---
title: Preparing for a Job Interview
description: Research, story preparation, logistics, day-of execution, and follow-up for any scheduled job interview.
category: life
tags: [career]
version: "1.0"
updated: 2026-07-07
---

For a scheduled interview, video or on-site, at any level. Assumes
about a week of lead time; with less, do the phases in order and
compress.

## As soon as it's scheduled

- [ ] Ask the recruiter for the format and the interviewer list `{essential}`
  A completely normal question, and it changes everything you prep:
  behavioral panel, technical screen, case study, and presentation all
  need different homework.
- [ ] Reread the job description and mark the top five requirements
  These are your prep syllabus — every story you prepare should map to
  one of them.
- [ ] Learn how the company makes money
  Main product, who pays, and how the role you're interviewing for
  helps. Talking about their business intelligently beats reciting
  their About page.
- [ ] Read the company's last six months of news
  Launches, funding, earnings, layoffs, leadership changes. It feeds
  your questions and surfaces red flags before you're invested.
- [ ] Look up each interviewer
  LinkedIn plus anything they've written or presented. Note one genuine
  point of connection per person — their team's work, a shared former
  employer, a talk they gave.
- [ ] Find the market salary range for the role `{essential}`
  Pay-transparency postings, levels.fyi, Glassdoor. Decide your number
  now, before anyone asks — you negotiate worse improvising.

## Story preparation

- [ ] Write one STAR story for each top requirement `{essential}`
  Situation, Task, Action, Result — a sentence or two each, ending in a
  concrete number. Five to seven stories cover almost any behavioral
  interview.
- [ ] Draft "tell me about yourself" as a 90-second arc
  Past, present, why this role — not a resume recital. It's nearly
  always first and sets the tone for everything after.
- [ ] Prepare a failure story and a conflict story
  Both are near-universal questions. Pick real ones with a real lesson;
  "I work too hard" reads as evasion.
- [ ] Prepare a two-sentence answer for gaps or short stints `{when: resume-gaps}`
  Brief, factual, forward-looking. Never badmouth a former employer —
  interviewers hear it as a preview of how you'll talk about them.
- [ ] Write your "why this company" answer with specifics
  Name the product, market, or problem that actually draws you. Generic
  enthusiasm is instantly detectable.
- [ ] Write five or more questions to ask them
  Good ones: "What separates a good hire from a great one in this
  role?", "What's the hardest part of this job that isn't in the
  description?", "What would my first 90 days look like?" Never ask
  anything the website answers.
- [ ] Rehearse your answers out loud, timed
  Stories that read well often run three times too long spoken. Aim
  for under two minutes each; record yourself once — it's painful and
  it works.

## Two days before

- [ ] Confirm the time, time zone, and location or link `{essential}`
  Reply to the calendar invite to confirm. Time zone mix-ups are the
  classic remote-interview failure.
- [ ] Do a tech rehearsal on the actual platform `{when: video-interview}` `{essential}`
  Camera at eye level, light in front of you not behind, mic test, and
  the app updated so it doesn't force an update at start time.
- [ ] Plan the route plus a backup `{when: on-site}` `{essential}`
  Aim to reach the building 15 minutes early and walk in 5–10 early.
  Scout parking or transit connections now.
- [ ] Choose an outfit one notch above their dress code, and try it on
- [ ] Print copies of your resume `{when: on-site}`
  One per interviewer plus a spare, with a notepad and pen.

## Day of

- [ ] Review your stories and questions once, then stop
  Cramming past this point raises anxiety, not performance.
- [ ] Silence your phone and close every app that sends notifications
  On video, close email and chat entirely — your eyes flick to
  notifications and interviewers notice.
- [ ] Be warm to everyone from the lobby onward
  Recruiters routinely ask reception and coordinators for impressions.
  The interview starts before the interview.
- [ ] Note each interviewer's name and one specific thing they said
  Jot it between sessions — it's the raw material for thank-you notes
  that don't read like templates.
- [ ] Close by asking about next steps and timeline
  It signals interest and gives you a legitimate date to follow up on.

## Follow-up

- [ ] Send a tailored thank-you email within 24 hours
  Two or three sentences per interviewer, each referencing something
  specific from that conversation. Ask the recruiter for addresses if
  you don't have them.
- [ ] Write down every question you were asked
  Your prep for the next round — and the next job hunt — compounds.
  Note which answers landed flat while you still remember.
- [ ] Follow up once if their stated timeline passes
  One polite nudge two business days after the date they gave you.
  Then let it go.
- [ ] Keep interviewing elsewhere until you have a written offer `{essential}`
  Verbal offers evaporate. A live pipeline is also your only real
  negotiating leverage.