Interview Preparation Checklist: The Week Before Your Interview

Interview prep tends to happen in one of two extremes: a rushed hour the night before, or weeks of vague, low-focus worrying that never turns into a concrete plan. A more useful middle ground is a short, specific plan spread across the week before your interview — enough time to actually prepare, without it taking over your life.

Here's a day-by-day structure you can adapt depending on how much notice you have.

5–7 days before: research and structure

• Re-read the job posting slowly and list the three or four responsibilities or requirements that seem most central to the role. These are very likely to come up as questions.
• Research the company beyond the homepage — recent news, product launches, or public statements about their direction. A recent funding round, product release, or leadership change is a natural, genuine talking point that shows you did more than skim their "About" page.
• Identify 3–5 stories from your own experience that you can adapt to different questions — a time you solved a problem, handled a conflict, missed a deadline and recovered, or led something without formal authority. Having flexible raw material matters more than memorizing exact answers.

3–4 days before: structure your answers

A simple and widely useful structure for behavioral questions ("Tell me about a time when...") is Situation, Task, Action, Result:

• Situation — one or two sentences of context. Where were you, what was going on?
• Task — what specifically were you responsible for or trying to achieve?
• Action — what did you actually do? This should be the longest part of your answer, and it should be about your actions specifically, not just "we" as a team.
• Result — what happened? A number or concrete outcome is ideal; if there isn't one, describe what changed or what you learned.

Take your 3–5 stories from earlier in the week and sketch each one in this structure. You don't need to write a script — a few bullet points per story is enough to keep you from rambling when you're asked about it live.

2 days before: prepare your own questions

Nearly every interview ends with "do you have any questions for us?" — and having none, or only asking about salary and vacation days at this stage, is a missed opportunity. A few reliable categories of good questions:

• About the role: "What does success in this role look like after the first six months?"
• About the team: "How is the team structured, and who would I be working with most closely?"
• About the company's direction: something specific tied to the research you did earlier in the week.
• For the interviewer personally: "What's something you've enjoyed about working here?" — a low-pressure question that often gets an honest, useful answer.

Write down three or four questions rather than relying on remembering them in the moment.

1 day before: logistics and a light review

• Confirm the details — time, time zone if remote, video platform link, or the exact office address and who to ask for if in person.
• Do a quick tech check for video interviews — camera, microphone, lighting, and a quiet, distraction-free space.
• Re-read your resume and the job posting once, so both are fresh, but avoid cramming new material this late — a calm, familiar review beats last-minute new information.
• Lay out what you're wearing and, for in-person interviews, print an extra copy of your resume to bring along.

The day of: a short pre-interview routine

• Arrive (or log on) 10–15 minutes early — not so early that you're waiting around visibly, but enough to settle in without rushing.
• Bring a notebook and pen. Taking a brief note during the interview is fine and can help you write a better thank-you note afterward.
• Have a glass of water nearby, especially for longer or virtual interviews.
• Take a few slow breaths before you start. Nerves are normal — a slightly imperfect, human answer almost always lands better than a stiff, over-rehearsed one.

After the interview

Send a short thank-you email within 24 hours. It doesn't need to be long — a genuine thank-you, one sentence referencing something specific from the conversation, and a line reaffirming your interest is enough. This step gets skipped often, which makes it a small, easy way to stand out.