Interview Preparation Checklist: Questions, Examples, and a 7-Day Practice Plan

Overview

Good interview preparation is more than memorising answers. It is a process for understanding the role, connecting your experience to the employer’s needs, and making it easier for the interviewer to see how you would work. The aim is not to sound rehearsed; it is to respond clearly, give relevant evidence, and ask useful questions.

Start with the job description and divide your preparation into five areas:

• Role fit: the skills, responsibilities, and outcomes the position emphasises.
• Employer knowledge: what the organisation does, who it serves, and what you can learn from its public information.
• Evidence: specific examples that show your skills in action.
• Interview format: in-person, video, telephone, panel, technical, practical, or assessment-based.
• Your questions: thoughtful points that help you assess the role as well as demonstrate preparation.

If your CV needs updating before you practise, use the CV and Resume Optimization Checklist to match your application more closely to the job description. Keep the job advert, your CV, application notes, and interview details together so your preparation is based on the same information.

Checklist by scenario

Seven-day interview preparation plan

Seven days before: Read the job description slowly and highlight repeated skills, responsibilities, tools, qualifications, and phrases describing the ideal candidate. Write down three reasons the role interests you and three ways your background could help. Research the employer using reliable public information, including its website, products or services, customers, stated priorities, and recent announcements where relevant. Avoid trying to memorise every detail; focus on information you can connect naturally to the position.

Six days before: Create a role-fit map. In one column, list the employer’s requirements. In a second, write a matching example from work, study, volunteering, projects, caring responsibilities, or another relevant setting. In a third, note the result or lesson. This approach is particularly useful for entry-level roles and no experience jobs, because transferable evidence can come from more places than paid employment.

Five days before: Prepare five to seven STAR examples. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Choose examples involving problem-solving, teamwork, communication, learning from a mistake, handling pressure, taking initiative, and adapting to change. Keep the situation and task brief, spend most of the answer on what you did, and explain the result honestly. If the outcome was not measurable, describe what changed, what you learned, or what you would do differently.

Four days before: Practise common interview questions aloud. Prepare a concise introduction for “Tell me about yourself,” a specific explanation of why you want the role, and a balanced answer to a development-area question. Also prepare for questions about availability, notice period, location, working patterns, salary expectations, and eligibility where these are relevant. Do not write a script. Use bullet points so your answers remain conversational.

Three days before: Add role-specific practice. For a customer service job, practise handling an upset customer. For retail or warehouse jobs, consider safety, accuracy, pace, reliability, and teamwork. For technical or analytical roles, review core concepts and practise explaining your reasoning. For teaching, internships, or project-based work, prepare examples showing planning, feedback, learning, and communication. If the employer mentions a task or assessment, confirm what you need to bring and what will be evaluated.

Two days before: Complete a mock interview. Ask a friend, tutor, colleague, or mentor to use your questions, or record yourself answering them. Review whether your answers are relevant, easy to follow, and supported by examples. Notice repeated filler words, answers that run too long, and points where you lose confidence. Practise again with shorter notes rather than trying to eliminate every pause.

One day before: Confirm the time, time zone, location or meeting link, interviewer’s name, format, expected duration, and any materials requested. For a video interview, test your camera, microphone, lighting, background, internet connection, and charging cable. For an in-person interview, plan your route and allow time for an unexpected delay. Prepare your CV, notebook, pen, questions, identification if requested, and any portfolio or work samples.

On the day: Review your role-fit map and three strongest examples rather than cramming new information. Join a video call early enough to check the setup, or arrive with reasonable time to settle. Listen to the full question, pause if needed, and ask for clarification when a question is unclear. After the interview, record what was discussed while it is fresh.

Questions to practise

• What attracted you to this role?
• Which part of the job description best matches your experience?
• Tell me about a time you solved a problem.
• Describe a situation where you worked with someone whose approach differed from yours.
• Tell me about a mistake or setback and what you learned from it.
• How do you organise competing priorities?
• What would you like to learn in your next role?
• Why are you considering a change?

For each question, answer directly, provide a relevant example when appropriate, and finish by linking the lesson to the role. This structure helps prevent answers from becoming either vague or unnecessarily long.

Questions to ask the interviewer

Choose three to five questions, prioritising those that have not already been answered. You might ask: “What would success look like in the first three months?”, “How is work allocated and reviewed?”, “What are the team’s current priorities?”, “What training or support is available?”, or “What are the next steps in the process?” Questions about schedule, pay, benefits, and progression can also be appropriate, particularly when they have not been explained. For a broader assessment of an employer, see the Signs of a Good Employer guide.

What to double-check

Interview readiness scorecard

Score each area from 1 to 5, where 1 means “not ready” and 5 means “ready to discuss clearly.” Any score below 4 is a signal to practise again.

• Can I explain the role in my own words?
• Can I name the employer’s main work or customers without relying on notes?
• Do I have at least five relevant examples?
• Can I explain my individual contribution in team projects?
• Can I answer why I want this role specifically?
• Have I prepared for technical, practical, or role-play tasks?
• Is my video, audio, route, or arrival plan reliable?
• Do I have useful questions to ask?
• Can I discuss availability and compensation accurately and calmly?

Double-check that every example is truthful, relevant, and yours to discuss. If you use figures, make sure you can explain what they represent. If you mention a group achievement, distinguish between the team’s result and your contribution. Review the Salary Comparison Guide before discussing an offer so you consider total compensation rather than focusing only on a headline figure.

Common mistakes

• Over-rehearsing: Memorised paragraphs can sound unnatural and become difficult to adapt. Practise ideas and examples instead.
• Giving generic answers: Connect your response to the role, employer, or working environment whenever possible.
• Talking only about responsibilities: Explain the action you took and the result, not just what the team was asked to do.
• Ignoring the practical details: A missed link, untested microphone, or unclear location can create avoidable stress.
• Asking no questions: Prepare questions that help you understand expectations and decide whether the role suits you.
• Focusing on perfection: A thoughtful pause or request for clarification is usually more useful than rushing into an unclear answer.
• Failing to record follow-up actions: Note promised information, next steps, and the expected contact method immediately after the interview.

Send a brief follow-up message when appropriate. Thank the interviewer, mention one relevant point from the conversation, and reaffirm your interest without repeating your entire application. Track the interview and any follow-up date in a job search tracker.

When to revisit

Return to this checklist whenever you receive an interview invitation, even if you have interviewed for a similar role before. The employer, format, panel, assessment, and priorities may differ. Revisit it especially before a seasonal hiring cycle, a large application round, a career change, or a return to work after time away.

Update your role-fit map whenever your CV, qualifications, projects, or availability changes. After each interview, add one lesson: a question that surprised you, an example that worked well, or a detail you should research next time. This turns each conversation into practical mock interview practice for the next opportunity.

Your final action is simple: set a timer for 20 minutes, choose three likely questions, answer them aloud using STAR where suitable, and score yourself. Then complete the lowest-scoring preparation task before the interview date. For broader job-search planning, the online jobs search-and-application workflow can help connect interview preparation with the rest of your application process.