How to prepare for a job interview — what actually matters

I have run thousands of interviews, and prepared hundreds of people for theirs. The difference between the ones who perform and the ones who don't almost never comes down to capability.

It comes down to preparation. Not the anxious kind, where you read the company website eleven times. The specific kind, where you know what you are going to be asked and you have already decided what you are going to say.

Here is how I prepare the candidates I represent.

Start a week out, not the night before

Most people do all their preparation in a panic the evening before. That is the worst possible time, because everything you learn then is fragile and you sleep badly on top of it.

A week before

• Read the job ad again, properly. Highlight every requirement. You need a story for each of the top five.

• Research the company (see below).

• Draft your stories. Say them out loud once. They will be too long, which is fine for now.

Two days before

• Cut each story down. Ninety seconds is plenty.

• Write your questions for them.

• Work out what you are wearing and check the route or the video link.

The night before

• Read your notes once. Do not rehearse to the point of sounding scripted.

• Go to bed. Genuinely, this is the highest-value thing you can do at that point.

The hour before

• Eat something.

• Read the job ad one last time, then put it away.

• Ten minutes of quiet. Not scrolling. Your nervous system needs the runway.

Research the company properly, not just the website

Everyone reads the About page. That is table stakes.

Go further. Read recent news about them. Look at their social media to understand the tone of the place. Check LinkedIn to see who works there and where they came from. If they are listed, read the most recent annual report, or at least the chairman's letter at the front of it.

What you are looking for is context: what does this company care about right now, what is making life hard for them, and what are they proud of. The more of that you understand, the less generic every answer becomes.

The questions you will actually be asked

Interviews vary less than people expect. These come up again and again, and every one of them is a chance to be either forgettable or specific.

Tell me about yourself

Usually first, and usually answered worst. It is not an invitation to recite your resume from the top.

Ninety seconds. Where you have come from, briefly. What you have built and what you are known for. Why this role, at this company, now. Make it sound like a logical next step rather than a scattergun application.

Why do you want this role?

They are checking whether you want this job or a job. Name something specific about the company or the role that you could not say about any competitor. If you cannot find one, that is worth knowing before you go in.

Why are you leaving your current role?

Never criticise your employer, however justified you are. Frame it forwards, not backwards: what you are moving towards rather than what you are escaping. If it was a redundancy, say so plainly and without apology. It is common and it is not a mark against you.

Tell me about a time when...

This is the behavioural question, and it is where most interviews are won or lost. Use STAR: the Situation, your Task, the Action you took, the Result. Keep the situation short and spend your time on the action, because the action is the only part that tells them anything about you.

Have six to eight stories ready before you walk in. Between them they should cover a difficult problem you solved, a time you influenced someone with no authority over them, something that went wrong and what you did about it, a time you led or developed someone, and a strong commercial outcome. Most questions can be answered from that set.

What is your greatest weakness?

Answer it honestly, with a real one, and say what you do about it. "I am a perfectionist" tells them nothing except that you are unwilling to be candid. A genuine answer with a genuine mitigation is disarming, and it is rarer than it should be.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

They are asking whether you will still be here. You do not need a life plan. Talk about the kind of work you want to be doing and the responsibility you want to be carrying, and connect it to a path that plausibly runs through this role.

What are your salary expectations?

Deflect it politely at first interview. Something like: "I would rather understand the scope properly first, but I am sure we can find something that works." You have almost no leverage before an offer and all of it afterwards. Wait.

Prepare questions of your own, real ones

"Do you have any questions for us?" is not a formality. Candidates who ask sharp questions get remembered. Candidates who say "no, I think you have covered everything" do not.

Ones worth asking:

• What does success look like in this role in the first ninety days?

• What are the biggest challenges facing the team right now?

• What do the people who thrive here have in common?

• Why is the role open?

Avoid anything answerable from the website, anything about salary or benefits at first interview, and anything that suggests you are not sure you want the job.

Different formats need different preparation

The recruiter phone screen

Short, and mostly a filter. Be ready to summarise your background in two minutes, explain why you are looking, and give a salary range if pressed hard. Have the job ad in front of you. Nobody can see you, so use notes.

Video interviews

Test the link beforehand, not at the appointed minute. Camera at eye level. Light in front of you rather than behind. Look at the lens when you are making a point, not at your own face. Close everything that pings.

Panel interviews

Find out who is on the panel and what each of them does. Answer to the person who asked, then include the others with your eyes. Panels usually contain one person who is harder work than the rest, and that is normal rather than a signal.

Internal interviews

Harder than external ones, because people think they already know you. Do not assume your track record speaks for itself. Prepare as though they have never met you, and make the case for the role you want rather than the one you have.

The practical things still matter

Know where you are going and how long it takes. Arrive ten minutes early, not thirty. Bring a copy of your resume even though they have it. Water within reach for a video call. Charge your laptop.

These sound obvious. You would be surprised.

One honest thing about nerves

Nerves are normal and interviewers know it. What they are watching is not whether you are nervous, it is whether you can manage it and still hold a conversation. A breath, a pause, asking for a second to think: all fine. Rambling for four minutes to fill a silence: not fine.

Preparation is what makes nerves manageable. When you know your stories and you have done the research, there is simply less to be anxious about. And when it is over, a brief and well-judged follow-up keeps you front of mind without tipping into pestering.

Common questions

How long should I spend preparing for an interview?

Three to four hours spread across the week before, rather than one frantic evening. The spacing matters more than the total.

How many stories should I prepare?

Six to eight. Any more and you will not recall them cleanly under pressure.

What should I take with me?

A printed copy of your resume, the job ad, your questions, and something to write with. Notes are fine and nobody thinks less of you for having them.

Should I use AI to prepare?

For rehearsing answers and pressure-testing your stories, yes, it is genuinely useful. For generating answers you then recite, no. It shows, and it shows quickly.

What if I do not know the answer?

Say so, then say how you would find out. Interviewers are far more forgiving of that than of watching someone bluff.

Is it a bad sign if the interview is short?

Not necessarily. Some interviewers are efficient, some have another meeting. Read the follow-up, not the clock.

Career Kit has a full interview module, including the toughest questions, how to show up with presence rather than just answers, and the exact scripts I use with candidates I represent. It is at careerkit.com.au.