job interview preparation essay

Essay Papers Writing Online

How to write an engaging and informative interview essay that captivates readers.

Are you ready to embark on a journey of words and emotions? Do you yearn to bring real-life stories to life on paper? If so, then the art of conducting an interview essay might just be the path for you. Through a delicate amalgamation of acute observation, introspection, and empathetic listening, you can unravel the intricacies of a person’s life and translate their experiences into a captivating piece of writing. Discover the key steps and techniques that will help you become a master of the interview essay genre.

Imagine yourself as a literary detective, armed with a notepad and pen, delving into the depths of someone’s thoughts and experiences. Your duty is to uncover the hidden layers of a person’s soul and translate them into a narrative that captivates the reader from the very first word. The interview essay offers a unique opportunity to break through the boundaries of traditional storytelling and delve into the realm of intimate conversations. Using skillful questioning and active listening, you can extract stories that will resonate with readers and give them a deeper understanding of the human condition.

Crafting a successful interview essay requires the delicate balance of objective reporting and subjective interpretation. It is a dance between the facts and the emotions, the words spoken and the unspoken truths. As an interviewer, your role extends beyond mere transcription; you are an interpreter, a curator of stories, and a storyteller. By carefully selecting the most powerful quotes, weaving them into a coherent narrative, and providing insightful context, you can create a compelling tapestry of human experiences that will inspire and enlighten your readers.

Overview of Interview Essays

In this section, we will explore the fundamental aspects of conducting and presenting an interview essay. By delving into the art of conversation and storytelling, interview essays provide a unique opportunity to capture the essence of an individual’s experiences and perspectives. These essays allow readers to gain insight into a person’s life journey, accomplishments, and insights on various topics, offering a glimpse into their world.

Interview essays go beyond the realm of traditional journalistic interviews, offering a more personal and in-depth exploration of the interviewee’s thoughts and emotions. Unlike a standard news article or report, interview essays focus on the individual and their unique perspective, providing a platform for their voice to be heard.

Throughout the essay, the interviewer must skillfully navigate the conversation, asking thoughtful and probing questions to elicit meaningful responses. It is crucially important to establish a comfortable and trusting environment, allowing the interviewee to open up and express themselves authentically. The interview process requires active listening and keen observation, ensuring that the essence of the interviewee is accurately portrayed.

The structure of the interview essay typically begins with an engaging introduction that introduces the interviewee and sets the tone for the rest of the piece. Following the introduction, a series of questions and answers, presented in a logical and coherent manner, form the body of the essay. This section should highlight the most compelling and enlightening aspects of the interview, showcasing the interviewee’s unique insights and experiences.

As the interview draws to a close, a well-crafted conclusion synthesizes the main points discussed during the interview, providing a final reflection on the interviewee’s thoughts and perspectives. This section should leave the reader with a lasting impression of the interviewee and their story.

In summary, interview essays offer a captivating and rich exploration of an individual’s life and experiences. Through thoughtful questioning and careful listening, these essays provide a platform for the interviewee’s voice to be heard, shedding light on their unique perspective and contributions to the world.

Choosing an Interviewee

When embarking on the task of conducting an interview essay, one of the most crucial decisions to make is choosing the right interviewee. This individual will be the subject of your essay and plays a significant role in shaping the overall narrative and content. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider several factors when selecting an interviewee.

First and foremost, it is essential to choose an interviewee who possesses expertise or experience in the subject matter you wish to explore. The interviewee should have valuable insights and a deep understanding of the topic, ensuring that the interview will provide meaningful and informative content. Consider professionals, experts, or individuals who have unique perspectives that align with your essay’s theme.

In addition to expertise, it is crucial to select an interviewee who is willing and enthusiastic about participating in the interview. Look for individuals who are open to sharing their thoughts and experiences, and who express genuine interest in engaging in a conversation about the chosen topic. This will ensure that the interview is engaging and that the interviewee is willing to provide detailed and insightful responses.

Another factor to consider when choosing an interviewee is their accessibility. It is important to select someone who is readily available and willing to commit the necessary time for the interview. Consider individuals who have a flexible schedule or who are willing to accommodate your interview request. This will help ensure that you can conduct the interview within your desired timeframe.

Lastly, consider the diversity and representation that the interviewee can bring to your essay. Aim for inclusivity and diversity by selecting individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, or perspectives. This will enrich your essay and provide a broader range of insights and experiences to draw from.

In conclusion, choosing the right interviewee is a critical step in writing a successful interview essay. It requires careful consideration of factors such as expertise, willingness to participate, accessibility, and diversity. By selecting the most suitable interviewee, you can ensure that your essay will be engaging, informative, and provide a unique perspective on the chosen topic.

Tips for selecting the right individual to interview for your article

Choosing the right person to interview for your essay is a crucial step in ensuring that your piece is insightful and engaging. The individual you select should have firsthand knowledge or experience related to your topic, offering unique insights and perspectives. Taking the time to carefully select the right person will not only enhance the quality of your interview essay but also lend credibility to your work.

Firstly, consider the expertise and background of the person you are considering interviewing. Look for individuals who have extensive knowledge and experience in the field you are focusing on. This could be a subject matter expert, a professional in the industry, or someone who has had personal experiences relevant to your topic. These individuals can provide valuable insights and opinions, allowing your essay to delve deeper into the subject matter.

In addition to expertise, it is essential to choose someone who is articulate and can effectively convey their thoughts and experiences. Good communication skills are a vital aspect of a successful interview. Look for individuals who can express themselves clearly and concisely, ensuring that the information they provide is easy to understand and engaging for your readers.

Another important factor to consider when selecting an interviewee is their availability and willingness to participate. Ensure that the person you choose is willing and able to commit the necessary time and effort to the interview process. This could include conducting in-person interviews, phone interviews, or even email correspondence. Being flexible and accommodating to the individual’s schedule is key to obtaining the information you need for a compelling interview essay.

Finally, aim for diversity when selecting an interviewee. Consider individuals from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. This will not only provide a well-rounded view of your topic but also make your essay more relatable and interesting to a wider audience. Including diverse voices and opinions will enrich your work and make it more impactful.

By following these tips and selecting the right person to interview, you can ensure that your essay is informative, engaging, and offers a unique perspective on your chosen topic.

Preparing for the Interview

Getting ready for an interview is a crucial step towards a successful conversation that will leave a lasting impression on the interviewer. Adequate preparation is important as it helps you feel confident and ready to showcase your skills and qualifications. In this section, we will discuss the key steps to take before an interview to ensure you are well-prepared and can present yourself in the best possible light.

• Research the company: Before attending an interview, it is essential to research the company you are interviewing with. This includes understanding their mission, values, products or services they offer, and any recent news or projects. This knowledge will not only demonstrate your interest in the company but also allow you to ask relevant questions during the interview.
• Analyze the job description: Take the time to thoroughly analyze the job description for the position you are applying for. Identify the key skills, qualifications, and responsibilities mentioned in the description. This will help you tailor your answers during the interview and showcase how your experience aligns with the requirements of the role.
• Prepare your answers: It is a good idea to anticipate some of the questions that may be asked during the interview. Practice your answers to common interview questions, such as “Tell me about yourself” or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” This preparation will help you showcase your skills and qualifications confidently and concisely.
• Prepare questions to ask: In addition to answering questions, you should also prepare some questions to ask the interviewer. This shows your enthusiasm and interest in the role and allows you to gather more information about the company and the position. Consider asking about company culture, team dynamics, or opportunities for growth.
• Dress appropriately: First impressions matter, so it is important to dress professionally for the interview. Research the company’s dress code and aim to dress slightly more formal than what is expected. Ensure that your attire is clean, ironed, and appropriate for the industry.
• Practice good body language: During the interview, your body language can speak volumes. Practice good posture, maintain eye contact, and use confident and friendly gestures. This will help you appear engaged and interested in the conversation.
• Gather necessary documents: Before the interview, gather all necessary documents, such as copies of your resume, cover letter, and any relevant certifications or references. Organize these documents neatly in a folder or portfolio, so they are easily accessible during the interview.
• Plan your route and arrive early: Before the day of the interview, plan your route and ensure you know how to get to the location. Consider traffic or public transport delays, and aim to arrive at least 10-15 minutes early. This will give you time to relax, collect your thoughts, and make a good first impression.

By following these preparation steps, you will increase your chances of success during the interview. Remember to stay calm, be yourself, and let your qualifications and enthusiasm shine!

Steps to take before conducting the interview to ensure its success

Prior to conducting an interview, there are several key steps one should take to ensure its success. By carefully preparing and organizing beforehand, you can maximize the outcome of the interview and gather the most valuable insights and information from your subject.

• Research your subject: Take the time to thoroughly research your subject before the interview. Familiarize yourself with their background, achievements, and any relevant work they may have done. This will not only help you ask informed and insightful questions but also demonstrate your interest and preparedness during the interview.
• Define your goals: Determine what specific information or insights you hope to gain from the interview. Clarify your objectives and the overall purpose of conducting the interview. This will help you structure your questions and guide the conversation in a focused and meaningful direction.
• Prepare a list of questions: Create a list of questions that will prompt your subject to share their experiences, opinions, and expertise. Mix open-ended questions with more specific ones to encourage thoughtful and detailed responses. Consider the flow and order of your questions to ensure a smooth and logical conversation.
• Consider the logistics: Plan and organize the logistics of the interview in advance. Determine the best format for the interview, whether it is in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. Confirm the date, time, and location if applicable. Additionally, make sure you have all the necessary equipment ready, such as recording devices or notepads.
• Establish rapport: Building a rapport with your subject is crucial for a successful interview. Prior to the interview, introduce yourself and explain the purpose of the interview. Create a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere during the actual interview to allow your subject to feel at ease and open up more naturally.
• Anticipate challenges: Anticipate potential challenges or obstacles that may arise during the interview. Prepare alternative strategies or questions to handle any unexpected circumstances. By being flexible and adaptable, you can ensure the smooth progression of the interview.
• Respect confidentiality: If your interview involves sensitive or confidential information, assure your subject of confidentiality and obtain their consent to share certain details. This will help establish trust and encourage them to share more freely and openly.

By following these steps before conducting an interview, you can set the stage for a successful and valuable exchange of information. Proper preparation and organization will ensure that you extract the most meaningful insights and present a well-rounded and informative interview.

Conducting the Interview

During this phase, you will have the opportunity to engage in a face-to-face conversation with your interviewee. This is a crucial step in gathering valuable information for your interview essay. The interview allows you to unravel the unique perspectives, experiences, and insights of your subject, bringing depth and authenticity to your writing.

Before the interview, it’s important to research your interviewee and become familiar with their background and work. This preparation will enable you to ask informed questions and show respect for their expertise. Showing genuine interest in their work will make them more willing to open up and share their insights during the interview.

When conducting the interview, create a comfortable and relaxed environment for your interviewee. Establishing a friendly rapport will help them feel at ease and encourage thoughtful responses. Begin by asking a few general questions to ease into the conversation and then gradually move into more specific topics of interest. Active listening is key during the interview; pay attention to not only the words spoken but also the tone, body language, and emotions conveyed.

As you progress through the interview, probe deeper into the interviewee’s thoughts and experiences. Ask open-ended questions that invite detailed and reflective responses. Be prepared to adapt your questions based on their responses to keep the conversation flowing naturally. It’s important to strike a balance between guiding the conversation and allowing your interviewee to express themselves freely.

Remember to be respectful and considerate throughout the interview process. Avoid interrupting and allow your interviewee to fully express their thoughts. Take notes during the interview to capture important details and to ensure accuracy in your essay. Don’t hesitate to ask for clarification or additional information if needed.

By conducting a successful interview, you will gather rich material to create a compelling and engaging interview essay. The insights and personal anecdotes shared by your interviewee will add depth and authenticity to your writing, making it a truly captivating piece.

Techniques and strategies for effectively interviewing your subject

When conducting an interview, it is important to have a set of techniques and strategies to ensure a successful and insightful conversation with your subject. By employing these techniques, you can gather valuable information, establish rapport, and make the most out of your interview.

• Prepare: Before the interview, do thorough research on your subject to familiarize yourself with their background, expertise, and accomplishments. This will enable you to ask informed and relevant questions during the interview.
• Establish rapport: Building a connection with your subject is crucial to create a comfortable and open atmosphere during the interview. Begin by introducing yourself, showing genuine interest, and actively listening to their responses.
• Ask open-ended questions: Instead of asking questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” focus on open-ended questions that encourage your subject to provide detailed and insightful responses. These questions often start with “how,” “why,” or “tell me about.”
• Active listening: During the interview, give your full attention to your subject and demonstrate active listening. This involves maintaining eye contact, nodding, and providing verbal cues to show that you are fully engaged in the conversation. Avoid interrupting and allow your subject to complete their thoughts.
• Probing and follow-up questions: To dig deeper into a topic or clarify any ambiguous answers, ask probing questions. These questions can help you extract more specific details and provide a more comprehensive understanding of your subject’s perspective.
• Keep it conversational: While it’s important to maintain a professional approach, aim to make the interview feel like a conversation rather than an interrogation. Use a friendly tone, ask follow-up questions, and be empathetic to create an environment where your subject feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences.
• Record or take notes: To fully capture the interview, consider recording the conversation with your subject’s permission. Alternatively, take detailed notes during the interview to ensure accuracy when transcribing and referring back to the interview later.
• Thank your subject: Once the interview is complete, remember to express gratitude to your subject for their time and insights. Sending a follow-up message or a handwritten note as a token of appreciation can leave a positive impression and may result in future interview opportunities.

By utilizing these techniques and strategies during your interview, you can obtain valuable information, establish meaningful connections, and create a successful and insightful interview essay.

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Make 13 Your Lucky Interview Number

By  Saundra Loffredo

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It’s been tough to concentrate on your grad school work because you’ve been waiting to hear about that job you applied for a few weeks ago. You finally heard back from the organization and are lucky enough to get an interview for that position. It’s a good opportunity and you want to do a great job on the interview. It doesn’t matter whether you have two days or two weeks before your interview. Start your planning and preparation now with these 13 steps.

Get the details. Be sure to ask enough questions about the interview when you get the invitation. Find out the names and titles of people who will be interviewing you. Ask if it will be a series of individual interviews or a panel interview. Find out how much time to block out on your calendar for the interview(s). Ask where you should enter the building (perhaps the main front entrance or possibly the back entrance by the parking lot), whom to ask for when you arrive and where to park your car if you’re driving.

Research the organization. It is essential that you know enough about the organization to explain what they do and to talk about how you could fit into its mission. Dig into your network and find out who might know someone who works at the organization. Ask him or her about the organization’s culture, the comradery in the lab, dress code, growth opportunities and other things you may want to know. Be sure to research compensation using Glassdoor or other online tools.

Practice your answers. Some interview questions are common ones. Do online research to find both common interview questions and questions that are asked in specific situations, such as postdoc interviews. The goal in rehearsing is not to memorize a set of answers to common interview questions but to practice listening carefully and responding extemporaneously to such questions. Practice answering potential interview questions with a friend who can help guide you if your answers are weak, your eye contact is poor or your body language is not speaking positively for you.

Prepare questions to ask. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions, your answer should be yes. Asking questions about the organization gives you the opportunity to show you are engaged and inquisitive. Create a list of 15 to 20 questions and bring that list with you to the interview. Some of those questions will probably be answered as part of your initial discussion. Ask the questions that remain unanswered and any that come up during the interview. Be sure to ask about the next steps in the selection process.

Plan your route. Be confident about your route and destination. Even if you will walk to the interview, you should be confident in how to get to there. Be able to pick out the building when traveling by it. Drive the route ahead of time if you’re not familiar with the areas you need to cover. If you need to use public parking, identify the best parking lot and a backup lot in case you need it.

Get your clothes ready. Your knowledge of the industry and research about the organization should clue you in on their overall dress code. My suggestion is to err on the conservative side. Not all employers embrace nose jewelry, large neck tattoos or purple hair. Tone down your appearance if needed and show your professional side.

Collect your materials. Put together a portfolio, pens and copies of your résumé or CV on good paper, a list of references, interview location, names of whom you are meeting, and your list of question to ask. You may have to pay for parking, so have your credit card or enough cash with you.

Arrive early. Checking in for your interview about 10 minutes early is good form. More than 10 minutes may leave them uncomfortable because you’re waiting so long in their reception area. Thirty minutes is too early and could make the interviewer feel pressured. Arriving right on time may be considered late by some people. Be sure to figure in a time cushion when planning your travel route. Then add some extra time so that you won’t be unduly held up by bad weather, traffic jams or other unforeseen events.

Every minute counts. Be professional and on your game from the moment you enter the organization’s physical space. That means you shouldn’t cut someone off for the last parking spot, spit your gum on the pavement or get annoyed when the receptionist says the interviews are running 30 minutes behind schedule. You never know who is watching you or who will be asked for their feedback about your interactions. After you check in for your interview, sit where directed and keep yourself occupied. Check out the company literature if some is available. Review your CV or your list of questions to ask. Take some deep breaths and believe that you are a strong candidate.

Take notes. Be sure to take notes about important job roles, challenges you’ll face and skills the organization is seeking. You can use this information during your interviews and in your follow-up communications.

Make connections. You should already have some basic information about the position and the organization. You can use that information when answering questions. For example, if the interviewer asks about your computer skills and you know that Excel is an important skill they want, be prepared to discuss your experience creating macros, pivot tables and data-rich custom dashboards.

Say thank you. A thank-you letter is a great way to stand out from the crowd during the interview process. Write a strong letter that incorporates what you learned about the job and how your background fits the opportunity. For example, the interviewer may have said the organization needs someone who is self-directed with excellent time-management skills. Your letter could explain how writing your thesis honed your skills in these areas. Create a different thank-you note for each interviewer. Customize each letter based on the job requirements and the content of your interview. Send your notes out as soon as possible -- and no later than 48 hours after the interview.

Follow up. Asking about the organization’s next steps in the selection process helps you decide on the optimum timing for following up with them. If the interviewer tells you that the organization expects to make a decision within a few days, you know that your window to send thank-you letters is very short. If so, consider your thank-you note as your initial follow-up tool. If the organization’s selection time frame is longer, or you don’t hear from them after sending a thank-you note, allow one to two weeks before you contact someone to ask about the status of the position.

Job interviews will remain an evaluation tool for job seekers for many years to come. This list of preparation steps can serve as your guide during grad school, after graduation and throughout your career.

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10 Common Job Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

• Vicky Oliver

Use this guide to stand out from the crowd and land the role you want.

Interviews can be high stress, anxiety-driving situations, especially if it’s your first interview. A little practice and preparation always pays off. While we can’t know exactly what an employer will ask, here are 10 common interview questions along with advice on how to answer them. The questions include:

• Could you tell me something about yourself and describe your background in brief? : Interviewers like to hear stories about candidates. Make sure your story has a great beginning, a riveting middle, and an end that makes the interviewer root for you to win the job.
• How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations? : Share an instance when you remained calm despite the turmoil. If it’s a skill you’re developing, acknowledge it and include the steps you’re taking to respond better to pressure in the future.
• What are your salary expectations? : Before you walk in for your first interview, you should already know what the salary is for the position you’re applying to. Check out websites such as Glassdoor, Fishbowl, or Vault.com for salary information. You could also ask people in the field by reaching out to your community on LinkedIn.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Resignation numbers have remained abnormally high in the U.S. between July 2021 and October 2021, with millions of Americans quitting their jobs  — which also means there are millions of new openings up for grabs. If you’re entering the market for the first time, or just looking to make a change, use this guide to prepare for your next interview.

• Vicky Oliver is a leading career development expert and the multi-best-selling author of five books, including  301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions , named in the top 10 list of “Best Books for HR Interview Prep.” She’s a sought-after speaker and seminar presenter and a popular media source, having made over 900 appearances in broadcast, print, and online outlets.    

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How to Write an Interview Narrative Essay [Template and Example]

Andrew Eliot

Suppose that you have an assignment to research a topic, conduct an expert interview, and write an essay on your findings. One of the most difficult steps in this process is taking the interview transcript and turning it into a story. Whether you conduct an online or in-person interview, it’s likely that your notebook will be full of bullet points and scattered data. The question is: How can I weave this data together to tell the story of my interview?

Here’s the deal:

Many interview narrative essays can follow a simple template. This template helps fit the puzzle pieces together to tell a story in an interesting way. I will share an example of an interview narrative essay that I wrote in high school. And as always, show don’t tell.

Interview Narrative Essay

Paragraph one:.

Hook the reader using an interesting quote

“Someone was trying to die on me in the other room, which is not entirely good,” Dr. Stuart Harris remarks as he settles into a gray, padded chair behind his office desk and resumes our pending Skype call; the collar of his madras shirt slightly askew, and a stethoscope dangling from the front chest pocket of his white physician’s coat. “I had to keep that from happening, sorry for the quick break,” he apologizes in a baritone voice, “What can I help you with?”

Paragraph Two:

Introduction. Introduce the character and environment using details. Present why the interview is important (don’t explicitly say this though).

From looking at the wooden framed pictures of Himalayan mountains and the Nepalese wilderness on Harris’ desk, one might think him out of place. In the midst of the Emergency Department of Massachusetts General Hospital, an often hectic atmosphere replete with sophisticated technology, Dr. Harris directs the department’s Division of Wilderness Medicine and the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Program. Practicing “limited medicine in austere conditions,” the division teaches doctors how to provide medical aid in remote environments, far from the “bells and whistles” of a common hospital. In conjunction, it conducts research on how to best provide critical care for patients in severe environments, such as high altitude. When questioned, “has wilderness tripping and being immersed in the backcountry had an influence on your life?” he chuckles, “Well I mean I’m the chief of a division of wilderness medicine at MGH, and that’s something that sure as hell didn’t exist when I came here. I’d say I am a walking billboard for how wilderness tripping can have a marked influence on an individual.”

Paragraph Three:

First evidence paragraph. Disrupt the story flow for a brief second. Let the reader take a breath. Describe your own surroundings. Then, explain the background and expertise of the person.

As tracks from Bob Dylan’s album, Desire, emerge from the kitchen of my house, where my father is preparing dinner, I lean closer to my MacBook. The connection falters and fixes on the image of his office, a small six by eight-foot room with off white colored walls. A bookshelf in the left corner houses wilderness medicine textbooks. When the video unfreezes, Harris’ face, his thick brown beard, touched with gray, focuses and his wire-framed glasses propped on the frame of his nose. A Virginia native, he has grown up with the outdoors as a centerpiece of his identity. In addition to going backcountry camping and mountaineering, Harris was an avid whitewater boater in college and led numerous whitewater trips. While an undergraduate, he spent ninety-five days enrolled in the National Outdoor Leadership School, and eventually became an instructor for the program. He has spent time at Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro, and Denali, and has led trips for the Leadership School in both Wyoming and Alaska. At this period in his life, he spends his summers in the Maine wilderness, near the Allagash River and Mount Katahdin. Doctor Harris concludes, “Over the years I think I’ve gotten a pretty good, wide experience,” his beard and mustache twitching with each word. While embarking on and leading such an array of wilderness trips, the natural environment has seated itself as a mainstay of both his professional and personal life. In his soft southern drawl Harris confesses, the wilderness “is where ultimately I frankly feel most comfortable.”

Paragraph Four:

Second evidence paragraph. The next two paragraphs form the apex of the story arc. If the interview produces two main insights, then have two paragraphs. If there is only one main insight, it is fine to only have one paragraph here. Regardless, it is important to use the best, most insightful quotes in order to advance the essay’s So What?. Hint: Use powerful adjectives and verbs to describe the interviewee as they become more passionate about the conversation.

While Dr. Harris leans forward in his chair, taking up a greater portion of the eight by eleven screen of my computer, he discusses the tremendous benefits wilderness tripping can have on people, especially teenagers. He explains, “from the individual to the social dynamic between groups, it’s fascinating to see how people, especially when they’re pushed a little bit beyond their comfort levels, can be groomed for tremendous growth.” Through an individual lens, Harris notes maturation, learning, strengthening of self-confidence, and physical growth as some beneficial influences of being immersed in nature. Additionally, he attests that for teenagers especially, “getting outside is a counterbalance to everything else going on one’s life, in the world. It allows room for independent intellectual exercise, it allows space for one to be separate from social pressures, and it can be tremendously affirming.” With the enunciation of each word, Harris’ engagement and introspection heighten. It becomes evident that he is not simply relaying information from the wilderness textbooks from his bookshelf. Rather, each benefit has been genuinely derived from his personal experience as a wilderness tripper. Zooming out from an individual lens, Doctor Harris expresses an irony he has observed from social settings. Although two students may attend a class every day together for numerous years, there is a definite possibility that they may know practically nothing about one another. However, when immersed in the wilderness with some perceived or real danger for even a brief period of time, those same two students may come to understand one another far better than they had before. In response to the manifested paradox, Harris reflects, “You just learn to trust people in a way that there are not many occasions in our daily lives where there’s any clear correlate to that.” Furthermore, in a Mark Twain-esque manner, Doctor Harris expresses that when removed from the silliness we indulge on a daily basis in “quote-unquote civilized circumstances, one can break through some of the silly artificiality that we allow during our daily lives.” Because many trivial social constructs are rendered useless, being in the intimacy of the backcountry allows one to disregard many social labels, such as who is “popular” or not or who is “stylish” or not. As a result, wilderness tripping can allow individuals to foster relationships among members of different social groups or cliques.

Paragraph Five:

Third evidence paragraph. Use another hard-hitting piece of evidence and give it contextual descriptions, such as how the interviewee looks or sounds. Advance the main message, and prepare for the essay to close.

As Dylan’s renowned 1976 hit, Hurricane, begins to play from the other room, Doctor Harris inhales slowly and leans back in his chair. His weathered face conjures up images in my mind of other bearded philosophers of the natural world, such as John Muir or Henry David Thoreau. In addition to facial hair, my interviewee’s thoughts bear a striking resemblance to those of the sentiments of such thinkers. Inspired by the connection, I bring up a quote from Thoreau’s memoir Walden : “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” After being questioned, “What do you believe the wilderness has to teach us?” Doctor Harris succinctly responds, “It’s who we are.” Rephrased, this elegantly simple yet profound notion presents the relationship that nature and humans are not two separate entities, but, rather humans are nature. While many other sub lessons can be learned from the wilderness, Harris affirms that the overarching teaching of nature, while maybe obvious, is simply that humans and nature are not separate, but are one. He elucidates:

There is the idea that we go to the wilderness to see something different. The more I’ve thought about it, it’s just kind of ridiculous. The wilderness is who we are, and that’s where we evolved, and we are as much animal as a bobcat or any other animal, and how we maintain our homeostasis, our heart rate, our blood pressure, and everything. We’re all part of the same natural systems and we’re dependent on the same processes as all the other creatures are. We don’t think about that. So I think when we go outside into wilderness areas, I think we’re returning, and not in some tree-hugging way, to our roots.

In expressing this idea, Doctor Harris’ energy and intensity peak. His eyes open wider than before. His southern drawl becomes more pronounced, emphasizing vowels in words like “are” or “ridiculous.” Such a level of engagement has been reached in order to convey a quite simple principle. As he raises his eyebrows and gestures with his hands, Harris continues, “frankly all of the rest of the stuff that we’re doing in the front country, as we say, as opposed to the backcountry, is the artificial things.” Again, he introduces a simple notion, which lends itself to a profound understanding. Maintaining a parallel to the ideologies of Thoreau, here, Doctor Harris affirms that nature truly holds “the essential facts of life,” while human civilizations, or the front country, are arbitrarily convoluted with contrived constructs, systems, and orders. He concludes, “So in that regard, yes it's very true that getting outside gives us a way, a chance to front some of the questions that Thoreau posed, Muir posed, and a bunch of other people have postulated, that there’s something just central to our identities and our beings to experience by being outside.”

Paragraph Six:

The concluding paragraph. Like a triangle, begin at the top of the paragraph with a narrow-focused summary of the interviewee’s main message. Then, continuing the triangle analogy, expand outwards and downwards from that point. Deliver the broader context for why the interview matters. To end the essay, quote how the interviewee said goodbye. Close on a friendly note. Hint: If you can, try to reference something that you said in the introduction to produce a ‘full-circle’ effect in your essay.

A common theme, Harris notes, is identity. Whether one identifies as a wilderness tripper or not, as a whole, the human race is unequivocally bound to its fundamental connection with nature. No matter how far we stray from our roots and try to conceal its presence in our psyche, the wilderness will always remain in contact with us. Furthermore, Harris notes the ties between the American identity and the great outdoors through the historical doctrine “manifest destiny” and our nation’s movement West through the territories. While centuries of innovation and infrastructural change have altered our country, the historical significance of the wilderness has not been forgotten. It’s clear, that wilderness is not only vital to our identity as humans but is essential to our identity as Americans. On that conclusive thought, the sounds of my parents serving dishes emanate from the adjoining dining room, and our Skype call nears an end. Tranquil and amiable, Doctor Harris says, “take care my friend.” With that, I put my computer to sleep, the image of a stethoscope dangling from the pocket of his white doctor’s coat fades to black.

Thank you to Dr. Stuart Harris for taking the time to speak with me. To learn more about Harris and his work in wilderness medicine, check out a piece written in Harvard Magazine.

Written by Andrew Eliot

Interested in Earth Systems Sciences and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. Science Editor, Meetinghouse Literary Mag & GoPeer. [email protected]

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A Guide to Writing an Essay for Job Interviews

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Writing is a doorway into your mental perspective. Your written work will convey to the reader how you reason, how you debate, and how you support your point of view. This is why essays are integral parts of some job selection processes.

The subjects and topics of these essays mostly revolve around specific current affairs or political events. The more you understand the topic and have information about the event, the better your essay becomes.

Things to remember about Essay Writing

• The essay must be organized and presented so that interviewer can follow it easily. It also needs to be neat and free of any ambiguity. 
• The essay is not only a quiz on your understanding of specific facts. Your imagination, ingenuity, and ability to come up with original ideas will be put to the test. Hence, it must be written in an engaging, readable style. However, it must, most importantly, include your viewpoints on the matter at hand.
• Language proficiency does not develop immediately. It requires perseverance and effort. Your motivation to learn a language will impact how well you can communicate in it.
• In the wrong belief that we can produce a quality piece of work in the test room, many of us make the mistake of accumulating information and facts on the likely topics at the eleventh hour of preparation.
• What we must realize is that organizing information using the proper terminology will be a laborious task, especially under the strain of a deadline
• Improve your abilities by being enthusiastic about reading, taking an interest in expanding your knowledge base, and learning new words.
• The essay as a whole needs to flow naturally from one paragraph to the next so that the interviewer can sense the coherence, orderly flow, and arrangement of your ideas. Transitional words and phrases can be used to tie the paragraphs together.

Suggestions for Writing Effectively

Now let’s discuss some general ideas and tips for writing essays.

• Maintain proper structure: Start the essay with an introduction (or a problem), and then go on to give further information about the problem. The essay body should be between 86 and 90 percent in length, the introduction should be between 5 and 7 percent, and the conclusion should be between 5 and 7 percent.
• Don’t lose track of the subject: Remember the essay prompt. Remain focused on the topic. do not just cite examples or quotations and discuss side-events. Stay rooted in the problem or event you are discussing and then present your take on that very event.
• Practice is the key: Preparation is required before the examination phase to develop the ability to produce a decent essay. Writing is the key to a successful essay because it serves as the primary means of transferring thoughts from your head to paper. So don’t just read, start practicing writing essays before you write them for the real interview.
• Draw the readers’ attention: Your introduction’s opening line should spark the reader’s interest and stimulate their curiosity. When discussing a current affair or a political issue, it might be an intriguing question, a stunning reality, or a statement emphasizing the significance of the topic.
• Explain the background of your subject: The next step is to provide the context of the particular issue of current affairs or politics, so that the interviewer may grasp your argument. This may entail offering background information, providing an overview of the significance of discussions on the subject, and defining complex words. Don’t go into too much depth in the opening; you can go into more detail in your essay’s body.
• Be resourceful with your knowledge : In order to write a good article about current topics, you must understand that knowledge comes first. You need to know what is going on around you. Be precise when presenting your current affairs knowledge. Be precise in how you think about these incidents.

Mistakes to avoid in the Essays

You’ve probably got a clear idea about how to write an essay this far. That’s great! But you also need to be aware of the errors to keep away from. Your essays will be of much better quality if you can figure out how to avoid the following errors.

• Synthesis Writing, Not Analytical Essay Writing: If you’re writing about a current event, providing some background information can help to frame the subject. However, the majority of your essay should focus on your analysis. Don’t just summarise what happened.
• Too many arguments: The interviewer always expects you to provide solid justification for your thesis. Some people take this literally, and as a result, they write as many facts, figures, and quotations as they can. To make the thesis statement more credible, avoid adding unnecessary complexity to the article by making unrelated citings. Stick to the topic and state your case logically without factitively.
• Don’t sound contradictory: Be clear from the very first about your take on the event you are discussing. You may discuss different and relevant aspects of the issue you are discussing but don’t sound contradictory in the process. Don’t hold extremist opinions. Your essay should demonstrate how well-balanced, holistic, and analytical you are.

Useful Resources to learn about Current Events

Now, if you are wondering where and how to find the current events or relevant political issues that may be the potential topics of your essay, here are some cues for you.

• Consistency is necessary for the GA segment; daily newspaper reading is required.
• Keep concise records of significant news. The notes should be revised on a regular basis.
• Another way to stay up to date on current events is to subscribe to news networks or current affairs YouTube channels.
• You can read monthly magazines that are offered by different institutions if you don’t have time to read everyday current affairs. These periodicals can be found online and in PDF format.

So, these are everything you need to know about writing an essay on current and political issues; following the DOs and DONTs mentioned here you can create an excellent piece. But always keep in mind that before writing comes knowledge. There is no such thing as perfect writing but the more you are aware of your surroundings the easier it is for you to pen it down. Hence, keep reading, and stay updated to excel in your essay on such topics.  

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How to Write an Interview Essay

Last Updated: March 11, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 462,866 times.

An interview essay is designed to give the reader a general impression of the interview subject and to present their thoughts on a select group of topics. It also offers the opportunity to develop deeper insights by analyzing the interviewee's responses within a larger context. Interview essays are a common school assignment, and provide useful skills for those interested in journalism, or just being good writers in general. There are several formats that fit into the category, but a good interview essay of whatever type can make the reader feel as though they were asking the questions.

Interviewing for an Essay

• If your essay is to be a factual piece, you'll want to interview someone who has expertise in the subject matter you'll be addressing. If your paper is about a science topic, you'll want to interview a scientist in that field. If your paper is about a period of history, you'll want to interview either a historian or someone who's lived through that period of history.
• If you plan to make your essay an opinion piece, you'll likely want to interview someone who has a strong opinion about the topic covered in your essay. Ideally, you want someone who can express opinions articulately, and who also has credentials in the area you plan to write about.
• If your piece will have a narrow perspective, you'll need to interview only one or two people. If your piece will present a general consensus, you'll need to interview more people, probably with varying expertise and credentials.

• When available, read works about and works written by your subject, both in print and online. At the same time, research the topic associated with your subject. The more you know about both, the more intelligent questions you can ask.
• Look for previous interviews your subject has given, as well. These will give you an idea of what questions the person has been asked before, so you can decide on appropriate subjects for your own questions, including questions that no one else has asked.
• Questions that require "yes" or "no" answers are good for gathering specific factual information; open-ended "how," "why," and "tell me about" questions are great for gathering additional background material not found in your research.
• Draw up a list of the questions you are prepared to ask. Have more questions ready than you will likely use, so that you can make adjustments as the interview takes place. (For instance, your subject may begin focusing on what you thought was a side topic, but turns out to be the key part of your interview.) Rank your questions in order of importance to make sure you ask your best ones, or list them all in the order you'd ask them and color-code the most important ones.

• Choose a quiet place with few distractions for your interview site. A library, restaurant, or campus location if you're doing this for a college writing class would be suitable.
• You may want to get the interviewee's consent to use their comments in your essay in writing, as well as permission to record those comments during the interview. By law, if you are recording an interview conducted over the phone, you must obtain written permission. [4] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
• It's helpful to have a backup interviewee in case the person you plan to interview can't make it.
• Be on time at the place you've agreed to meet for the interview.

• Using a recording device (with permission) is almost always advisable, as it permits you to save your note-taking for jotting down your insights on contexts, themes, how your subject approaches the questions, his/her comfort level, and so on.
• Be patient and respectful as you ask your questions and wait for responses. Give the interviewee time to reflect, and you will likely be rewarded with more insightful answers. A few deeper responses are usually better than many superficial ones.
• Immediately after the interview, write down your thoughts and impressions about the interview and interviewee. They may help you shape the essay.
• Always end the interview by thanking the person.

Writing the Essay

• Narrative format. This form allows paraphrasing of some information the interviewee says, along with direct quotes for the material you most want to emphasize. This is the most likely format for a class assignment, and offers the most opportunity to add context and analysis.
• Conversational format. This is a looser format than the formal writing style required for most essays. You can address the reader directly and use both first and second person. This format can be suitable for anything from class assignments to magazine articles.
• Question-and-answer format. This form presents your questions to the interviewee, followed by the interviewee's responses. (That is, the text looks something like this: (Your Name): How long have you been in the circus? (Interviewee's Name): About 35 years.) These are always direct quotes, although you may insert explanatory material in parentheses and substitutions, such as a person's name in place of a personal pronoun, in brackets. This format is best suited for essays with only a single interviewee or a closely related group, such as spouses or the core cast of a TV show.
• Informative format. This format usually interweaves the interview with research you've done on the subject, incorporating some of that research in the text to provide background and give it a little more color.

• Read over your interview notes and listen to any audio / video recordings you have. Utilizing both whenever available will allow you to thoroughly consider both the highlights of the interview and the most significant themes to emerge from it. These, in turn, will inform your outline of what information your essay will cover and how it will appear. [9] X Research source
• One possible outline could be an introduction that starts with an anecdote about the interviewee and then presents your thesis statement, several key points that support the main focus, and a conclusion that summarizes the information presented. Traditional school essays often utilize a five paragraph format (introduction, three supporting paragraphs, conclusion), and this can often work with interview essays as well.

• If, however, the purpose of your essay is to use your interviewee's comments to support a position or examine a larger theme, your thesis will probably be a statement of that position or theme, with the interview / interviewee placed within that context. For instance: "John Doe's mixed feelings of pride and betrayal reflect those shared by many Vietnam veterans still with us."
• Regardless of essay format, make your thesis clear and concise, and be sure that the remainder of your essay refers back to it. See How to Write a Thesis Statement for more advice.

• Interviews can sometimes produce a good deal of repetitive answers (even with high-quality questions), so you may need to trim repetitions and unnecessary elements from the body of your essay. Make sure that whatever material you do keep remains true to both the spirit of the interview and the overarching focus of your essay. [10] X Research source
• A handout from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina (available at http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/oral-history/ ) provides a wealth of valuable materials on interview essays. It includes, for instance, examples of how to utilize the same interview materials in a transcription (question-and-answer format), a presentation of individual experiences (quotations and paraphrases), and the placing of the interview / interviewee in a larger context (paraphrasing and quotations with ample explanation).

• Reading over the essay yourself is a good start, but it is always wise to have another set of eyes look it over as well. Another reader is likely to catch errors, repetitions, and unclear sections that you have glossed over. [12] X Research source
• Go back to your original interview notes, recordings, and transcripts, and make sure that your essay continues to reflect the actual interview. Layers of editing and revising can sometimes cause the essay to drift away from the original source and intent. You may even want to let the interviewee read it over to ensure that it captures their voice. [13] X Research source

• Any materials you used for research, information about the interviewee, or context for the essay itself should be referenced in the approved citation format for your essay.
• Make sure one more time that any direct quotations from your source are placed in quotation marks, and any paraphrasing is done without quotation marks. Don't put words in your subject's mouth, and respect the words that do emerge from it.

What Are The Dos And Don’ts Of a Journalistic Interview?

Expert Q&A

• After the interview, send the interviewee a written thank-you note expressing your appreciation for their time. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If the person you're interviewing is busy or elderly, you may want to plan for more than one interview session. Observe the interviewee for signs of impatience or fatigue. Conduct multiple, shorter sessions if necessary. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• If you plan to interview someone over the telephone, permission to record the conversation is required by law. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 3

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/oral-history/
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/interview-paper
• ↑ http://www.whatkidscando.org/featurestories/2007/maine_students/tip_sheets/FIRST-PERSON%20ESSAYS%20TIP%20SHEET.pdf
• ↑ http://www.brighthubeducation.com/help-with-writing/97515-how-to-write-an-interview-essay/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html

About This Article

To write an essay from an interview, you’ll first have to decide on the format the essay will take, as this will determine the structure and what you write. The most common form is the narrative format, in which you use direct quotes and paraphrase your subject to add context and detail, or you can write in a more conversational tone, or even in a directly transcribed question-and-answer form. Once you decide on format, plan an outline by forming a central thesis, which will be the central statement your essay is making. Add onto the outline by drafting supporting evidence directly from the interview and from other sources, like books, newspaper articles, other essays, anything else to support your point. Write and finish the essay by combining information from the interview and other sources with your own explanations and words. To learn about how to conduct the interview to get enough information to write about and how to finish the writing process, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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30+ Best Tips on How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Preparing for an interview requires more effort than just Googling a list of common interview questions (though, yes, you should 100% be ready for those). In today’s job market, recruiters are flooded with resumes and applications within hours of a post going live, so if you manage to land a meeting, it’s worth putting in the time to ensure you ace it.

Every company has a different process for interviewing potential candidates—and to some degree, that process is unpredictable. For instance, even if you find a ton of sample interview questions for that specific organization, there’s no guarantee you’ll be asked the exact same ones.

The goal of interview prep is to learn and practice as much as possible so you can feel confident and ready for anything (even questions you don’t have an answer to, which we’ll discuss how to handle later on).

To help you prepare, we compiled a list of our all-time best interview tips—backed by some of the most highly regarded career guides, creators, and advisors out there today. We’ve got 30 plus tips on this list, so strap in, take some notes, and prepare to nail your interview.

1. Research the company

This is first on the list for a reason: It is the single most important step of the interview prep process. You want to research everything about the company from as many sources as you can—including their company profile on The Muse , if they have one! Talk to people in your network to find current and previous employees, read current news stories, and spend time on their website.

“I always tell people to read the company website, including their mission, careers page, and case studies. Then, Google the company to see if they've been in the news recently. If you can ask about those things in an interview, that’s so impressive to the company,” says Erin McGoff, founder of AdviceWithErin .

By looking at multiple sources, you’ll get a broader picture of the organization (along with any negative press), and be ready to talk about why you’d like to work there and what you can do for them.

2. Read the job description carefully

Most organizations use the job description to explain exactly what they're looking for in an applicant—so before your interview, make sure you know said job description almost by heart.

Internalize its key details and try to incorporate them into your answers. “This not only shows that you're well prepared but also that you're a good cultural fit for the company,” says Christian Lovell, of Careers by Chris .

3. Try out the company’s product or service

If the company you’re interviewing with sells a product that you can feasibly check out ahead of time, try it before the interview. For a publisher, purchase a few of their magazines or books and give them a read. If you’re interviewing for a job in retail, engage with some of the goods they sell.

Whatever role you’re applying for, it’s likely that part of your job will be creating value for the people who use that product. So, experiencing it for yourself is a smart move. Plus, it’ll help show the hiring manager that you’re truly interested in the position.

4. Learn about the interviewers

If you can figure out who you’ll be speaking to before the interview, you can do some research on them as well. And if your point of contact doesn’t mention names, it’s totally reasonable to ask for them. Learn about their trajectory at the company and prepare specific questions for them.

During the interview itself, you can ask for details about their role, discuss current events in their field, or bring up a common interest. Just make sure the info you’re referencing is in an easily accessible, public spot, like their company bio or LinkedIn profile, so it doesn’t come off as creepy.

5. Find out the interview type and prepare accordingly

Depending on what role you’re applying for and how far along you are in the process, you might be signing up for a traditional phone call , video interview , or in-person meeting

If the recruiter or HR manager doesn’t specify this, feel free to ask. Also note that some companies might have you meet individually with several different people, while others could arrange group sessions or request an interview presentation .

6. Identify your selling points for this job

Even if you’re a well-oiled interviewing machine, it’s essential to spend time thinking carefully about what skills, accomplishments, and answers will resonate most with your interviewers for this job. Your management abilities? Your creativity? Sam DeMase, founder of A Power Mood , calls these your “superpowers.”

“Know your superpowers before you go into any interview, a.k.a. your value propositions, and how to articulate them,” says DeMase. “Once I figured out how to do that, interviews became very easy for me because I had the confidence to go in and say exactly what I’m good at. I know how to articulate it and sell it.”

7. Be ready to tell the interviewer about yourself

For every interview, you’ll want to have an answer to the most asked question ever: “ Tell me about yourself .” Your response to this should be tailored to the specific job and company you’re interviewing for, and you should know it by heart.

Interviewers almost always ask this question or a similar one—like “ Walk me through your resume ”—to start off the conversation, so you want to make sure you’re getting started on the right foot.

This is one spot where people tend to ramble, and you want to avoid that at all costs. “Treat interviews like conversations,” says Lovell. “You don’t want to give a one sentence answer and stare at them, but you also don’t want to share your whole life story.”

DeMase recommends using her W.A.T. method—which stands for “What you do, your achievements, and tie it into the role”—to answer the "Tell me about yourself" question. “It boils down to a quick elevator pitch,” she says. “It’s not a whole walkthrough of your resume, and it’s not a walkthrough of your last job.”

8. Know why you’re interested in this position

Hiring managers are looking for people who are passionate about—or at least seem interested in—the role. You will almost certainly be asked “Why are you interested in working here,” or “Why are you interested in this role,” and similar to the above tip, you should have a go-to pitch.

Get specific. What about the role calls to you? And the company? What aspects of the work feel exciting to you? Being able to communicate this succinctly and with a positive attitude will go a long way.

9. Do some salary research

During the first interview, which is typically a phone screen with a recruiter or someone else in HR, you may be asked about your salary expectations . Most experts will advise against giving a hard number, the reason being that you’ll often lowball yourself and providing a specific figure can compromise your negotiating power.

Instead, you could ask about the position's salary range during the interview and then decide if it works for you. But to make an informed decision—that aligns with the market rate for this kind of job—do a bit of salary research ahead of time.

10. Prepare your stories

Most interviewers will ask at least a few behavioral questions , which are questions about how you’ve acted or would act in certain scenarios. It's unlikely to anticipate every possible situation, so prepare a few stories from your past work experiences that could be adapted as needed.

DeMase has another method for answering behavioral questions, known as the “CARE” method —which stands for Context, Action, Result, and Evolution.

“This is the most clutch part of the interview, so you have to be ready with your examples,” she says. “That way, when they ask about a time when your client was difficult, a time you disagreed with your boss, or a time you made a mistake, you have those answers ready and you can tell the story in a way that shows what you learned.”

11. Familiarize yourself with the STAR method

Another helpful acronym is the popular STAR method of answering questions—which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Whenever you’re answering interview questions with a story, you want to make sure that the narrative is well-structured and the takeaway is clear. Your goal is to give the interviewer all the context needed to understand what happened while still answering the question clearly and concisely.

An example of the STAR method in practice is:

• Situation: Briefly lay out the scenario using just enough detail to make the interviewer understand the stakes and everything else in your answer;
• Task: Talk about what was your role in the situation;
• Action: Discuss what you did and why;
• Result : Tell your interviewer about the outcome and what you learned.

It’s worth noting that for some questions you might want to tweak this structure slightly. For example, if you’re talking about a time you demonstrated leadership skills , consider defining what leadership means to you before jumping into the situation. But the STAR method will ensure your stories always have a beginning, middle, and end.

13. Or try the PAR method

If the STAR method feels a bit too repetitive in your interviews, Christian Lovell encourages job candidates to try the PAR method—Problem, Action, Result.

“You want things to be as simple and streamlined as possible because everyone has nerves when they're going into an interview,” says Lovell. “Even I still get a little bit nervous!”

The PAR Method breaks down into the following:

• Problem: What was the problem?
• Action: What did you do?
• Result: What was the result?

This is an easy-to-remember structure that succinctly, but completely, answers the interviewer’s question.

14. Jot down any important numbers and details you find

While you’re doing your interview prep, write down some revenue figures, engagement numbers, budget or team sizes, percentages of time saved, or anything else you can use to communicate your impact in previous roles.

Throwing in some hard numbers when discussing responsibilities and accomplishments can show to a hiring manager that you’re good at what you do. Even writing them down on a post-it can serve as a quick reference during the interview.

Read more: How to Quantify Your Resume Bullets (When You Don't Work With Numbers)

15. Brush up on your interview skills

How you respond to interview questions is important, but it’s not everything. Hiring managers are also consciously—or subconsciously—picking up on how well you use other skills, such as active listening, small talk, and empathy.

“Recruiters are also looking to see if you're a good fit for the team, and if you are someone that they would want to work with,” says Lovell. “So I tell people to let their personality shine a little bit in their interviews.”

16. Practice—but don’t memorize—your answers

Yes, there are many common interview questions to prepare for, but if you memorize them verbatim, your responses may come out sounding robotic. Instead, jot down a few notes or bullet points and keep them on hand for the interview itself. That way, you’ll ensure to cover the bases without reading from a script.

Also, practice looking in the mirror and answering them out loud. This prep work will help you clarify your thoughts and make you much more comfortable during the interview.

17. Think about body language

While we may think we’re relatively aware of our bodies, it’s a good idea to brush up on what certain body language conveys before an interview. Your posture and stance can communicate a lot—and you want to make sure it’s all positive. (For example, sitting with arms and legs crossed sends a message that you are closed-off or feel defensive.)

Think your movements through ahead of time so you’re not distracted (or distracting) during the interview. If on video, consider how to show active engagement in that format—putting the Zoom window near the camera to avoid looking away from the interviewer, for example, or making non-verbal gestures to indicate that you’re listening without cutting off their microphone.

18. Try some mock interviews

If you have the time, do a few mock interviews with a friend, loved one, or even a career coach. Mock interviews are the best way to practice your tone, body language, and general preparation, plus you’ll become much better at answering, “What would you bring to the position?” This will also allow you to iron out the small details, like where you want to put your hands or how you want to sit.

19. Write down questions you’ll ask them

Most recruiters will wrap up with the interview asking if you have questions for them, and you should absolutely have at least a few prepared. “I recommend three to five questions—ideally five, in case they answer some of your questions during the interview,” says McGoff.

You can start with this list of interview questions to ask , but you should also plan some additional questions. “Make them really specific to the role and company,” McGoff adds. “If they had a merger recently, ask how that’s affected the culture. You could ask them what workflow systems they use or how they measure performance. Act like it’s your first day on the job, and think about what questions you would have.”

Also, be sure to ask questions you actually want the answers to. “A big mistake is trying to ask questions that you think the interviewer wants to hear. How can you use that final parting moment as a way to make yourself stand out? Rather than asking a question aimed at trying to seem like the smartest person on earth, I'd recommend showing that you're a curious person who genuinely wants to learn more about a certain area of the company," says Natalie Marie, of Corporate Natalie .

One particular question I love is: ‘What would a day-in-my-life look like once I'm onboarded?’ Of course this varies by industry, but the final part of an interview is a great way to ask questions that spark an interesting conversation with your interviewer.”

20. Plan for what you’ll do if you’re caught off-guard

You can’t prepare for everything, but you can prepare to handle the unexpected—like an interview question you don’t know how to answer . Most experts say to keep your cool and not be afraid to take a moment to think.

“Take a moment to think and embrace silence. It’s OK to think and even repeat the question out loud,” McGoff says. “You can take a sip of water, or say ‘that’s a great question, let me think about that for a second.’ If you’ve blanked on the answer, you can even ask to come back to it. If they’re professional, they should be totally fine with that.”

21. Prepare for technical interviews or skill tests

If you’re getting ready for a technical interview or you’ve been told there will be a skill test, start preparing as early as possible. Working through a prep book or sample questions will not only provide good practice but also put you in the right problem-solving mindset.

Once you’ve prepped for the content of your interview, it’s time to make sure you walk in looking put together and feeling confident.

22. Figure out what to wear

Unless you’re prepping for a phone interview, you’ll need to take your physical appearance into account. “It’s really important to plan what your outfit is going to be, and you want to make sure it’s professional and clean,” McGoff says.

If you aren’t sure what to wear, you can check out a company’s social media or their Muse profile to see how employees typically dress. Generally, it's recommended to present yourself a bit more professionally than on a typical workday. For example, for a casual environment, business casual is appropriate for an interview.

23. Look appropriate and professional

When it comes to appearance, the smallest details can make the biggest difference. Ensure your outfit is cleaned, ironed or steamed, and tailored if needed. Polish shoes, check for loose hems, and make sure your fingernails look neat.

Do a little pampering, because looking your best helps you feel your best—and that may mean needing a haircut, shave, or even a new interview outfit. Remember: Confidence in yourself is key to landing a job.

24. Print out copies of your resume

For in-person interviews, bring at least enough copies of your resume for everyone you’re meeting with, plus one. (It never hurts to have a few extra copies, just in case.) However, if you have a phone or video interview it can still be useful to print out a hard copy of your resume so you can refer back to it.

25. Prepare a reference list

It’s always smart to prepare a reference list before your interview, whether asked for it or not. For each reference, include a name, title, organization, division or department, telephone number, and email address, as well as a sentence briefly explaining the relationship (e.g., “Carlton was my team leader for two years, during which we collaborated on four major product launches”).

For an in-person interview, print out a hard copy, and for any later-round interview, make sure you’re ready to send off the file as soon as asked for it.

26. Test any needed tech

For Zoom and phone interviews, make sure that all the needed hardware, software, and network connections are working as expected. If you can use headphones with a microphone, do so, and ensure they’re connected before the interview begins.

“A bad WiFi connection or a distracting background can really hurt your chances, so test that ahead of time,” says McGoff.

27. Pack your bag in advance

Whatever purse, backpack, or briefcase you carry should be large enough to hold your everyday essentials, plus interview musts, such as extra resumes and a notepad. We recommend packing a small emergency kit for unexpected situations (think: Band-Aids, a stain stick, an umbrella, and breath mints).

Here’s a general checklist of what to bring to an interview so you’re super prepared. And clean out that bag! If you have to dig past candy wrappers, phone chargers, and old receipts to get that resume, you’re going to look a little disorganized.

28. Plan how you’re getting there

Whether driving or taking public transportation, look up your route ahead of time (including parking if necessary). Buy any needed tickets, add money to your metro card, fill up your gas tank—take care of anything that could slow you down on the way to the interview.

Know how long it should take you to get there and add plenty of extra time for potential traffic or transit delays. And above all, make sure to confirm the location with your point of contact, in case there are multiple offices in the same city.

29. Prepare your environment

For remote interviews, ensure your environment is quiet and free of distractions. Lay out anything you'll need to reference during the interview in front of you, along with a notepad, working pen, and beverage.

“You want a good location that is quiet with a strong WiFi connection and good lighting,” says McGoff. For video interviews, you’ll also need to pay attention to what’s going on behind you, so choose a plain or non-distracting background to sit in front of and make sure your shot is free of clutter and well lit ahead of time.

30. Fill in an interview cheat sheet

Remember study guides in school? An interview cheat sheet is sort of the same. It's a way to compile all the details you want to remember, jot down notes about what you want to say and ask, and check off all the essentials for the meeting. Print one out for every interview, read it over the morning of, and you’ll be good to go!

31. Get a good night’s sleep

Don’t underestimate the power of a good night of sleep—and likewise, don’t underestimate how much a bad night’s sleep can impact you. Sleep plays a key role in memory retention and attention span, so you want to clock at least seven to eight hours the night before a big interview. Start winding down for bed earlier than usual, and pack everything so you’re ready to go in the morning.

32. Calm your nerves and/or get psyched

Immediately before the interview (or as close to the moment as possible), get yourself in the right headspace. Expect to be nervous and plan ahead of time to use whatever tools you need. These methods are different for everyone, so think through what will be most beneficial and effective for you.

Perhaps you need to do some breathing exercises or give yourself a pep talk in your car. Whatever helps you get prepared to go into the interview confident, calm, positive, and ready to ace it.

“I tell people to put on their favorite song,” says DeMase. “Play it through your headphones and crank up the volume—this will help you get into the mindset. You want a song that makes you feel good and confident, that will hype you up before the interview. You can read your notes before going in, but you don’t want to be stuck in your head.”

Read more: 12 Different Ways to Calm Your Interview Nerves (Because You've Got This)

A final word on how to prepare for an interview

Interview preparation takes a good chunk of time and a lot of effort, but it’s all in the name of equipping you with the confidence needed to nail all of your interviews. With the right mindset, and these tips in tow, you’re well on your way to securing a new job.

Interview Essay

Interview essay generator.

Essay writing is different for everyone. Some people choose to go to the library and search for facts on a given subject, while others like to focus on gathering information through personal statements .

During this interview process, interviewers typically ask a series of interview questionnaire  that their readers may want to know about. These details are either recorded or jotted down by the interviewee. With what has been gathered, an individual may then write a complete essay regarding the exchange.

Interview Essay Sample

• Google Docs

Size: 168 KB

Personal Interview Essay Template

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Nursing Interview Essay Template

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Leadership Interview Essay Template

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Teacher Interview Essay Template

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Job Interview Essay Sample

Narrative Interview

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Career Interview Essay

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What Is an Interview Essay?

Interview essays are typically based on research gathered from personal testimonies. This could be based on one’s personal experiences or their own input on a given matter. It may be informative essay , descriptive essay , or even persuasive essays , depending on the questions asked by the interviewer.

The content of the essay may include direct quotes from the interview or it may come in a written narrative form. Through this, we are able to gain additional information from a particular perspective.

What to Include in an Interview Essay

For every essay, a thesis statement is needed to help your readers understand the subject being tackled in your work. For an interview short essay , you would need to talk about your interviewee. Any information that will create a credible image for your interviewee will be necessary.

Next, it’s necessary to include the significant ideas that you have acquired from your interview. Ideally, you should pick three of these ideas, elaborate what has been said, and present it in paragraphs. Be sure to emphasize these points in a detailed and concise manner, a lengthy explanation might be too redundant. You may also see sample essay outlines .

Leadership Essay

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Nursing Interview Example

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Personal Interview

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Parent Interview Sample

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Guidelines for an Interview Essay

When writing an interview essay, it would be best to create an outline first.

Organize the information you have gathered from your interviewee and structure it in a logical order. This could be from one’s personal information to the most compelling details gathered. Be reminded of the standard parts of an essay and be sure to apply it to your own work.

Even when most, if not all, of your essay’s content is based on what you have gathered from your interviewee, you would still need to create a good starting of essay  and end to your essay.

Additionally, do not forget to put quotation marks around the exact words used by your interviewee. It would also be best to proofread your work and make sure that there is a smooth transition for each thought. You may also like personal essay examples & samples.

How to Conclude an Interview Essay?

You can end your interview essay how ever you wish to do so. It could be about your learning from the interview, a call to action, or a brief summary writing from what has been expressed in the essay.

But keep in mind, this would depend on your purpose for writing the essay. For instance, if you interviewed a biologist to spread awareness about mother nature, then it would be best to conclude your essay with a call to action. Knowing this, it’s important to end your essay well enough for it to be memorable.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write an Interview Essay on a local community leader.

Discuss the career journey of a teacher in your Interview Essay.

• Get the Job
• Resumes and CVs
• Applications
• Cover Letters
• Professional References

Professional Licenses and Exams

• Get a Promotion
• Negotiation
• Professional Ethics
• Professionalism
• Dealing with Coworkers
• Dealing with Bosses

Communication Skills

Managing the office, disabilities, harassment and discrimination, unemployment.

• Career Paths
• Compare Careers
• Switching Careers
• Training and Certifications
• Start a Company
• Internships and Apprenticeships
• Entry Level Jobs
• College Degrees

Growth Trends for Related Jobs

How to answer essay questions for a job interview.

Some employers use essays during the job interview process to assess an applicant's writing skills and ability to communicate effectively. They also show how an applicant works under pressure and time constraints. Job interview essays are often only one or two paragraphs long and usually require you to write about subjects pertaining to that particular job. A good essay can be the difference between getting the job and the employer pursuing other candidates.

Read the essay topic or question. Make sure you completely understand what you need to write about before you begin the essay. Ask the interviewer for clarification if necessary.

Introduce the topic with a strong sentence about how much experience you have in the subject of the essay or an interesting bit of personal or professional information about the subject. This grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to read the rest of the essay. Do not write "This essay is about (blank)" or any other simple introduction.

Give an example of how you handled a situation that pertains to the subject of the essay in a previous position. Be specific about how your skills helped you overcome the situation and how you can relate that experience to the new job.

Keep the essay concise to make sure you get your point across while staying within the space provided on the page. Do not add information that does not pertain to the subject of the essay, even if it pertains to other aspects of the job.

Read the essay when you are done and revise for spelling, punctuation, grammar, clarity and length.

Related Articles

Interview questions & answers for a paraprofessional job →.

How to Write a Persuasive Essay on Getting a Raise →

How to Answer Questions in Narrative Form →

How to Write Personal Information on a Resume →

How to write job application letters →.

How to Write a Cover Letter for a Job →

Lauren Treadwell studied finance at Western Governors University and is an associate of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Treadwell provides content to a number of prominent organizations, including Wise Bread, FindLaw and Discover Financial. As a high school student, she offered financial literacy lessons to fellow students.

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How to Write an Interview Essay or Paper

• Author: Virginia Kearney

Here's how to write an interview essay, with example questions and outline ideas.

Startupstock, CC0 Public Domain via Pixaby

Decoding the Interview Writing Format

Interview essays allow you to use people as your sources rather than books. What is especially helpful in this sort of paper is that you are able to get a first-person viewpoint on a subject, whether this is about a person's life or something in which they are an expert.

Make the Essay Meaningful

These sorts of papers can be especially meaningful if you write them about family members or interview people who do a job or activity you would like to try yourself.

Where You Can Find Interview Essays

These papers are familiar to anyone who reads a newspaper or magazine. While people often interview actors, musicians, or politicians, excellent essays can be written by talking to ordinary people. Essays that record the life history of ordinary people are called oral history.

Overview of the Interview Essay Process

• Write your questions.
• Set up a time to meet with people (you will probably start with at least one in-class interview of another student).
• Ask questions and record the answers.
• Analyze the results.
• Write your essay. Start with the question, followed by a summary and analysis of the questions and answers.

What is friendship?—an example of an interview topic

Cherylholt, CC-BY via Pixaby

How Do I Do the Interview?

Pick a Good Question: You will be asking a particular question about a topic of your choice to several different people. Generally, you will want to choose a topic that is arguable—this means a topic in which there are varying opinions.

Ask the Question and Give the Person Time to Answer and Explain: What makes this different from a survey is that you will give the person an opportunity to explain their answer. Often the interview works better if the question asks something most people have an opinion about.

Ask Follow-Up Questions: In trying to get more information about why people think the way they do on the topic, you will ask follow-up questions. You should not ask the same follow-up questions to every person. Instead, you will let your conversation with the person guide you as you develop more questions that are pertinent to the particular conversation.

Interview in Person

If possible, interview in person, or over Skype or FaceTime. Seeing a person's expression and hearing their tone of voice is important. Plus, you can ask extra questions if you don't understand.

Sample Interview Essay Questions

• What problems do you want to help solve in your lifetime?
• What is the best way to make a marriage work?
• What is a "happy family"?
• What is your ideal work schedule?
• How do you seek to make the world a better place?
• What do you do when a homeless person asks you for money?
• What do you personally do to recycle or be "green"?
• What are the most important qualities in a friend?
• What do you think about adoption?
• What does "beauty" (or art, family, democracy, freedom, friendship, etc.) mean to you?
• What is the most important thing you learned in college?
• What are you most passionate about?
• How has volunteering been meaningful to you?
• What is the most annoying thing a teacher/professor can do?
• What do you most like/dislike about your physical appearance?
• How do you think your place in your family has affected your personality?
• What historical event in your lifetime affected you the most?
• How do you think people change as they age?
• What is the difference between someone who is gifted and someone who works hard?
• Can people change?
• What was the most important thing you learned from your parents?
• Who was the person who influenced you the most growing up?
• Which school subject is most important to learn?
• How can families stay close?
• What is the difference between men and women?
• How has COVID-19 changed your life?

Interview an older family member. Use pictures to spark memories.

VirginiaLynne, CC-BY, via HubPages

Guideline for Conducting an Interview

Below is a guideline of things you should ask and take note of during the interview. These are sample questions, and you may add to them as you try to get the person to give you more information.

• Name: First and last.
• Question: Your main question and any major follow-up questions that occur to you.
• Why do you think so? What are some of your reasons? Are there any other reasons?
• Why do you think people who take the opposite view would do so?
• Do any examples come to your mind to illustrate your point?
• Quotation: Anything you want to quote word for word from them.

How to Analyze Interviews

• Make a list of the reasons given by the people you interviewed and the number of people with each opinion.
• Analyze the opinions by asking the following questions and making notes for yourself:

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• Is this a positive or negative reason?
• How does this reason compare to other reasons?
• How important or interesting is this reason?
• What do you think of this reason? Is it valid?

How to Organize Your Interview Notes

Organize the reasons into a logical order. Here are a few possible ways to order them:

• least to most important
• positive first, then negative
• negative, then positive
• ones you disagree with, ones you agree with
• ones which are pretty typical, ones which are unusual

Interview Essay Introduction and Conclusion Ideas

How to Outline Interview Papers

Plan the outline of your interview essay based on the ordering of your reasons.

Introduction/Conclusion : Decide how you will begin and conclude your essay. Your introduction should include the question you asked. Your opening might be suggested by some of the comments from your interviews or you might want to describe a situation that causes your question. For example, in a paper about whether you would give money to a homeless person, you could open with a scenario or story about being approached by a woman in a parking lot and having to decide whether to give money.

You might also use description, statistics, and/or questions in your opening (describe homeless people in a big city, give statistics, and end with the question you asked in your interview). You could also begin with a dictionary definition, an appropriate reference to a movie, T.V. show, song, or a quote.

Body: List the reasons in order. The body of your essay should follow the order of reasons that you put together from your notes. Be sure to quote, paraphrase, and summarize your sources. Also, be sure to analyze the connections between reasons and why people might come to those conclusions.

Conclusion: Your response . You will conclude the paper with a paragraph or two explaining which point of view, in your opinion, has the most validity, and why. If none of the viewpoints from your interviews coincided with your opinion, you should talk about that.

Jagriti on November 24, 2019:

Thank you so much for your all great tips.It is really helpful for me.

Morgan on April 18, 2019:

Thanks for all the great tips!!!!!!

Hunter on October 02, 2018:

I will keep watch for other posts that you create for other great tips. Thanks again!!!!!! ;)

I am going to do this for my class in essays. thanks for the tips!!!

Lorette ISINGIZWE on April 27, 2017:

this is really helpful thanks

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on July 20, 2015:

Cecile--so glad to know this will help you on your interview writing.

cecile garcia on July 20, 2015:

Ideas for interview are exciting and would surely help me in my writing interviews.

Rae Saylor from Australia on November 04, 2013:

I've always had a hard time writing one. So, THANKS HEAPS for the tips! Voted up ;-)

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on October 20, 2012:

Terrific pinhawk! Hope your paper turns out great.

pinkhawk from Pearl of the Orient on October 20, 2012:

This is useful!... need to start my assignment now...Thank you very much! ^_^

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on April 27, 2012:

Thanks Beijing Driver--I've never driven in Beijing, but I've been driven around there many times and I think that anyone who does that job is to be commended!

100 Interview Essay Paper Topic Ideas

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How to Write Cause and Effect Essays

How to Write a Personal Experience Essay With Sample Papers

How to Write an Evaluation Paper With Sample Essays

How to Write an Explaining Essay

How to Prepare for an Interview (Step-By-Step Guide)

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

By Mike Simpson

If you want to land a job, there’s one hurdle you’re essentially guaranteed to face: the interview . After all, hiring managers don’t choose a candidate based on their resume alone in nearly all cases. They want to meet the candidate and learn more about what they bring to the table. And, if you’re going to impress, knowing how to prepare for an interview is a must.

Overall, companies may receive 250 resumes for a single corporate job. Then, they’ll usually invite four to six candidates in for an interview , only one of which will actually get hired.

By preparing for your interview, you’re honing valuable skills that increase your odds of shining during the meeting. Additionally, you’re making sure your interview strategy is on point, and that you’ve learned critical information that can help you stand out.

If you want to make sure you’re on the path toward success, here’s what you need to know about how to prepare for an interview.

What Does “Being Prepared for an Interview” Really Mean?

For many, the idea of being prepared for anything is a bit ambiguous.

Is there a specific point that separates the prepared from the ill-prepared? Do you have to dedicate a certain number of hours to the process of getting ready? Is there a critical step you have to make to cross the threshold?

Technically, the answer to those questions is “no.” In many cases, being prepared means you’ve done some due diligence. You know how to talk about your achievements in a way that entices the hiring manager. You can sprinkle in relevant tidbits of information based on research.

Essentially, being prepared means you’ve taken whatever steps were necessary to set yourself up for success, allowing you to arrive at your interview brimming with confidence. You’ve dedicated time and attention to the process.

Even if the idea of being prepared isn’t highly defined, that doesn’t mean you can’t do what it takes to make it happen. By following the right steps – which we’ll cover in a moment – you can do proper laser focused research , prepare and practice relevant and engaging answers , and increase your odds of handling even the trickiest questions with ease .

Common Interview Preparation Mistakes to Avoid

When it comes to preparing for an interview, the biggest mistake you can make is not doing it at all. Even if you’re a highly-skilled professional overflowing with potential and natural poise, you can’t assume that is enough.

On average, it takes five job interviews before you’ll land a job.

Wow, right?

Plus, 57 percent of professionals say they’ve had a job interview go poorly. That’s more than half of all professionals, people who know their jobs well and are likely at least reasonably successful.

An interview isn’t like a normal conversation with a colleague. Instead, you’re being tested, put on the spot, and asked (in a way) to defend your resume. Some questions are designed to put you back on your heels. Others are so open-ended, that it’s easy to drift off-topic.

Preparation allows you to be at your best when that fateful interview day arrives. You’ll have great answers just waiting to be deployed, and a strategy that can help you navigate the unexpected. In turn, you’ll be more likely to succeed, making all of the effort worthwhile.

However, that’s not the only misstep aspiring new hires make. Choosing the wrong mock interview questions can also hurt you. For example, some candidates spend all of their time on generic interview questions . Sure, you need to be ready for classics like, “ Tell me about yourself ” and “ What motivates you? ” but you also need to be prepared to face off against field- or job-specific ones , too.

Similarly, failing to talk about critical traits in your answers can work against you . During an interview, you can’t, for example, simply claim you’re detail-oriented. Instead, you have to show that you’re detail-oriented , highlighting the capability by discussing an accomplishment.

Finally, one of the surprising mistakes a candidate make is not enlisting the help of a trusted friend, family member, or colleague. Having someone else ask you the practice interview questions and getting feedback on your answers – including the responses themselves, your body language, and anything else – is ridiculously valuable. It allows you to really hone your approach, ensuring you can make the best impression possible.

We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview.

Click below to get your free PDF now:

Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!

FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you " word-word sample answers to the most common job interview questions you'll face at your next interview .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CHEAT SHEET

Follow These Steps to Get Properly Prepared for Your Interview

Alright, now that you know a bit about why preparing for an interview is important, as well as some mistakes to avoid, let’s get down to brass tacks: how to prepare for an interview. After all, knowing you need to do it is only half the battle; you have to follow through, using the right approach, too.

Luckily, we have your back. If you want to blow away the hiring manager, you need to take your interview prep to the next level. Here’s how to do just that:

1. Review the Job Description

The first step you need to take when preparing for an interview is to review the job description . The job description is chocked full of critical details, including the must-have skills and traits the hiring manager needs to find.

Once you bring up the original vacancy announcement, go over it word-by-word. When you spot skills and qualities, consider highlighting them or writing them down in a list. Anything the hiring manager felt was worthy of inclusion will likely come up during your interview.

Essentially, the job description is a cheat sheet. If the hiring manager listed a skill or quality in the job description you should be prepared to show the hiring manager you possess them!

2. Reread Your Resume or Application

Reread your resume? Why would you need to do that? After all, you know your own background, right? Well, sort of.

If you tailor your resume to each job (which you should), and you’ve applied to more than one recently, you may not remember which details you included. That could spell trouble.

You can almost guarantee that the hiring manager is going to talk about your resume. If you forgot which accomplishments you mentioned, you might not prepare to discuss them. Then, if the hiring manager asks – which they almost certainly will – you might give a stumbly answer.

Review your resume! Know what you said! Remember, your resume might be all the hiring manager knows about you, so make sure you can discuss those points with ease.

3. Research the Company

We know, research isn’t always the most fun. But it is nonetheless crucial.

Many hiring managers ask candidates to tell them what they know about the company. If you answer that question with the silence, you can essentially kiss the job goodbye.

Take some time to review the company’s products and services. You need at least a general idea of how the business makes money; that’s a must.

Additionally, head to the company’s website and review its mission and values statements. This gives you major clues about the organization’s priorities and culture. Also, head to the company’s social media page for more insights, as well as details about its recent achievements or newsworthy events.

The more company-specific details you can work into your interview answers, the better. It shows you went the extra mile to learn about them, and that can help you stand out from the crowd.

4. Learn About the Hiring Manager

If you know who will be interviewing you, try to learn a bit about them, too. If you can find out about the hiring manager’s professional history, perspective, and priorities, you can align your approach with their preferences. This makes it easier to find common ground and develop a rapport.

5. Reflect on Your Accomplishments

Now that you have a bit of an idea of what you’ll need to cover, spend a little time reflecting on your achievements. During an interview, you’ll want to show the hiring manager you have what it takes to excel. Typically, that means discussing a relevant accomplishment.

Ideally, you want to identify key moments in your career that showcase you as a great fit. As you reflect, write down the ones that stand out most and that show that you possess the skills and qualities you found on the job description. Those are the accomplishments you want to work into your answers.

6. Quantify the Details

With a few achievements picked out, it’s time to gather some additional details. During an interview, numbers can speak louder than words, so quantify those accomplishments.

At times, this requires a bit of research. You might not remember how big a budget you managed was or how many people ended up using something you developed. Look it up! That way, the information you provide is enticing and accurate.

7. Learn the Types of Interview Questions

At this point, it’s time to start figuring out how to work in relevant details into interview answers. One of the best ways to start is to learn about the different kinds of interview questions.

By refreshing your memory about the types of questions you may encounter, you can start developing a strategy for responding. When a question is straightforward, the process is usually simple. For example, if the hiring manager asks if you have skill X, you start with a “yes” or “no.” When a “yes,” you follow it up with a relevant example of you putting it to use or with details about how you’ve honed it. Done.

If you need to say “no,” you’ll need a different approach. Pivot by discussing how you intend to acquire the skill (if you have immediate plans) or by focusing on your willingness to learn and excitement about professional development. Many hiring managers will consider a candidate who doesn’t have every hard skill if they are enthusiastic and have potential, so this method can work.

For behavioral interview questions , you’ll need a robust strategy. Usually, combining the STAR Method and the Tailoring Method is the best approach. So, let’s take a look at those.

8. Get to Know the STAR Method

The STAR Method is a classic approach to answering behavioral interview questions. It allows you to turn a generic response into a compelling story. That’s why, when you’re trying to figure out how to prepare for a job interview, learning the STAR Method is a must.

While we took a deep dive into the STAR Method before, here’s an overview. STAR stands for Situation , Task , Action , and Results . It’s an approach for outlining how an event arose and played out, making it ideal for structuring how you discuss an accomplishment.

With the STAR Method, you can make sure the hiring manager has every critical detail. You’re showing them how you put your skills to work, giving them important context about how you perform on the job.

9. Dive into the Tailoring Method

Alright, the STAR Method alone is a pretty strong approach. But, by also learning the Tailoring Method , you have a secret sauce for creating delicious answers to behavioral interview questions.

The Tailoring Method is all about customization. You don’t want to give the hiring manager a basic answer to a question; you want to make it relevant and enticing, building an exceptional value proposition by showcasing how you can help their company thrive. That’s what the Tailoring Method helps you do.

It’s an approach that makes the hiring manager and company the priority, not you. It’s about positioning yourself as a solution to the problem the hiring manager is trying to solve (which, by the way, is finding the ideal candidate for the job they need to fill). That makes the Tailoring Method a competitive advantage, as not all job seekers are going to go that extra mile.

10. Practice Common Interview Questions

Certain job interview questions are almost universal, so it is smart to practice them. Grab a list of common ones and get cracking, using the techniques you’ve developed so far to create compelling answers.

11. Practice Job-Specific Interview Questions

While you should spend time on general interview questions, you also want to get job-specific . Each kind of position requires unique skills and traits, so hiring managers are going to ask questions that help them figure out if you have what it takes to thrive.

So, for example, if you’re trying to land a data analyst position, research data analyst interview questions . If you’re interviewing as Microsoft , Facebook , or Google , review questions that hiring managers at those companies ask. That way, you’ll be as ready for your interview as possible.

12. Get Some Questions Ready

At the end of every interview, you typically have a chance to ask the hiring manager a few questions. Make sure you have a few ready to go. That way, you won’t be at a loss when that moment arrives.

If you don’t know where to begin, ask them to describe a typical day in the position. You can also ask if there’s anything preventing them from considering you the top candidate, giving you a chance to address any concerns head-on.

Check out our article for more questions you can ask the hiring manager !

13. Interview Yourself in Front of a Mirror (or on Video)

Once you have your questions and answers ready, interview yourself in front of a mirror or on video. That way, you can watch your body language and practice eye contact, allowing you to get everything working in your favor.

14. Do a Mock Interview with a Buddy

Having someone you trust help you out is a smart move. Give them a list of practice interview questions and have them put on their hiring manager hat. Once done, ask for feedback and hone your approach.

15. Gather Your Must-Bring Items

Usually, you’ll need to bring a few things with you during your interview . At least the night before, print out resume copies, pack up your portfolio, and gather anything else that needs to come with you.

16. Choose Your Interview Attire

You want to make sure your outfit makes you look like the ideal person for the job. A few days before, choose your attire. Try it on to make sure it fits and examine it for signs of wear and tear. That way, if there’s an issue, you can choose something else without having to rush.

Putting It All Together

That’s it! When it comes to how to prepare for an interview, that’s what you need to know. Take those tips and use them to your advantage. By doing so, you’ll increase your odds of job interview success, making all of the effort worthwhile.

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How to Prepare for a Job Interview Presentation

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Introduction

How to prepare for a job interview, works cited.

An interview refers to a meeting that happens amongst the applicant and the employees thus representing both the supply and demand of an organization. Whether an individual is applying for a scholarship or a job, it is necessary to conduct an interview in order to determine whether he/she qualifies for the applied position. Both the interviewee and the interviewer need to prepare properly before an interview. Interviews are very important to interviews therefore, they should spend some more time in preparation before attending them. In addition, job interviews are very important to employers because they help them in choosing the best candidate that suits their organizations position (McKay 2).

Interviewers carry out interviews for many reasons one of them is to get the interviewee’s impression relating to his/her image obtained in the application documents and those that he/she did not write. Therefore, the following interview preparation is very vital. Firstly, the interviewer should conduct more research regarding the company that he/she has an interview. This information should include what exactly do the company deal with, how successful is the company. How does it conduct its corporate culture and how do the communities view the corporate culture, investigate on their market position, find out the role played by the position being interviewed and have relevant information concerning conduction of a normal day in the company (Boyer 48).

Secondly, the interviewee should ensure that he/she re-reads the job advertisements severally in order to clearly understand the job requirements and think out the main reasons to prove whether he/she can meet such requirements. The interviewer should not exaggerate things during an interview because it will appear as if he/she is overqualified on contrary, the interviewer should not lie during an interview because the information will appear to be paranoid.

Thirdly, it is important that the interviewees find out the duration that the interview will take in order to allocate time for his/her answers accordingly. If possible, he/she should seek information on who will be the interviewers and some research on the interviewers favorite topics during interviews so that the interviewee can prepare accordingly. The interviewee can obtain such information through carrying out research on website where he/she can get an individual who passed through that interview earlier.

Fourthly, some questions are very common in almost every interview. Therefore, the interviewee should prepare and go through such question either by taking a friend to act like an interviewer and interview him/her in order to measure his/her capability in answering questions. Such questions include; why do you think you fit this position, what are your strength and weaknesses among others.

To any company, a job interview is very relevant because it helps the company in obtaining the best candidate suiting the available company’s position. In preparation for a job interview, it is important that an individual conduct more research regarding the organization that she/he has an interview. Secondly, an interviewee should ensure that she severally reads the requirements of the applied job in order to get answers on how he/she meets such requirements. Thirdly, an interviewee should investigate on the total time that the interview will take. Fourthly, revising common interview questions is vital. Finally, the interviewee should memorize his/her CV in according to answer questions in line with it. However, it is important for every individual to consider well preparation before an interview.

Adams Media .The Adams Job Interview Almanac . Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2005. Print.

Boyer, Susan. Understanding Spoken English: A Focus on Everyday Language in Context . Lapstone, N.S.W: Boyer Educational Resources, 2003. Print.

McKay, Dawn . The Everything Practice Interview Book: Be Prepared for Any Question . Avon, Mass: Adams Media, 2004. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 19). How to Prepare for a Job Interview. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/

"How to Prepare for a Job Interview." IvyPanda , 19 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'How to Prepare for a Job Interview'. 19 June.

IvyPanda . 2022. "How to Prepare for a Job Interview." June 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/.

1. IvyPanda . "How to Prepare for a Job Interview." June 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/.

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IvyPanda . "How to Prepare for a Job Interview." June 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/.

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How to Successfully Prepare for a Job Interview, Essay Example

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Sending countless job applications to job agencies, companies, friends and just about anyone one would think has access to a job opening is an experience that every job seeker cannot avoid. When one receives a call inviting them for an interview in a prestigious organization, one cannot help seeing all their dreams come true. However, the word ‘interview’ is nothing close to exciting to job seekers because most people’s experiences would best be described as an ‘ordeal’. After a thorough research, on how to successfully prepare for an interview, here are a few tips.

Visiting a recruitment consultant has proved to be very fruitful when preparing for an interview. A recruiter’s word would be the most appropriate piece of advice one would get since they have firsthand experience and tactics used in interviews. However, this method is quite costly for most people considering they can get general tips from other sources at no cost. These tips include confidence, awareness of the nature of job, knowing the firm well and ability to handle technical interviews. (Surendran n.d.)

As long as one is not overconfident, confidence is a key aspect when approaching an interview. It’s through confidence that one will answer questions correctly, and even though a complex question is asked, confidence will make one convince the interview panel without twitching an eye. This level of confidence can make the panel believe that one is the right candidate even when they don’t get any of the questions right. It is also crucial to understand the type of job and the firm in general before going for an interview. This will guide one while researching on the kind of questions to expect and general preparation like dress code. The candidate should also have the expertise to tackle any technical question that arises and conducting a mock interview in front of the mirror can be of great help.

It is also important to know several lines about oneself on their fingertips to avoid looking confused when the interviewer pops the question. There are other tips like avoiding getting tense, having success stories and preparing for common questions asked in interviews.  It is therefore clear that passing an interview doesn’t require any magic just general preparedness, and a sober mind to stand out from other candidates.

Works Cited

Surendran A. (n.d) How To Successfully Prepare for an Interview. Retrieved on Nov 3, 2010 from http://www.howtodothings.com/careers/how-to-successfully-prepare-for-an-interview

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A Successful Job Interview

       Job interviews can be very scary experiences, even for people who have gone through the process many times. To pass the interview, candidates must present themselves well and show that in addition to being the most qualified for a certain position, they are also able to explain why. The interviewers sit across a large desk and take notes on every answer that is given. Performance in the job interview frequently determines if a candidate will get the job. Because the job interview is so important, it must be carefully prepared for, especially in very competitive fields. There are a few basic steps that anyone can take to be prepared for a job interview.

       The first step is to research the company carefully. Before job candidates ever go into a job interview, they should look up any information they can find about the company online. One reason for this is a very practical one: it can help the job candidates make sure that they want to work for a particular company or that they have the necessary skills for the job they are applying for. If the company feels like the right fit, doing research about the company will also give job candidates an advantage in the interview. It is easy for the interviewer to know if a job candidate is informed about the company during the job interview because the interviewer will typically be someone who has experience in the company. Researching the company will also help job candidates prepare a few questions of their own. Questions to research could include what the company sells, who the leaders are, where they do business, if they have been in the news (and why), or how the company stocks are doing. The initial step of doing some research about the company is crucial to being ready for an interview.

       After job candidates have done some research online and decided to move forward with the job application, the next thing they should do is prepare a resume. The resume first needs to fit the job description and show any experience that job candidates have that would make them a good candidate for the job. For example, if a job candidate is applying for a job as a receptionist, it is better to include work experience from an office job than work experience from a job in a restaurant. In addition to work experience, the resume should include any skills that job candidates have that would be useful in the job they are applying for. Sometimes these skills are listed specifically in the job description as required skills. Sometimes they are listed as preferred skills. In either case, listing relevant skills will help potential employers understand who is most qualified for a certain job. Finally, the resume should look very professional. The fonts should be easy to read and the spelling and grammar should not have mistakes. An accurate, carefully written resume will put any job candidate one step closer to being ready for a job interview.

       Finally, job candidates should practice for the interview. Lists of interview questions are widely available online, and by practicing before going into an interview, candidates can feel more confident in the interview. While interview questions cannot be perfectly anticipated, many common mistakes can be avoided by having time to think about the anwer before candidates are put on the spot. For example, some interviewers may ask a job candidate to describe one of his weaknesses. That topic can be especially difficult to talk about if a job candidate has never thought about it before because it will typically be associated with negative feelings. Even if candidates don’t practice the questions that are asked in the interview, having the experience of answering questions intelligently will increase their confidence and help them appear more relaxed in the interview. This final step will help job candidates be ready for an interview.

       While they may seem simple, these steps will help job candidates be ready for their next job interview. Researching the company will give them the background knowledge they need, polishing their resume will give the company hiring committee the background information they need, and practicing for the interview will help candidates show their strengths. Job interviews will still cause some nervousness, but they don’t need to cause job candidates crippling fear. With the right preparation, even if it’s your first interview, you’ll be ready.

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6 Leadership Interview Questions That You Can Expect

How can you be better prepared for job interviews? By reviewing the most typical questions ... [+] beforehand.

Interviewing for a leadership position is one of the most important steps in a person’s career. The questions asked during these interviews are designed to uncover the candidate’s ability to successfully lead a team and to help push the company forward. Having an understanding of these questions in advance and preparing for them will ensure that you make a favorable impression during the interview. Here are 6 questions to expect in a leadership interview.

6 Questions To Expect In A Leadership Interview

1. describe a time when you were responsible for leading a team to achieve a challenging goal..

Leadership positions are challenging, and hiring managers want to know how you perform in a high-pressured environment. The answer you give to this question will also highlight your problem-solving abilities.

Key Points/Themes: Give specific examples, highlighting the goal, the challenges you faced, the strategies you used to overcome these challenges, and the success of the outcome. Additionally, focus on key leadership skills such as communication, strategic planning, and leadership.

Demonstrating Leadership: An important element of leadership is your ability to make good decisions to ensure a successful outcome. Challenging goals require you to come up with innovative solutions and lead your team to implement them.

2. Team conflict is inevitable, how do you handle it?

No matter how well your team work together, there is always going to be conflict. Conflict stifles the team; therefore, it is essential that conflict is resolved effectively to maintain a productive work environment. This question is intended to gain insight into your emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills.

Key Points/Themes: Conflict is difficult, and it can have a negative effect on employees. The main aim of conflict resolution is to rectify the situation fairly so that all parties involved are satisfied. To achieve this, you must possess good listening skills, show empathy, and have the ability to remain impartial and calm.

Demonstrating Leadership: When dealing with conflict, leadership is demonstrated by facilitating communication between parties, basing decisions on evidence and facts instead of personal opinions, and showcasing their problem-solving abilities by finding a solution that addresses the root cause of the problem.

3. What is your leadership style, and what positive effect does it have on your team?

Understanding your leadership style helps interviewers determine whether you will be a good fit for the company’s culture and the team you will be leading.

Key Points/Themes: Discuss your leadership style and your reasons behind it. Highlight whether your leadership style is natural, or whether you have adopted it because you believe it is more effective.

Demonstrating Leadership: Provide examples of how your leadership style has led to successful outcomes. Also, highlight your ability to adapt your leadership style to the needs of individual team members.

4. Have you ever been assigned the task of implementing change within a company?

Your ability to manage change is essential in today’s fast paced business environment. It also demonstrates your ability to adapt and your strategic thinking capabilities.

Key Points/Themes: Discuss the steps you took to implement the changes and how you managed and guided your team through the transition.

Demonstrating Leadership: Highlight your communication skills, how did you communicate the changes to your team members? Was there resistance to these changes? If so, how did you handle it? Demonstrate your ability to lead through uncertainty and secure a positive outcome.

5. How do you mentor and develop your team members?

A good leader is capable of bringing out the best in the people they lead. They invest in their teams growth and create an environment that supports continuous development and improvement.

Key Points/Themes: By discussing your approach to mentoring and developing your team members, you give the interviewer insight into your ability to provide development opportunities, support career growth, inspire and motivate your team, and provide constructive criticism for the betterment of your employees.

Demonstrating Leadership: Discuss what you did to empower your team members. How do you model good leadership characteristics? Did you delegate specific responsibilities to help them grow? What did you do to help build their confidence.

6. What is your decision-making process?

Impulsive leaders who do not think through their decisions are a liability to the company. Therefore, hiring managers want to understand your decision-making process to determine whether you are a strategic thinker capable of making decisions that align with organizational goals.

Key Points/Themes: Give examples of when you have had to make difficult decisions. Discuss your decision-making process, the rationale behind your choices and the outcome of your decision.

Demonstrating Leadership: Demonstrate your ability to make difficult decisions and stand by them. How you analyzed the situation thoroughly before moving forward and the logical reasoning used to assess the risks and benefits. Additionally, good leaders seek input from their team and other stakeholders. Discuss how you involved them in the decision-making process.

While preparing for your interview, remember to focus on specific situations, your actions, and the outcomes. Where possible, use data and metrics to quantify your impact. Through extensive preparation, you will answer the questions effectively and demonstrate that you are ready to take on a leadership role.

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Your Guide to MBA Internships

Learn the benefits of an MBA internship and discover tips for landing one, from submitting an application through acing your interview.

If you're in the process of earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) , you may have the opportunity—or, in some cases, the requirement—to complete an internship. You can gain valuable business experience and build new relationships that might even lead to your next job by pursuing an internship.

MBA internships generally last from eight to 12 weeks. As an MBA intern, you'll likely be supervised by a personnel director or human resource manager of a company or business, as well as a member of your business school faculty. 

Benefits of an MBA internship

A significant benefit to completing an MBA internship is that it gives you a chance to get valuable experience working for a company while also pursuing your studies. Here are more ways an MBA internship may add to your educational growth: 

You'll get exposure to the workings of a company, including different tasks, staff members, and departments, which can help you decide if you'd like to work at a similar company.

You can preview a specific job role that interests you.

You can form connections with people in the corporate world.

You can have access to recommendations and references for future employment.

You can build confidence for job hunting in the future.

You may receive a monetary stipend.

You may receive a permanent job offer.

Read more: 9 Networking Tips to Expand and Strengthen Your Network

When to start looking for an MBA internship

Most full-time MBA students pursue an internship during the summer between the first and second year when classes are not in session. To ensure you get the internship you want, it’s a good idea to start looking shortly after starting your MBA program. Applications tend to open in the fall —so set a reminder for early September.

7 tips for your MBA internship job search

You can take several steps to make your search for an internship easier. When you decide it's time to start looking, these tips might help you land the MBA internship that’s best for you.

1. Access your school's resources

Your college or university can be a valuable resource for finding an internship. Some companies recruit MBA interns directly from business schools, and the school's career services department usually handles the process. The staff in this department may also offer you tips for conducting your internship search and ideas for companies to contact. 

In addition, colleges and universities typically host events that bring internship recruiters to campus, so keep an eye out for events like these. If not, meet with your career services department to get the scoop on application deadlines.

2. Get to know the industry

When you're talking to an internship recruiter, you may be able to get a leg up if you research the industry beforehand. Learn more about what's happening in the world of business by taking these steps:

Read the business sections of prominent papers like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Subscribe to magazines or e-zines like Forbes , Fast Company , and Fortune .

Search online for the latest business trends, blogs, and important press releases. 

3. Research the company 

You’ll likely have an easier time talking to a recruiter or human resource manager if you understand the company they represent. Before entering an interview for an internship or speaking with a recruiter:

Check out the company's website.

Take a look at the company's social media accounts.

Research key employees of the company on LinkedIn.

Find the company's operations and financial information through the Securities and Exchange Commission .

Learn about the company through people you may know who work there.

4. Make your resume shine

As an MBA candidate, you've likely already polished your resume to highlight your career objective, work experience, skills, and other qualifications when you went through the application process. Make sure to add any newly acquired skills or relevant coursework before applying for internships.

If you need help updating your resume, you can visit your school's career services department or even hire a professional resume writer. A strong resume could set you apart from other internship candidates. 

Read more: How to Write an Effective MBA Resume

5. Be persistent in your MBA internship search

If you've applied for an internship, follow up on it about two weeks later. Send the company's contact person a short email asking if they received your application and thank them again for considering you for the position. You may have to apply for quite a few internships before you land the one you want, so don't give up. 

The writer James Michener once said, "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." In other words, when you're searching for any job, a little persistence can go a long way.

6. Prepare for internship interviews

The interview process is often an important factor for landing an MBA internship. Because some companies hire their interns for permanent positions, they want candidates who are knowledgeable, thoughtful, skilled, and well-versed in the company and industry. That's why it's essential to prepare. 

Here are a few common interview questions that many employers ask MBA intern candidates and other job applicants:

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Why are you interested in this particular internship/job?

What do you hope to gain from it?

What can you offer our company?

What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses?

What are some of your interests and hobbies?

What motivates you?

After every interview, take time to debrief. Jot down how you think you can improve and what you feel you did well. You can then use these notes to improve your performance in the next interview. Email the interviewer to thank them for their time and consideration to create one last positive impression. 

Read more: 11 Interviewing Skills to Benefit Your Career

7. Find the right MBA internship fit

Getting a good internship may lead to a career that fills you with purpose and contentment. To find the right internship for you, consider a few strategies. 

Take advantage of career workshops and assessment tests offered through your school's career services department. By clarifying your career goals, you might have an easier time narrowing your focus and finding more satisfying internships. For instance, if you decide you want a career in marketing, you may wish to focus your internship search on advertising agencies, marketing firms, or graphic design companies.   

The interview process might also help you determine whether an internship is right for you. When you have an interview for an internship, pay attention to your surroundings and ask yourself these questions:

Does the company look like a place you might like to work permanently? 

Do the employees appear happy in their work?

Will taking this internship help you build new professional skills?

Will accepting this internship help advance your specific career goals?

If you want to build skills in a particular area of business, consider a business specialization in areas such as digital marketing , strategic leadership , or financial management from the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, all available on Coursera. Each specialization is part of the university's iMBA program, which allows students the ability to work toward their degree from anywhere with an internet connection at a breakthrough price.

Keep reading

Coursera staff.

Editorial Team

Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

ATS Resume Templates

Download an ATS-friendly resume template for free. These templates can be edited in Microsoft Word and can be accurately scanned by an applicant tracking system.

If you’ve made it to this page, then you probably already know more about applicant tracking systems (ATS) than the average job seeker. That gives you an advantage! Why?

Many companies use ATS to manage resumes and applications. In fact, Jobscan research shows that over 97% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS.

If an ATS can’t read or understand the information on your resume, then your application might not be seen when a recruiter searches for candidates with specific skills or experience – even if you have those skills or the experience!

Your resume needs to be ATS-friendly in order to give you the best chance of getting a job interview. That means that you need an ATS resume template.

We’ve designed 15 ATS resume templates that can be downloaded as Microsoft Word files and easily edited. Download one for free or use our free resume builder to get a customized ATS-friendly resume in minutes.

Free ATS Resume Templates

Executive and Management ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

As a leader, you want your experience and accomplishments to shine. These resume templates give you opportunities to show the measurable results you’ve achieved, as well as your hard and soft skills .

Using correct formatting is critical here. The ATS needs to be able to parse all of that vital information and categorize it correctly. You also need your resume to be searchable by an ATS so that when a recruiter filters candidates by skills, your application stays on the list.

Entry-Level ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

You might not think you have a lot to show on your resume, but you do! These templates provide sections where you can highlight your education, internships, volunteer experience , personal accomplishments, and more.

An ATS-friendly resume will help you get found by recruiters and hiring managers. This is important because an entry-level position could have hundreds of applicants! Use these templates to make sure the ATS picks up your skills and experience.

Make your resume faster with our free resume builder

Write your resume the free and easy way with the only resume builder designed specifically with ATS-compliant resume templates.

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ATS Resume Templates - What You Need to Know

How to make the perfect ats resume.

Remember, an ATS is just a computer filing system. It needs to be able to scan and understand the text on your resume in order to correctly parse the information and sort it properly.

An ATS will never auto-reject a resume, but an ATS optimized resume does make it easier for a recruiter to find you among the sea of applicants.

Even more importantly, an ATS-friendly resume naturally follows expert-recommended resume writing standards as well. That means that when the recruiter personally views your resume, it will include the relevant information they’re looking for and will be formatted in a way that makes it easier to read

Follow these tips for making the perfect ATS resume :

1. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for

Focus on quality over quantity. Each job you apply for is unique, even if they all have the same title. Every company has different needs for that role. The job description will make it clear which hard skills, soft skills, experience, and education the company is looking for. So tailor your resume to show them that you are the perfect candidate.

Tailoring each and every resume can be time consuming, but it’s worth the effort!

You can speed up this process by using a tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner . Powered by AI-technology , this tool analyzes your resume against the job description and provides you with a resume score that tells you how closely your resume matches the job description. It also tells you exactly what you need to do to increase your score.

2. Match your resume keywords to skills found in the job description

Recruiters might use an ATS’ search function to find applicants with specific skills. How do you know what skills they will search for? By examining the job listing. Use a resume scanner to automatically pick out the hard and soft skills the recruiter might search for, and then include those on your resume.

Even if the recruiter doesn’t search applications for those skills, they’ll definitely be looking for mentions of them on each resume they review.

3. Use long-form and acronym versions of keywords

Some ATS will only return resumes with the exact keywords the recruiters would search for. For example, if you included “Search Engine Optimization” in your resume but the recruiter searched for “SEO,” your profile may not appear in the results. Try to include both the acronym and the unabbreviated form of the term.

Use a tool like Jobscan’s resume fixer to make sure your resume doesn’t contain mistakes that will eliminate you from consideration.

4. Use Chronological or Hybrid resume format to write your resume .

Recruiters do not like the functional resume format . Unless you’re making a career change, a functional resume is going to work against you. (And even then, we recommend you steer clear of the format for a career change resume .)

The best format for the ATS is traditional reverse chronological. You can also use chronological and hybrid resume formats as these are familiar to most recruiters.

5. Use an easy-to-read, traditional font

For readability, use a traditional serif or sans serif font. Untraditional or “fancy” fonts can cause parsing errors, which means the full text of your resume won’t be searchable.

6. Use standard resume section headings

Section headers like “Where I’ve Been” in place of “Work Experience” will confuse applicant tracking systems, causing them to organize information incorrectly.

7. Save your file as a .docx if possible

A docx file is most compatible with ATS.

What is the best resume format for ATS?

There are three standard resume formats to choose from in your job search. They shape your first impression and determine the way recruiters and hiring managers view your fit as an applicant.

Your resume formatting can also determine how well your resume is parsed within an applicant tracking system (ATS) and how likely you are to be noticed as a result.

Regardless of the format you use, the most important thing is to use standard section headings like Experience, Skills, and Education. That will make it easier for the ATS to categorize the text.

How to tailor your ATS-friendly resume to a job

Tailoring your resume proves to recruiters that you’re an experienced professional. Most importantly, it shows them that you’re the perfect fit for this role.

Follow these three steps for tailoring your resume to a job description:

1. Examine the specific job description of the position

Go line by line through the job description and ask yourself these questions:

• “Does my resume experience section clearly state that I can do what’s required of this role?”
• “Am I using the same language found in the job description or job posting?”

You might find several different or missing skills and keywords in your generic resume.

2. Match skills and keywords from the job description

Mirroring the language, keywords, and buzzwords found within the job description is the easiest way to demonstrate you’re a better match than the competition.

The best way to show you’re the best fit for the position is to take words from the job posting and strategically put them in your job descriptions and other resume sections. A resume scanner will automatically pull out these keywords in seconds and speed up this process.

3. Write your job title clearly

Recruiters might search for people who have done the job they’re hiring, so list your job titles clearly and match the titles to the one in the job posting when possible. If you haven’t held the job before, list it under your name at the top or as part of your summary section.

What is Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software used to assist with human resources, recruitment, and hiring. While each system offers a different package of features, applicant tracking systems are primarily used to help hiring companies organize and navigate large numbers of applicants.

For example, an ATS stores job candidate information like resumes, cover letters, references, and other recruitment and hiring data that HR teams can easily access and organize. It will also track job candidates and their application status throughout the hiring pipeline.

Ultimately, an ATS automates time-consuming administrative tasks such as manually screening applicants, reading resumes, scheduling interviews, and sending notifications and emails to job candidates and employees.

Can you add graphics to your resume?

When it comes to creating an ATS-friendly resume , the rule is: The simpler, the better. ATS are improving at scanning different formatting features, but not all of them are good at this.

Adding graphics and images could cause ATS parsing errors , which means the text on your resume won’t be fully searchable or accurately categorized by an ATS. We recommend that job seekers err on the side of caution. Avoid graphics, images, and photos.

Are Google Docs or Microsoft resume templates ATS-friendly?

They can be. We talked about some formatting features to avoid on your resume – fancy graphics and non-traditional fonts. Those features can trip up an ATS, even if they’re on a Word document or Google Docs file.

However, as long as you follow the guidelines on this page, or use one of these ATS resume templates, you’ll be fine.

How to get your cover letter past the ATS?

To increase your cover letter’s chances of passing an ATS, focus on using a clean format without complex formatting, incorporate relevant keywords and phrases from the job description, and ensure that your content is easy for the ATS to parse.

Consider using a tool like Jobscan’s cover letter generator to help you create an ATS-friendly cover letter. If you already have a cover letter, run it through our cover letter checker tool to get personalized feedback on how to improve your cover letter and make it more compelling to employers.

More Resume Resources

Google Docs Resume Templates

Professional Resume Templates

Resume Builder

Resume Writing Guide

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