You’ve just been invited to an interview. The first feeling you experience is one of excitement. The next feeling often is one of panic! You suddenly realise that you are in with a chance and you don’t want to blow it.

But how do you prepare for the day? You practise!

Here are a few tips to help you keep your focus:

1. Read back over what you submitted in your application and reflect on any responses to the selection criteria. The employer picked you, so you must have done something right! Important tip: It’s perfectly fine to talk about and perhaps embellish anything you have already discussed in your written application at interview.
2. Go one step further and find out as much as you can about the organisation. What industries do they work in? What is their mission statement? What about their corporate values? Have there been any recent major developments reported in the press?
3. If you know who’s going to be on the panel, check them out via LinkedIn or Google to find a bit more about them and their roles
4. If you’re in a field of study where pracs/clinical rotations have been a key element, focus on the practical, technical elements of your fieldwork. Think carefully over your approach to your work e.g. How do you approach a particular situation? What are the exact steps you take in order to complete a task effectively?
5. Reflect. What questions do you think you are most likely to be asked and prepare for them accordingly. What is the job? What responsibilities will you have in the role?
6. Analyse the job advertisement and/or job description. What skills have they specifically asked for and how do you address them, or have you exhibited them in your professional or personal experience?
7. Practise. Walk the dog and run through possible responses to interview questions.
8. Practise. Rope in a family member or friend to ask you questions or, if you are a Curtin student, book in for a mock interview with Curtin Careers, Employment & Leadership.
9. Practise!
10. On the day, take a deep breath, smile, present yourself with a firm handshake to put yourself on an equal footing, and take it away!

The very best of luck to all who will be interviewing in the very near future. Remember, you’ve been invited to present yourself as the best for the job because they believe you’ve got what it takes. So should you – you are almost there.

Curtin students seeking more information on interviews can book into our Interview workshop, being held on Thursday 1 August, 3pm to 4.30pm.

Can’t make it Thursday? Test out our Interviews module on Careers Challenge or check out our interview resources on UniHub for a whole host of extra info.