Job Interview Tips to Help You Make a Great Impression

The practical job interview tips in this article will help you approach your interview with confidence, answer a wide range of questions convincingly, and present yourself in the best possible light.

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Tips for a successful job interview

Use the following tips as a checklist to make sure you’ve covered all the bases in your interview preparation.

Review the interview details

Start your job interview preparations by carefully reviewing all the information you’ve received about it. Check emails from recruiters and other company representatives, including any attachments or links they’ve shared. Important details may be spread across several messages.

Make sure you know the answers to questions such as:

• What is the interview format? Will it take place in person or virtually?
• What stage of the hiring process is it? Is this an initial screening interview?
• Who will be interviewing you? Will you meet with an HR representative, the hiring manager (often the person who would be your future supervisor), or someone else?
• How many interviewers will there be? Will it be a one-on-one interview or a panel interview?
• Do you need to prepare anything in advance? Have you been asked to complete a task, give a presentation, or read a document that you’ll discuss during the interview?

Understanding exactly what to expect will help you prepare more effectively and avoid surprises. If any important details are missing or unclear, double-check that you haven’t overlooked the information before contacting the recruiter or company representative to ask for clarification.

Review your application

You know your application was strong because it got you an interview, and it’s a valuable resource for your preparation. Find the exact versions of the resume and cover letter you submitted, locate the job posting, and read through them all again carefully.

When you prepared your application, you identified the skills, experience, and achievements that make you a strong candidate for the role. Revisit these key selling points and make a note of them. This will help you go into the interview with a clear idea of how to answer questions in ways that emphasize your strengths and reinforce your suitability for the role.

If there are any job requirements you don’t fully meet, such as experience with specific tasks or software, research them in advance. This will help you discuss them confidently and explain how your existing skills and experience would enable you to get up to speed quickly.

Find out about the company

Spend some time exploring the company’s website, searching for information about it online, and browsing its social media accounts.

Get a sense of how it’s structured, who its customers are, and what its main products or services are. Look into its values, goals, and priorities, as well as any recent developments or challenges it may be facing.

This research will give you useful context for answering interview questions and help you explain how your skills and experience align with the company’s needs. It will also show the interviewer that you’ve taken the time to learn about the organization and have a genuine interest in working there.

Tell stories

Whenever possible, back up your interview answers with specific examples that demonstrate the hard and soft skills relevant to the question you’re answering. Rather than simply claiming that you’re good at something, describe a situation in which you put that skill into practice.

The STAR method can help you structure these examples into clear, convincing “stories.” It’s particularly useful for answering behavioral interview questions, which ask you to describe how you’ve handled situations in the past.

But treat interview answer techniques like the STAR method as flexible frameworks or mental checklists rather than rigid formulas to follow. The goal is to give clear, cohesive answers that exemplify your strengths, not to force every example into a particular structure.

Keep your answers positive

Try to maintain a positive tone throughout the interview, including when answering difficult questions.

If you’re asked about a skill or experience you lack, be honest rather than exaggerating your qualifications. But try to follow up your answer with something positive that helps reassure the interviewer about your suitability for the role.

Avoid speaking negatively about previous employers or colleagues, even if you’re asked to describe a challenging situation you handled at work.

For example, instead of complaining that your previous manager was disorganized, you could explain how the experience taught you to be proactive about clarifying priorities and deadlines. Or rather than criticizing a former employer for offering limited promotion opportunities, explain that you’re looking for a role where you can take on more responsibility and continue developing professionally.

The aim is to show that you can discuss challenges constructively and focus on what you’ve learned from them.

Practice

Review some common interview questions and make notes on the key points you could include in your answers. Once you’ve done this, ask a friend to conduct a mock interview to help you remember the points you want to make and practice thinking on your feet under interview-like conditions.

If you don’t have time to arrange a mock interview, try writing interview questions on separate cards, shuffling them, and answering them spontaneously. You could also record your answers on your phone and listen back to identify areas for improvement. Knowing that you’re being recorded can add a little of the pressure you’re likely to feel in a real interview.

Pay particular attention to questions you might find difficult, such as those about your weaknesses, how others perceive you, or gaps in your skills or experience compared with the job requirements.

Avoid memorizing complete answers or rehearsing exact sentences, as this can make your responses sound unnatural and unconvincing. Instead, focus on remembering your main points so you can answer confidently while adapting what you say to the specific question and how the conversation develops.

Prepare questions to ask the interviewer

You’ll probably have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview, so prepare a few in advance in case nothing comes to mind on the spot.

Avoid asking about things you could easily find out by looking online or that the company has already explained in its correspondence with you.

Good topics for questions include:

• The team: Who would I be working most closely with?
• Professional development: Does the company offer any training and development opportunities for its employees?
• The hiring process: What are the next steps, and when can I expect to hear back?

Asking thoughtful questions shows your interest in the position and helps you decide whether the role and company are a good fit for you.

Take care of the practical arrangements

Make sure you’ve sorted out the practical details of your interview well in advance so you can focus on making a good impression rather than dealing with last-minute problems.

For an in-person interview:

• Double-check the location and find out who you should ask for when you arrive.
• Plan your journey, allowing extra time for unexpected delays. Check parking arrangements or public transportation options if necessary.
• Decide what you’re going to wear and make sure your outfit is clean and ready.
• Gather together anything you’ve been asked to bring, such as identification, certificates, or examples of your work.

For a virtual interview:

• Check that you have the correct meeting link and any software you need.
• Test your camera, microphone, and internet connection beforehand.
• Find a quiet, well-lit space with a suitable background where you’re unlikely to be disturbed.
• Make sure your device is fully charged or connected to a power source.

Whatever the interview format, keep copies of your resume, cover letter, and the job description handy, along with your preparation notes and questions for the interviewer. Have a pen and notepad available in case you want to jot anything down.

You might also want to save your preparation notes somewhere you can easily access them for a final review before the interview.

Follow up

Consider sending a brief thank-you email within 24 hours of your interview. A thoughtful follow-up message can help you leave a positive impression. Even if you don’t get the job, it may help you maintain a positive relationship with the interviewer that could prove valuable later in your career, particularly if you apply for another position at the same company in the future.

If you haven’t heard back by the date you were told to expect an update, allow a couple of business days for any unexpected delays before sending a polite follow-up email asking about the status of your application.

Frequently asked questions about job interview tips

How should you introduce yourself in a job interview?

In the US, it’s common to shake hands when you introduce yourself in a job interview, so be prepared for this at the start of an in-person interview.

If the interviewer offers their hand, shake it confidently, making eye contact and smiling. These small details can be easy to forget if you’re nervous.

The interviewer or interview panel will probably already know your name. If they greet you by name, there’s no need to say your name again. A simple “nice to meet you” with a smile is an appropriate response.

A good job interview tip is to make sure you’re prepared to answer “Tell me about yourself” or a variation of this common opening question. It’s an invitation to introduce yourself with a brief overview of your professional background that highlights your suitability for the role.

Quickly create a professional-looking version of your resume to take along to your interview using Quilbot’s free AI Resume Builder.

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