A seven-step interview checklist: Are you prepared?

			Top Tips

					By Cynthia McCabe

			DBM offers tips to help you succeed at work. Cynthia McCabe is the Managing Consultant for DBM in Cleveland, Ohio. More about DBM

Interviewing for a new job is always stressful. You're judged against the standards of the company and the qualifications of other applicants. It's not something you do very often, and you're conducting a conversation with people you probably don't even know.

So even if your credentials make you a perfect match for the position, it's important to prepare thoroughly for the interview.

Avoid being over-prepared, though, or you might seem slick or robotic — and lacking passion and spontaneity. The right amount of preparation frees you up to be spontaneous. If you prepare responses to most of the tough questions and give them some thought and practice, you'll be able to relax and concentrate on being yourself.

In order to be prepared for an interview, use this checklist as a guideline:

1. Practice your delivery. Consider using a video camera, with a friend or career coach playing the role of the interviewer. If you choose to practice alone, do so in front of a mirror. The important thing is to have a "dry run," both verbally and visually, before the actual interview. This enables you to test your answers and modify them if you or the person giving feedback is not satisfied.

2. Practice the reversal technique. An interview should not be a one-way monologue by the interviewer or an interrogation, but a relaxed, two-way conversation in which you both have the opportunity to speak. Try ending your answers with a question of your own to indicate you have been listening and want to know more about the organization. You'll get important information need, avoid embarrassing silences and give yourself extra breathing time before the next question.

3. Make a practice trip to the interview site. This will help you gauge the time necessary to arrive at the interview and familiarize yourself with the facility and any security procedures you may encounter. You might also be able to pick up an annual report, marketing materials or even a copy of the application form so you can complete it at home prior to the interview.

4. Have questions prepared for the interviewer. Before you ask questions, think through the items you'd like to have a clearer understanding of, like the direction of the organization, its culture and the management style of the person to whom you would report.

5. Do your homework. You want to know as much as possible about the company, the job and the manager before you enter the interview. To do that, thorough research is necessary; but be careful and tactful in revealing what you know about the company and how you got the information. Reveal enough information so that the interviewer realizes you've made a good effort to learn about the company, but don't come across as arrogant or a "know it all." Networking and reading published research are the two basic ways to get the necessary industry, company and departmental background information.

6. Manage your jitters. You will probably experience some pre-interview stress. Be sure to take good care of yourself the day before the interview, use visualization techniques to "see" the interview happening in your mind just as you'd like it to and try to use relaxation techniques to calm yourself.

7. Dress for the occasion. Be sure you are appropriately dressed for your interview, based on the organization's culture, as well as the position for which you are interviewing. Your outfit should reflect the image you'd like to portray to the interviewer. Try to choose your attire at least the day before the interview, so you are sure it is ready to wear and can avoid more stress on the day of the interview.

Once you complete all seven steps of this checklist, you'll be sufficiently prepared to impress your interviewer.

About Cynthia McCabe and DBM

Cynthia McCabe is the Managing Consultant for DBM in Cincinnati, Ohio. DBM is a worldwide firm that provides strategic human resource solutions in employee selection, development, retention and transition. DBM works with organizations to help them manage the human resource challenges that go hand-in-hand with today's business cycles and volatile markets. Visit DBM.