Step 1 - Research the company like an insider
Go past the About page: recent news, product launches, competitors, the problems the team is visibly hiring to solve. You're looking for two or three specifics you can genuinely connect to - they'll surface naturally in your answers and your questions.
Step 2 - Decode the job description
Highlight every skill and behaviour it mentions. That list is the interview's unofficial mark scheme: most of the questions you'll face are those bullet points rephrased.
Step 3 - Map your evidence
For each requirement, write down the strongest example from your experience that proves it. Gaps are fine - plan how you'll address them honestly, paired with how you're closing them.
Step 4 - Build your story bank
Turn your best six to eight examples into structured stories using the STAR technique. These are reusable - one good story can answer five differently-worded questions.
Step 5 - Prepare the inevitable questions
“Tell me about yourself,” “Why this company?”, “Why this role?”, “Strengths and weaknesses.” They open almost every interview, they're fully predictable, and a fluent first five minutes changes the temperature of everything that follows.
Step 6 - Rehearse out loud
The single highest-leverage step, and the most skipped. Answers that feel complete in your head fall apart the first time they meet your voice - better that happens in rehearsal. Practise with a friend, a mirror, or a live AI copilot that asks realistic questions and shows you model answers in real time.
Step 7 - Prepare your own questions
Three to five genuine ones - about the team's current challenges, how success is measured, what the first 90 days look like. “No questions” reads as no interest.
Step 8 - Sort the logistics early
In person: route, timing, a buffer for chaos. Remote: camera at eye level, light on your face, audio tested, notifications off, backup plan if the call drops. Decide your outfit the night before - one less morning decision.
Step 9 - Protect the day before
Light review only - no cramming new material after lunch. Prepare your documents, eat properly, get to bed early. You're managing energy now, not information.
Step 10 - Arrive with a routine
Ten minutes early, phone silenced, three slow breaths with long exhales, your 60-second introduction once through. Then trust the preparation - it's all still in there.