One of the biggest mistakes people make while preparing for an interview, is they forget to prepare timelines and set standards to follow. More often than not, people treat interviews casually - instead, my recommendation would be to treat an interview as you would an exam. Timelines are extremely important when it comes to interview prepping. If you don’t set yourself a deadline, your preparation won’t be complete - and that’s basically a recipe for losing a shot at an interview you otherwise had an excellent chance at.

As the final chapter in your journey towards planning your interview preparation strategy, this chapter helps you set out timelines and standards to match your goals. All the hard work and perseverance you put into the previous chapters of finalizing your domain, target companies, understanding roles and requirements and resources will now be helpful as we move into the execution and implementation stages of your interview prep.

If someone were to ask me, if I had time only to read 2 chapters in this interview preparation guide, which would it be? This chapter would definitely be one of them, with the revision section being the other.

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• Go through past questions

It always helps to go through questions your target company may have asked during their past interviews. You can understand past questions by researching the target company or getting in touch with other people who may have interviewed there or are working there.

Questions relating to other companies: Another way to go through past questions is to gauge questions asked by similar companies for a similar job profile. Do a little research on competitor companies to understand how they hire for the same role.

Questions relating to similar profiles: To get a little more information on the kind of questions you can be asked,  go through questions that are asked to people applying for roles that aren’t only the same as yours but also similar to yours. By gauging similar profiles, you may get a broader understanding of what you could expect.

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• Don’t forget to lap up the job description

One of the points that I would like to emphasize here is to be extremely aware of the job description. Most of the time, the job description acts as the bible or guiding point to what a candidate can expect during an interview and what they are expected to respond to or be prepared with. Ensure that you are also thorough with the company - no company wants to hire someone who has no idea who they are or what the company stands for.

Imagine giving the recruiter the impression you really want the job and then being cluelessly asked, “Do you know what kind of products our company delivers?” You don’t want to fall prey to such embarrassing situations.

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• Revise, revise, revise!

Whether it’s your handwritten notes or comments saved on a digital document, keep revisiting problems, questions, and materials that can help you with that final push to ace your interview.

Along with technical revision material, keep a document handy with information related to your target company so that you don’t have to do a Google search on them at the last minute.

Tip - Keep your revision material handy, even when you don’t have an interview scheduled. You never know when you might need it

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• Mock interviews are your best friend

Schedule mock interviews with different colleagues, mentors, and friends from time to time. There’s no harm in answering behavioral and personality questions - especially since answers to these questions can evolve with time. Keep taking mock interviews since they give you a real-time picture of your capabilities.

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• External tips

Whether it's tips from friends, colleagues, and mentors, or tips from people who specifically gave you interview referrals, all tips should be kept handy at all times!

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I do hope that you have gained a lot of knowledge on how to improve your interview preparation process strategically. The interview preparation tips provided in this Guide are meant to guide you and help you succeed in your interviews. They are, however, not a guarantee of your abilities to do so. While we encourage readers to follow each of these tips, we also encourage them to customize them according to what suits their preparation process best.

It’s all about making an excellent first (and only!) impression! If you are looking for extensive (or even a little more) help regarding any of the topics covered in this interview preparation guide, get in touch with Preplaced. Preplaced offers specific advice and support in goal setting, mock interviews, interview preparation programs, sessions with experts, and referral programs that can place your interview process a cut above the rest and help you gain an advantage with your target companies. Preplaced’s mentor community excels in these areas and would be thrilled to help you go that extra mile towards your dream interview run!

Keep calm, and ace that interview!