What is Interview Prep? Interview preparation is all about putting your best foot forward when it matters most. Some things are universal: doing your homework on the company, fully understanding the job responsibilities, and making sure your resume is up-to-date. These are the bare basics that set the stage for a successful interview.

Bare Basics of Interview Prep The essentials are straightforward:

• Research the company thoroughly. Know their values, mission, and recent developments.
• Understand the job you’re applying for, including the responsibilities and how they align with your skills.
• Update your resume as needed, ensuring it accurately reflects your most relevant experiences.

Major Concepts in Interview Preparation There’s more to interview prep than just brushing up your resume:

• Your Resume is Fair Game: Be prepared to discuss everything on your resume. If it’s listed, it’s likely to come up.
• Crafting Your Story: Your resume isn’t just a list of jobs; it’s a collection of stories. Use these stories to develop an “interview script” that helps you answer questions smoothly.
• Understand the Real Question: Interviews often probe deeper than the surface. Recognize the underlying questions and address them.
• Embrace Puzzle Questions: Logic or puzzle questions can be fun! Approach them with enthusiasm. Sometimes, how you think is more important than getting the “right” answer.
• Control the Flow: Guide the conversation to highlight your strengths and keep the interview focused on your skills and experiences.

What’s an Interview Script? An interview script is your playbook—a set of key points about yourself that you’ll reinforce during the interview. It’s about:

• Developing concepts from each resume bullet point into stories.
• Relating these stories to different types of questions:
  • Technical expertise → Specific experiences.
  • Handling conflict or mistakes → Behavioral stories.
  • Accomplishments → Stories of achievements.
• Recognizing that stories often overlap, allowing you to tailor them to various questions.

How to Write Resume Stories Crafting compelling resume stories involves:

• Combining major and minor points to create a narrative.
• Using specific experiences rather than general answers—specifics are memorable!
• Creating a storyboard that maps out your experiences and how they can be used to answer different types of questions.

Strategies When You’re Stuck When a question stumps you:

• Refer back to your storyboard and script. What situation or story best relates to the question?
• Focus on the core of the question and connect it to your experiences.

By preparing thoughtfully and developing your stories, you’ll be able to navigate interviews with confidence, turning each question into an opportunity to showcase your strengths.