How to Prepare for a Job Interview: A Day-by-Day Checklist

To prepare for a job interview, work backward from the date: research the company and role a week out, practice your answers out loud a few days before, confirm logistics and pack the day before, and send a short thank-you note within 24 hours. Spreading the work out beats cramming the night before.

This checklist breaks interview prep into four stages, so you always know what to do next. It works for in-person, phone and video interviews, from first rounds to final rounds. If you have less notice, shrink the timing but keep the order.

Your interview prep timeline at a glance

Got the call with only two days' notice? Combine the first two stages into one evening: work through the research checklist, then do a single practice run. Don't skip the day-before and after stages.

One week out: how should you research the company?

Good research lets you answer "Why do you want to work here?" with specifics instead of flattery. It also helps you decide whether you actually want the job. Block two focused hours and work through the list below.

Company research checklist

• What they sell and to whom: read the homepage, product pages and pricing until you can explain the business in one sentence.
• Recent news: search the company name plus "news" and scan the last six months for launches, funding, layoffs, leadership changes or awards.
• Mission and values: pick two or three values you can connect to how you actually work.
• The people you'll meet: look up the hiring manager and team members on LinkedIn to learn their backgrounds and what they post about.
• Competitors: name two competitors and one thing this company does differently.
• Culture signals: read the careers page, other job ads and recent employee posts. Treat anonymous review sites as clues, not facts.
• Interview format: reread the invite. Who will you meet, for how long, and is there a test, case study or presentation?

Match your experience to the job post

Copy the job description into a document and highlight every skill or duty it mentions more than once. Next to each one, write a specific example from your work: a project, a result or a problem you solved. These pairs become the core of your answers.

For a quick gap check, run your resume and the posting through a free AI resume checker to see which requirements you haven't clearly covered. Expect questions on those gaps and prepare an honest answer for each.

Interviewers often look you up too, so this is a good week to refresh your LinkedIn profile. In the UK, your resume is usually called a CV, and the same rule applies: dates and job titles should match everywhere.

Two to four days out: what should you prepare to say?

You can't predict every question, but most interviews circle the same themes: your background, why this role, how you handle problems and what you want next. Prepare material for those themes instead of a script for every possible question.

1. Write a 60-second introduction. Cover who you are professionally, your most relevant experience and why this role interests you. Keep it under 150 words.
2. Pick five or six stories. Choose real situations that show a win, a mistake you learned from, a conflict, a tight deadline and a time you took the lead. Many interviewers expect these as behavioral answers using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
3. Prepare your "why" answers. Why this company, why this role and why now. Use details from your research, not general praise.
4. Know your numbers. Have your team size, budgets, targets or results ready, plus a researched salary range in case pay comes up.
5. Write three to five questions for them. Ask what success looks like in the first 90 days, how performance is measured and what the team's biggest challenge is this year. Skip anything the website already answers.

AI tools can speed up this step. You can use AI in your job search to draft likely questions from the job post, but write the final answers in your own words. Interviewers spot generic, rehearsed phrasing quickly.

How do you run a practice interview?

Reading your notes is not practice. Saying your answers out loud is what exposes rambling, filler words and weak endings. One realistic practice run a few days out is worth more than an hour of rereading.

1. Set it up like the real thing. Sit where you'll sit, wear something close to your interview outfit and use a timer. For video interviews, use the same app and device you'll use on the day.
2. Find an interviewer. A friend can read questions from your list. Practicing alone, you can paste the job post into an AI chat and ask it to play the interviewer, one question at a time. The copy-ready AI prompts library has starting points.
3. Record yourself. Watch the playback twice: once for content, once for delivery, such as eye contact, pace and how often you say "um."
4. Time your answers. Aim for one to two minutes each. If a story runs past three minutes, cut the setup and get to what you did.
5. Fix and repeat. Rework your two weakest answers and practice just those again the next day.

Expected result: you can give your introduction and each story without notes, in a natural voice, and you know which answers still need work. For more drills, the US Department of Labor's CareerOneStop site offers free interview tips and practice advice.

The day before: what should you bring to the interview?

The day before is for logistics, not new prep. Confirm the time (check the time zone if the interview is remote), the address or meeting link and the names of everyone you'll meet. Then pack or set up using this table.

For video calls, do a full test with a friend using the same link or app. The UK's National Careers Service has a helpful video interview checklist that covers setup and on-screen body language.

Finish with a quick skim of your notes, lay out your clothes and go to bed at your usual time. A rested brain recalls stories far better than a crammed one.

The day of: how do you stay calm and sharp?

• Morning: eat a normal meal, run through your introduction once and reread the job post. Don't try to learn anything new.
• One hour before: leave for in-person interviews, allowing for your buffer. For video, restart your computer, close every app you don't need and open the meeting link.
• Arrival: check in at reception about 10 minutes early. Arriving 30 minutes early can put pressure on your host, so wait nearby instead. On video, join two or three minutes early with your camera and mic checked.
• During: listen to the whole question, pause before answering and keep answers focused. It's fine to say, "Let me think about that for a moment."
• Closing: ask your prepared questions, then ask about next steps and timing so you know when to follow up.

One more thing worth knowing: in the US, the EEOC guidance on pre-employment questions says hiring questions should generally stick to what's needed to judge whether you're qualified. The UK has similar protections under the Equality Act 2010. If you're asked about your age, religion or family plans, you can politely steer back to the job by asking how the question relates to the role.

After the interview: how do you write a thank-you note?

Send a short thank-you note the same day, or at least within 24 hours. Email is the norm now. Write a separate note to each person who interviewed you and mention something specific from your conversation with each one.

Thank-you notes are widely expected at US companies. In the UK they're less common, but a brief, polite email is still welcome and rarely hurts your chances.

Thank-you note template

Here's a sample you can adapt. Swap in the role, one detail from your conversation and one reason you're a strong fit.

Subject: Thank you for today's interview

Hi Jordan,

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today about the Marketing Coordinator role. I enjoyed hearing about the plan to relaunch the customer newsletter, and it made me even more excited about the position.

Our conversation confirmed that my experience running monthly email campaigns and reporting on their results would help the team reach its goals this quarter.

Please let me know if I can share anything else. I look forward to hearing about next steps.

Best regards,
Alex Morgan

Keep it under 150 words. If you forgot to mention something important in the interview, add one sentence about it here.

Debrief and follow up

Right after the interview, write down the questions you were asked, what went well and what you'd change. These notes make your next round, or your next interview, much easier.

If the date they gave you passes with no news, send one polite email asking about the timeline. If a week passes after that with no reply, one more check-in is fine. Then put your energy into other applications.

What are the most common interview prep mistakes?

• Cramming the night before. You show up tired, anxious and shaky on the basics.
• Memorizing scripts word for word. They sound robotic and fall apart when a question is phrased differently. Memorize your points, not your sentences.
• Researching only the homepage. Recent news and the team's own posts give you far better talking points.
• Skipping the tech test. A broken link or muted mic eats into your time and your confidence.
• Criticizing a past employer. Even when it's deserved, it makes interviewers wonder what you'd say about them.
• Having no questions. "I think you covered everything" can read as low interest.
• Forgetting the follow-up. A missing thank-you note won't always cost you the job, but a thoughtful one can help you stand out from similar candidates.