1.    Organize your Thoughts, and Get to Know the Employer
    As we discussed above.

2.    Practice!
With a friend, parent, roommate, or with a career advisor at Pathways.  Professionals at Career and Life Planning will conduct mock interviews upon request, allowing you to encounter a “real” interview situation. They will provide constructive feedback and suggest possible areas of improvement for you to consider. To facilitate the evaluation of the mock interview, a videotape of the interview could be made for the two of you to review. This provides you the opportunity to critique and evaluate your interview performance.

3.    Get the Details
Where the interview is to take place, the phone number in case you get lost, and the exact time the interview will take place.  Plan to arrive early.

4.    Dress Appropriately
You can find good, short articles on how to dress (as well as on other aspects of the interviewing process) in the magazine Planning Job Choices, available for free at Pathways.  Dressing for an interview will depend somewhat on the type of job you’re interviewing for.  A non-profit agency or a school will have a more relaxed dress code than a business.  For instance, in a corporate environment, a suit for men is always appropriate; in a non-profit agency, a tie and jacket (not the same as a suit) will perhaps be more appropriate.  Likewise for women, a business interview will require a suit (pants suit or matching blouse, blazer and skirt), whereas an interview in a school may just require a well-coordinated combination of clothing that reflects professionalism.

When in doubt, err on the side of “over-dressing.”  But always, for men: well-trimmed hair, mustaches and beards.  For women: use make-up moderately (if you use it at all).  And for all: don’t overdo use of jewelry, and no body-jewelry other than the traditional earrings for women; don’t forget to shine shoes and clean your fingernails (hey, dirty fingernails have been done, unfortunately), and no strong perfumes, colognes or aftershaves.