How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Research the employer

Spend 20 minutes on the company's website and recent news. Know what they make or do, who their customers are, and roughly how big they are. Re-read the job posting and note the three or four requirements that come up most.

Know the logistics

• Confirm the time, time zone and format (phone, video or in person).
• For in-person interviews, plan your route and aim to arrive 10 minutes early.
• For video interviews, test your camera, microphone and connection, and pick a quiet spot with a plain background.
• Ask who you'll be meeting so you can look them up.

Prepare what to bring

A few printed copies of your resume, a list of references, a notepad, and your questions for them. For some hourly roles, you may be asked to fill out an application on the spot, so bring dates and contact details for past jobs.

Dress one step up

Match what people wear in the job, then go a little smarter. For a warehouse role, clean work clothes are fine. For an office role, business casual is a safe default.

CareerOneStop, the Department of Labor's career site, lists questions that come up in most interviews. Prepare an answer for each.

• "Tell me about yourself." One or two sentences on your work background, then why you're interested in this job. Keep it under a minute.
• "What are your strengths?" Pick two or three that match the posting, with a quick example for each.
• "What is your main weakness?" Name a real weakness that won't stop you doing the job, and say what you're doing about it.
• "Where do you see yourself in three years?" Show you want to grow, without suggesting you'll leave quickly.
• "Why do you want to work here?" Use your research. Mention something specific about the company.
• "Describe your best and worst boss." Focus on what made someone effective. Don't criticize past employers.
• "What would you bring to this role?" Sum up your strongest qualifications in one sentence.

Many interviewers ask about past situations, because how you handled things before is a good guide to how you'll handle them again. These questions usually start with "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example of..." CareerOneStop suggests reviewing your work history for examples of dealing with deadlines, mistakes, conflict and unexpected problems.

The STAR method gives your answer a clear shape:

• Situation: Where were you, and what was going on?
• Task: What were you responsible for?
• Action: What did you do? Focus on your own steps.
• Result: What happened? Use a number if you have one, and say what you learned.

Worked example

Question: "Tell me about a time you dealt with an upset customer."

Answer:

Situation: I was a shift lead at a pharmacy drive-through. A customer arrived for a prescription that wasn't ready because the insurance claim had been rejected.

Task: I needed to calm him down and get him his medication that day without holding up the line.

Action: I apologized, explained what had happened in plain terms, and asked him to pull into a parking space so I could call his insurer while my coworker kept the line moving. I found the claim had a typo in his date of birth, fixed it, and resubmitted.

Result: He had his prescription within 25 minutes. He thanked the store manager on his next visit, and I started double-checking new patient details at intake, which cut down on rejected claims at our window.

That answer takes about a minute and a half to say. Prepare five or six STAR stories that cover teamwork, a mistake, a conflict, a tight deadline, a time you showed initiative, and a time you helped a customer. Most behavioral questions can be answered with one of them.

Near the end, you'll usually be asked if you have questions. Always have two or three ready. Good options:

• What does a typical day or shift look like in this role?
• What would success look like in the first 90 days?
• What are the biggest challenges for the person in this job?
• How is performance reviewed, and how often?
• Who would I work with most closely?
• What are the next steps in the hiring process, and when should I expect to hear back?

Save detailed pay and benefits negotiation for when you have an offer. CareerOneStop advises waiting until then to discuss salary. If the posting didn't list pay, it's reasonable to ask for the range earlier so you don't waste each other's time. Postings on Joboru come directly from employers and show pay when the employer states it, which can settle that question before you apply.

Federal anti-discrimination law, enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), protects applicants from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (which the EEOC says includes pregnancy, transgender status and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information. Most of these laws cover private employers with 15 or more employees. The age discrimination law covers those with 20 or more.

Federal law flatly bans one category of question before a job offer: questions about disability. An employer can't ask whether you have a disability or how severe it is, and can't require a medical exam until after a conditional offer. They can describe the job's duties and, in limited cases, ask whether you'd need an accommodation to do them.

For other characteristics, the EEOC says questions about race, sex, national origin, age and religion are irrelevant to whether you're qualified, and asking them can be used as evidence of discrimination. Specifically, the EEOC says employers should avoid asking:

• Your age or date of birth
• Your religion, place of worship or which religious holidays you observe
• Whether you're married, your spouse's name or job, or whether you have or plan to have children
• Your childcare arrangements
• Whether you're a US citizen (before an offer)

What they can ask: whether you're authorized to work in the US. Every new hire completes Form I-9 to verify identity and work eligibility, and you choose which acceptable documents to show.

Background checks and pay history

If an employer uses a background check company, it must get your written permission first. If it plans to reject you based on the report, it must give you a copy and a notice of your rights before deciding.

The EEOC also warns that a blanket policy of rejecting anyone with a criminal record can be illegal discrimination if it isn't tied to the job.

Some states go further than federal law. For example, California, Colorado and Washington prohibit employers from asking about your past pay. Check your state labor department for the rules where you live.

How to handle an inappropriate question

You can answer if you're comfortable. You can also steer to what the question is really about: "If you're asking about my availability, I can work any shift Monday through Saturday." If you think you were treated unfairly, the EEOC accepts complaints at eeoc.gov.

Send a short thank-you email within a day. Thank them for their time, mention one thing you discussed, and restate your interest. Then follow up once if you haven't heard back by the date they gave you.