Do
- Research the company, company website, and Hiring Manager
- Come prepared with questions about the company and questions regarding the expectations of the position you are interviewing for with the company
- Have examples of previous experiences that show you are qualified for the position
- Provide samples of your work or projects
- Take notes
- Let them drive the interview. This helps as he/she/they will guide you through the interview. There may be one person in the room; there may be many people in the room.
- Listen to them. Do not interrupt them. If they take you down the road of talking about the future, let them. If they want to talk about last week, let them. They are ultimately in control.
- If you do not feel comfortable, by all means, speak up and ask them to move on or return to that question at a later time. There is nothing wrong with that.
- At the end of the interview, ask for their business card(s) and send a thank you email or handwritten letter within 48-72 hours.
Don’t
- Do not burn your bridges!
- Do not speak negative of your previous employer
- Do not focus on workplace issues you may have had in the past with co-workers or managers
- Avoid talking in circles; this will get you nowhere in the interview.
