The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Prepare for a Job Interview

The single most important thing to do during interview preparation is to hold live mock interviews with someone experienced and competent in this area.

• Practice the 20 most common interview questions again and again until you feel confident.
• Focus on learning about the prospective employer's problems and immediate needs.
• Prepare for reciting fact-based success stories from your past that are relevant to what you've learned about the hirer's needs.
• Practice, practice, and practice some more. You'll be happy you did!

Learn as much as you can about the company.

• Begin with the company's Web site, and look at every page. Drill down into details to mine specifics you could talk about with the interviewer.
• Find out who are the people you'll interview with, and evaluate their LinkedIn profiles.
• Check out who they're connected with on LinkedIn.
• Attempt sleuthing into the company via these connections to find out about the company's culture and, possibly, specifics about the position.
• Find out what your interviewers are tweeting about. This might be challenging because people sometimes use pseudonyms. Use topsy.com for your research.
• Do searches on YouTube and Vimeo. Don't underestimate what you can find out in these hidden places.
• Look for and review blogs posted by your contacts at the company.
• Use free tools to gain additional knowledge—for example, klout.com and blog.linkedin.com.
• Do Google searches on both the interviewers and the firm. Go through several pages of the results.

Answer the following questions.

• Do you fit into the organization?
• Do you have the skills, education, and experience required?
• Do you possess experiences and skills to offer in support of the company's mission statement?
• Can you recite via a vignette or two some past experiences that would serve as a natural evolution into company growth?

Engage with the interviewer via questions that prove your value.

• Ask questions you already know the answers to.
• Show the interviewer that you're very familiar with the industry and the company's competition.