The night before an interview is a confusing and difficult time. While most people understand that the night before their interview is an essential part of the interview preparation process, many of them just don’t understand how to use the final night to their advantage. Whether they are nervous and try to cram too much knowledge in, or too relaxed and fail to prepare at all, this is a huge hurdle for candidates to overcome. In this blog, we’ll give you our top 4 interview preparation tips on how to spend the night before your interview.
Interview Preparation Tips
Tip Number 1: Get plenty of sleep
This is extremely obvious, but remains our number 1 interview preparation tip. Without the right amount of sleep, you will struggle to impress the interviewers. The more rest you get, the more information you can retain and the better you can convey this information to the employer. Although it might sound superficial, appearance also makes a difference in an interview. If you turn up to the interview with huge bags under your eyes, clearly tired, it will be noticeable to the interview and they will likely judge you accordingly. By all means conduct your interview preparation as best as you can, but don’t sacrifice sleep to do it.
Tip Number 2: Research
By the time of the night before, you should have spent a great deal of time already going over your answers. Now, it’s time to conduct some thorough research. You might have already done this, but take it one step further and go out of your way to find out as much about the company as possible. Look into any awards that they’ve won or anything they’ve been nominated for, and work out how this links with your own values and motivations. Employers will be flattered by your interest, and this will show that you really care about working for them rather than just wanting money.
Tip Number 3: Think of some questions
If you’ve read our other blogs on interview preparation, you’ll know that the period at the end of an interview, when the interviewer asks, ‘do you have any questions for me?’ is extremely important. A failure to ask questions will show a distinct lack of interest, and risks putting the employer off you altogether. With this mind, it’s vital that you have a selection of 4 or 5 questions that you can fall back on, in case any of your initial questions are already covered during the interview. Don’t be afraid of asking bold or leading questions either, the employer will appreciate your interest. Some good examples of questions that you can ask are:
- Do you have any concerns over my ability to do this job?
- What opportunities are there for progression within this company?
- Will on-the-job training be provided?
- During my interview preparation, I saw that you won/were nominated for *award*. This is really impressive to me. Can you tell me more about that?
Tip Number 4: Work out what you are wearing
Again, this might seem superficial, but the fact is that when it comes to an interview – appearance matters. You cannot afford to be scruffy, and in line with this, you cannot afford to be late. Organisation is more than just having your things in the right place at the right time, it’s a state of mind. If you are running around the house looking for the last clean sock, all in a desperate attempt to make it to the interview barely on time, then it stands to reason that you won’t be calm or composed during the interview. In contrast, if you know exactly what you are wearing and where everything is when you get up in the morning, you won’t have to rush and you’ll attend the interview in a much clearer and more relaxed frame of mind. You’ll come across as confident, and stand more chance of getting the job.
For more top interview tips and advice, check out our YouTube Interview Channel!
