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Are you ready for your next interview? Most importantly are you prepared?

Preparing for an interview is a nerve-racking experience, yet critical to helping you get your next job. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Here are some very important steps for you to consider before you embark on your next interview. And remember, preparation is king.

The Interview Process

Every interview has a similar flow with both sides of the exchange having similar goals:

Build rapport to establish a relaxed and open environment
Establish purpose and time limitations
Explore and determine fit between the candidate and company
Build interest
Summarize and identify next steps

In order to succeed in each phase, you'll need to do your research on the company and position, prepare your interview questions and answers, understand what you're looking for in a job and company, and demonstrate your qualifications.

Company Research

Visit the company website and become familiar with their products and services. Find out their mission statement, financial status, vision, fact sheet, management team, and success stories. Seek information from friends, colleagues, and employees. Perform an “Informational Interview” to find out about the culture and work environment. There are several resources online you can refer to. Whether the company is private or public, search online sites like Yahoo and Google to find articles, financials, lists and bios of employees, and more.

If you know who you're going to be interviewing with, do searches on the people through sites such as LinkedIn. You can find an amazing amount of information about people through LinkedIn. You may find common points of interest or similarities that you can talk to in your interview. Referring to their bios when you're interviewing can be a form of flattery, and demonstrates you did your homework.

Use your research to formulate questions. What questions or concerns would you have if you were already in the position you were applying for. Think about questions you need anwered in order to gauge your true interest in working there, to perform the job, and to demonstrate your insight into the organization and business.

Interview Questions

Interviewing is a two-way process: preparing questions for the potential employer, and preparing answers for their questions. Let's look at preparing questions first. You need to ask questions to determine whether you want to work there in the first place. Understanding what you're looking for is essential to formulating an effective list of questions.

When developing questions, you should think about what you need to know to make a good decision. Don't focus on getting the second interview. Instead, focus on whether this company is the place for you.

Do they have the culture you're looking for?
Does the management style of your future boss support your needs?
Is the company collaborative or do they operate independently?
What is the pace of the company? Are they entrepreneurial?
How does everyone communicate with each other? How do they refer to each other?
What kind of growth opportunities are there?
Why is the position vacant? Did the prior person quit, get fired, or get promoted?
What does the company organization chart look like
What are the typical hours
How much will you travel
How is the morale? Why do people like to work there?

Prepare a one page summary of questions that will help clarify what you've already learned about the position and company through your research. You also need to prepare questions for the various people you may meet with in the organization:

Human Resources
Hiring Manager
Colleagues / Peers
Hiring Manager's Boss

You can view Preparing Interview Questions for some targeted questions for each of these roles.

The other aspect of interview questions is preparing answers for the questions they ask you. They want to know whether you can do the job (or learn to do the job), and whether they can see themselves spending 40-60 hours per week with you. Your first step should be to prepare answers to the 10 most popular interview questions that you'll be sure to be asked.

10 Commonly Asked Interview Questions

Why did you leave your last job?
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
What is your management/work style?
What are your future career plans?
Why are you interested in our company?
How did you get along with your last manager?
How would your peers, subordinates, or last manager describe you?
What are your salary requirements?
Tell Me About Yourself (also used to develop your elevator speech)
- How do you want to be known professionally?
- In your current/most recent position, what title and responsibilities belonged to you?
- Education
- Work History
- Future Focus (what are you looking for?)

After you're comfortable with these, there are hundreds of other questions to prepare for. Click here for a list of Top Interview Questions. You can also search the web for additional questions (search on "top 100 interview questions"). Interviews are designed to bring out information about your background, skills, experiences, personality, and character.

Although memorizing answers to a ton of questions seems like a monumental task, the practice of learning 5-10 questions per day will give you a lot of insight into yourself. If you continue at this pace, you will make it through the entire list within a few weeks and will start to feel comfortable with your answers. If the interviewer throws you a curve and asks a difficult question, you'll be better prepared and won't panic.

Situation Action Result (SAR)

S.A.R. is an approach for asking and answering questions. You're trying to demonstrate that you've been in similar situations before, and your identifying how you addressed it in the past to achieve a favorable result. It's the same approach you take when you create your resume. Every bullet point should have a situation, an action, and a result. The S.A.R. approach in interviewing is an effective way of ensuring you're concise, direct, and logical without rambling on.

Dress for Success

You only have one chance for a first impression, and it starts before you speak your first word. Make sure you dress for success, even if the company has a business casual dress policy. The interview is your time to shine, so put your best foot forward and dress the part. Wear professional business attire, which is appropriate for most interviews. Sometimes you will be given advice from the H.R. representative to just wear business casual, but remember first impressions count.

Relax and Take a Breath

Most of us get a little apprehensive just before the interview. We get a bit nervous, our hands sweat, and we tend to worry. My suggestion for calming the nerves is to get to the interview about 15 minutes early. Sit in the car and listen to a few tunes and just relax and take a few deep breaths. This should have a calming effect on your body and will give you a few minutes to reflect how well you have prepared yourself for the interview. Try to make this a fun and enjoyable experience.

Make your first step in the interview process one that is prepared and ready for success.