# How to prepare for a job interview (with a checklist) Source: https://glide.work/guides/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview Published: 2026-11-15 Updated: 2026-11-15 [Guides](https://glide.work/guides) # How to prepare for a job interview (with a checklist) By [Shubhankar Kahali](https://glide.work/company) Reviewed 15 November 2026 6 min read The short answer To prepare for a job interview, read the job description and mark the five things the employer needs most, research the company and the people interviewing you, and write one specific example from your work for each need. Rehearse your answers aloud, prepare questions to ask, and settle the logistics the day before. Send a thank-you note the same day. Most interviews are not lost on the day. They are lost in the hour before, when someone skims the job description, remembers a few facts about the company and hopes the rest will come. Good preparation is a small amount of focused work, done in a sensible order, and it is the most reliable way to sound calm. ## Start with the job description The posting is the employer telling you what they will be listening for. Read it twice, then do three things: - **Mark the five needs that appear first or most often.** These are the skills and outcomes the interviewer will probe. - **Write one example for each.** A real situation from your work: what the problem was, what you did, what changed. - **Note the gaps.** If a requirement is one you lack, decide in advance how you will say so honestly and what you have that is close. Examples beat adjectives. “I’m a strong communicator” is a claim. “I wrote the weekly update for a team of twelve and cut the follow-up questions in half” is evidence you can say out loud. ## Research the company Fifteen to thirty minutes is enough if you look at the right things. - **What it sells and to whom.** In one sentence, you should be able to explain how the company makes money. - **Recent news.** A product launch, a funding round, a new market, a leadership change. - **The team.** Who will you work with, and what has the department published or shipped lately? - **Its pay and levels.** If the employer lists ranges or titles, know where this role sits. - **Its reputation as a workplace.** Read it with caution: reviews are one-sided, but patterns across many of them are worth knowing. Then look up your interviewers. A professional profile will tell you how long they have been at the company, what they did before and what they care about. You are not looking for something clever to say. You are looking for a way to ask a better question. ## Prepare the questions that always come Nearly every interview includes some version of these. Have an answer, in your own words, for each: Question | What they are really asking Tell me about yourself | Can you summarise your career and relevance in a minute? See [How to answer “tell me about yourself”](https://glide.work/guides/how-to-answer-tell-me-about-yourself) Why this company? | Have you thought about us specifically? Why are you leaving, or why did you leave? | Will you speak badly of an employer? Are you running from something? Tell me about a time you failed | Can you own a mistake and say what you changed? What are your salary expectations? | Are we in the same range? See [How to answer “what are your salary expectations?”](https://glide.work/guides/how-to-answer-what-are-your-salary-expectations) Do you have any questions for us? | Are you curious and have you been listening? For behavioural questions, use a simple frame: the situation in a sentence, your task, what you did, and the result. Keep each story to about two minutes. ## Rehearse out loud Reading your notes silently feels like preparation and is not. The first time you say an answer aloud, it comes out longer and vaguer than you expected. Do it three ways: - **Alone, speaking to the wall,** until you can say each story without reading. - **To a friend,** who can tell you where you lost them. - **Recorded on your phone,** which is uncomfortable and useful. Listen for filler words and for answers that run past two minutes. Do not memorise scripts. Memorised answers sound recited, and one unexpected question breaks them. Know your stories and the points in them, and let the words change. ## Prepare your own questions An interview is a two-way conversation, and an interviewer notices when a candidate has nothing to ask. Prepare four or five and expect that some will be answered before you get to them. There is a full list in [Questions to ask at the end of an interview](https://glide.work/guides/questions-to-ask-at-the-end-of-an-interview). ## Settle the logistics the day before - **Confirm the time, time zone and format.** In person, by phone or by video. - **Know the route or test the link.** For video, check your camera, microphone and connection, and have a plain background. - **Have a copy of your resume and the job description** open or printed, plus a notepad. - **Choose what you will wear,** one step more formal than the everyday dress of the team. - **Have the interviewers’ names and roles written down.** - **Plan to be ready ten minutes early.** Sit in the car or the chair and breathe. ## What not to do - **Do not speak badly of a former employer.** Say what you are moving towards. - **Do not memorise a script.** Know your stories instead. - **Do not claim skills you cannot back up.** Follow-up questions are coming. - **Do not ask about pay, leave or flexibility in the first minute.** Wait until they raise it or the conversation turns to the offer. - **Do not skip the thank-you.** See [Thank-you email after an interview](https://glide.work/guides/thank-you-email-after-an-interview). ## Where Glide helps Preparation takes the most time when you are in several processes at once. [Glide](https://glide.work/) researches each company you apply to, including what it pays by title, and helps you prepare for the interview, so the background work is done when the invitation arrives. Market Value shows the low, typical and high pay for your role, city and experience, which is useful before the salary question comes up. You decide what goes out. ## Common questions ### How long should I spend preparing for an interview? For most roles, two to three hours spread over a day or two is enough: an hour on the company and role, an hour on your examples and an hour of speaking them aloud. Final rounds and senior roles deserve more. ### What should I bring to an interview? A copy of your resume, the job description, a notepad and pen, and your prepared questions. For video interviews, have the same items within reach and nothing else open on your screen. ### How do I prepare if I have no experience in the field? Map the work you have done in other settings to what the role needs: study, volunteering, projects or other jobs. Choose examples that show the skill, and be open about what you are still learning. ### Is it fine to take notes during an interview? Yes. It shows you are listening. Keep it brief, and keep eye contact for the important parts of the conversation. ## Keep reading [How to answer “tell me about yourself” (with examples) A simple three-part structure for “tell me about yourself”, with copyable example answers for experienced candidates, career changers and graduates. 5 min read](https://glide.work/guides/how-to-answer-tell-me-about-yourself)[Questions to ask at the end of an interview (with examples) Good questions to ask an interviewer, grouped by what you want to learn, plus the questions to avoid and how to ask them naturally. 5 min read](https://glide.work/guides/questions-to-ask-at-the-end-of-an-interview)[Thank-you email after an interview (with examples) How to write a thank-you email after an interview: when to send it, what to include, and copyable examples for first interviews, panels and final rounds. 5 min read](https://glide.work/guides/thank-you-email-after-an-interview) Glide is the agent on your side of hiring. See [what it does](https://glide.work/), [how it compares](https://glide.work/compare) and [the research behind it](https://glide.work/research/the-2026-labour-market). Join in ## Your invitation is waiting to be written. An invitation Glide, by invitation only You are invited. To whoever is looking for work, Every piece of hiring software was built for the company doing the hiring. Glide is the other side: an agent that works for you, from finding the role to handling what comes back. We let people in a few hundred at a time, every Friday. Leave your email and we will write the moment your spot opens. Your agent starts the same day. Shubhankar Kahali Founder of Glide Admits One person You, and the agent that works for you. Opens On a Friday New spots open every week. Begins The same day Your agent starts as soon as you are in. Costs you One email To get in line. No card, no form. RSVP Already on the list? [Sign in](https://glide.work/login)