How to Succeed in a Job Interview in 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

Does the idea of going to a job interview make you feel anxious and nervous? You’re certainly not alone!

In one survey of employed adults, over 90% reported that they felt afraid when faced with the prospect of a job interview.

“For so many, the job interview can be a high-pressure, make-or-break event when searching for a job, so it’s only natural that anxiety can play a major factor,” said survey spokesman John Swartz.

The good news is that you can feel more relaxed and confident about an interview simply by preparing yourself ahead of time.

This step-by-step guide will show you exactly how to prepare for the entire job interview process, from beginning to end.

Step 1 – Research the company

During the job interview, it’s practically guaranteed that you’ll be asked how familiar you are with the company.

If your answer is “not very familiar,” you’re much less likely to get the job!

In fact, 47% of interviewers said that they would NOT offer a job to someone who didn’t know much about the company.

This is why it’s so important to research the company you’re applying to before the interview.

You need to learn all you can about what the company does, who its customers are, and what its products and services are.

This will not only give you the edge over other job candidates, but it will help you come up with insightful questions to ask the interviewer and demonstrate your level of interest in the company.

How to research a company for an interview:

1) Visit the company website – You should find a wealth of information here, including details about the company’s mission statement, values, and history. Find out how big the company is. Is it a start-up, or a large corporation? Is the work environment casual, or formal? Knowing this can help you decide if it’s the right fit for your skills and interests.

2) Read news articles about the company – These will provide you with important insights into current trends and developments. You can also avoid companies that have recent scandals!

3) Visit their social media channels – Start by searching for the company’s official social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. What kind of messages are they posting and tweeting? You can learn a lot about the company’s culture, values, and mission by paying attention to its social media presence.

4) Look up the company on Glassdoor – Glassdoor is a useful free tool for researching a company because it allows you to see ratings and reviews from current or former employees. The reviews are anonymous and can provide great insight into the company from the perspective of its employees.

Glassdoor also provides information about salaries, benefits, and the interview process that can help determine whether a job is worth applying to.

As an example, here is what the Microsoft company page looks like on Glassdoor:

Step 2 – Prepare for the most common interview questions

Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew exactly what questions the interviewer was going to ask you?

Unfortunately, there’s no surefire way to know this, but there are some questions that interviewers are more likely to ask than others.

Knowing what these questions are, and how to answer them, can give you the confidence you need to ace your interview.

To help you prepare, here are twenty of the most common job interview questions:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How do you stay organized? How do you prioritize tasks?
3. What are your hobbies?
4. How do you deal with stress or pressure?
5. How would your coworkers describe you?
6. Can you explain your employment gap?
7. Why are you leaving your current job?
8. Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
9. Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced and how you handled it.
10. Do you have any questions for me?
11. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
12. What type of work environment do you prefer?
13. What are you looking for in a new position?
14. What are your salary requirements?
15. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
16. Why should we hire you?
17. What do you know about this company?
18. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
19. Why did you apply for this job?
20. Why do you want to work here?

Take some time to familiarize yourself with these questions. Knowing what’s likely to be asked in the interview will help you manage your nerves and respond in a more professional manner.

Pro Tip: It’s also a good idea to organize your job search using a free job tracker. This allows you to keep all your information and interview dates in one place for easy reference.

Step 3 – Practice your answers

Going into a job interview without practicing is like going into battle without any armor.

You won’t feel confident and you’ll struggle to answer the tough questions!

Practicing allows you to think through various scenarios, develop good answers to common questions, and identify areas that may need some extra preparation.

At the very least, run through the answers in your head. But it’s much more effective to practice out loud.

Practicing out loud will make you more comfortable with verbalizing your answers. It also makes it easier for you to see what needs to be improved.

It can really help to practice with friends, family, or even a professional career coach.

Practicing with another person present to listen to you might make some people nervous, but remember, you’re going to be interviewed by a complete stranger, so try to get used to it!

How to practice for an interview:

• Record yourself – Just use a phone or webcam and replay your answers. You’ll not only hear yourself, but you’ll be able to see your body language.
• Use flashcards – Simply write down an interview question on each card, shuffle them, and practice answering – you can carry them with you anywhere!
• Use LinkedIn’s free interview preparation tool. You can get instant, private, AI-powered feedback after you record a video answer.
• Don’t rehearse too much! This can make you seem unauthentic or insincere.

Too many people skip this step, but the more you practice, the more confident and prepared you’ll feel when you start the interview.

Step 4 – Dress appropriately

It goes without saying – you want to look your best during a job interview!

After all, the interviewer’s first impression of you will be based on how you look and what you’re wearing.

In fact, 71 percent of hiring managers say they will NOT hire someone who is dressed inappropriately for the interview.

There’s no single way to dress correctly for a job interview (a lot depends on the company culture), but as a rule, always try to dress one step above whatever the dress code seems to be.

When in doubt, remember that it’s always better to be over-dressed than under-dressed!

How to dress for an interview:

• Make sure that your clothing is neat, professional, and appropriate.
• Dress in clothing that is conservative and fits properly – no jeans or shorts!
• Choose colors like blue, gray, black, or tan; avoid bold prints and bright colors.
• Add a pop of color with your tie or blouse, but don’t go overboard.
• Wear dress shoes that are polished; pumps or flats with a small heel are generally acceptable.
• Keep accessories to a minimum and choose more subtle jewelry.
• Make sure your shoes are clean and in good condition.
• Don’t go overboard on the fragrances.

It’s a good idea to dress in your interview outfit ahead of time to make sure it’s ready to go. This will help avoid last-minute rushing around.

The key thing to remember is that you want to appear professional and don’t want to wear anything that is going to be a distraction.

Step 5 – Prepare for a Zoom interview

Due to the Covid pandemic, virtual job interviews became the norm, and they’re not going away!

A study by Indeed showed that 82% of employers conduct virtual interviews. Hiring managers like them because they can quickly assess a candidate with minimal disruption and expense.

Job seekers prefer virtual interviews as well. They don’t require any travel and are less intimidating.

However, virtual interviews come with their own set of challenges, especially if you’re not used to meeting with people online.

It’s easy to get flustered by the technology and forget to pay attention to the things that will get you the job.

If you’re not familiar with Zoom, here are some tips to make you look professional in a virtual interview:

Tip #1 – Adjust your Zoom settings

To adjust your settings, first sign into Zoom (if you don’t have Zoom, you can download it for free here).

Go to “settings” by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner.

Once you’re in settings, you’ll see a menu on the left. Click on “video” and this screen will appear:

In the bottom right, you can click on “touch up my appearance” and “adjust for low light.” These settings will help you look your best on camera.

Another thing you can do in settings is blur your background. This is helpful for job interviews because it eliminates distractions and helps the interviewer focus on your face.

To do this, click on “Background & Effects” in the menu on the left. You can then choose to blur your background (you can also choose a virtual background).

Tip #2 – Follow the “Rule of Thirds”

One of the most common mistakes people make on Zoom is having only a tiny bit of their shoulders showing, leaving a big space above their heads.

This creates an unbalanced look which is unpleasing to the eye (plus it makes you look small).

To fix this, imagine the screen is divided into three equal horizontal zones, or “thirds”.

Your eyes should appear near the top third of the screen. Your shoulders should be visible and there should only be a little space above your head.

In this example, the woman appears natural, properly sized, and centered in the frame:

Tip #3 – Have light in front of you

Another mistake people make on Zoom is bad lighting.

Avoid having your light source coming from behind you. This will make your face appear dark and shadowy.

Your light source should be in front of your face, not behind it.

Natural light from a window works well. If you can’t use natural lighting or are meeting when it’s dark out, you can buy an affordable clip-on light or ring light.

Step 6 – Prepare questions you can ask the interviewer

You’re almost ready for your job interview. There’s just one more thing to do – prepare some questions that YOU can ask the interviewer.

No matter what job you’re applying to, at some point toward the end of the interview, you’ll be asked, “So, do you have any questions for me?”

Even if you think everything has been covered, you should always ask a few questions.

Asking questions shows that you’re confident in your abilities and that you would be an informed and engaged team member if hired.

If you don’t ask any questions, you’ll come across as uninterested and unprepared.

The top ten questions to ask in a job interview:

1. What challenges will I face in this role?
2. How would you describe the company culture?
3. Could you tell me more about the team I’ll be working with?
4. What are the opportunities for growth and development within this role?
5. What do you believe are the most important skills for successful performance in this role?
6. What are the most rewarding aspects of working here?
7. How do you measure success and performance within the team?
8. Could you tell me about any current projects I could get involved with?
9. What would be your expectations of me in the first few months?
10. What can I do to help the team succeed?

Asking questions like these shows you are thoughtful and informed, and is a great way to end the interview on a positive note.

Step 7 – The interview

It’s finally time for the interview itself! This is when all your preparation should pay off.

You already know what questions to expect, and how to answer them. This step is more about what your body language is telling the interviewer during the interview.

Don’t underestimate the power of body language! Studies show that “55 percent of messages processed by the brain are based on a person’s body language”.

The overall quality you want to convey with your body language is confidence.

Confidence is not about “holding court,” according to psychologist Gary Wood. “It’s more to do with putting people at ease. It helps to focus on connecting with people rather than focusing on the performance.”

With this in mind, here are a few ways to put people at ease and exude confidence during a job interview:

1) Make eye contact – Talk to the interviewer as you would talk to a friend. Make eye contact, but don’t overdo it. Not making enough eye contact can be interpreted as a lack of interest or confidence in your abilities.

2) Smile – It’s amazing how far a smile will get you! Smiling shows that you are confident and comfortable, and this creates a more relaxed atmosphere. Smiling also communicates that you are friendly, approachable, and outgoing – all qualities employers look for in potential candidates.

3) Don’t fidget – Fidgeting can be distracting for the interviewer and can make you seem nervous or uncertain about your qualifications. However, this doesn’t mean you have to sit completely still. For example, you can use your hands to emphasize points that you are making, as long as you don’t overdo it.

4) Have good posture – Poor posture can be interpreted as a lack of confidence, boredom, or even disrespect. If you struggle with good posture, try to remember to sit as though a string were connecting your head to the ceiling.

Overall, using good body language during a job interview strongly indicates that you are confident, attentive, and enthusiastic about the position – which is exactly what employers are looking for.

Step 8 – Send a thank-you note

Just because the interview is over doesn’t mean your work is done! Make sure to follow up with a thank-you note or email within 24 hours of the interview.

A thank-you note might not seem important, but in one survey 68% of hiring managers said that thank-you notes impact their decision-making process. And nearly 20% said they have rejected a candidate because they didn’t receive a thank-you note after an interview!

A thank-you note shows that you are polite and professional, but it’s also your final pitch for why you should be hired.

Most employers are fine with an emailed thank-you note these days. If you don’t know the email address of the person who interviewed you, send your thank-you note to human resources and ask them to forward it for you.

When you send a thank-you email, put your name and “thank you” in the subject line. At the end of the email, include your contact information so the person knows how to reach you.

Pro Tip: Be sure to track your job applications so you don’t get confused. There’s nothing worse than missing an interview because you mixed up the dates!

Step 9 – Follow up

The hiring process takes time, so you need to be patient after a job interview, no matter how well you thought it went.

However, if you haven’t heard back from the hiring manager within a reasonable amount of time, it’s OK to follow up with them.

Send a short email expressing that you are still interested in the role and would like to know if they have made a decision.

You don’t want to seem pushy or desperate, so keep your email professional and polite.

Final thoughts

No matter how much you prepare, some job interviews don’t go well. It happens all the time.

This is why you should view interviewing for jobs as a learning process. With each interview, you’ll start to feel more confident and get better at selling yourself.

Remember, even if you don’t get the job that you really, really wanted, there are plenty more job opportunities right around the corner.

So stay positive. The whole job search process is hard – for everyone. But if you follow the 9 steps in this article and keep persevering, you’ll eventually land a job that’s perfect for you!