How to Prepare for an Interview in One Week

Day 1 (Monday): Deep Company Research

Goal: Understand everything about the company and role

• Read the entire job description 3 times—highlight key requirements
• Study their website: products, mission, values, recent news
• Check their LinkedIn, Twitter, blog for company culture insights
• Search "[company name] news" for recent developments
• Research competitors to understand the industry
• Look up your interviewers on LinkedIn (if you know who they are)
• Write down 10 questions to ask them at the end

Day 2 (Tuesday): Prepare Core Answers

Goal: Draft your answers to the most common questions

• Write out "Tell me about yourself" using Present-Past-Future framework
• Prepare "Why do you want to work here?" (be specific to this company)
• Draft "Why should we hire you?" matching your skills to their needs
• Prepare "What is your weakness?" with real weakness + improvement plan
• Write answers to other common questions (salary, career goals, etc.)
• Time each answer—aim for 60-90 seconds

Day 3 (Wednesday): Build Your STAR Stories

Goal: Prepare 8-10 stories covering different scenarios

• Success story (biggest achievement)
• Failure story (and what you learned)
• Teamwork story (collaboration success)
• Conflict story (handled disagreement)
• Leadership story (led team or project)
• Problem-solving story (solved difficult challenge)
• Initiative story (went above and beyond)
• Learning story (overcame skill gap)

For each story, write out: Situation, Task, Action, Result (with numbers)

Day 4 (Thursday): First Mock Interview

Goal: Practice answering questions out loud

• Do a full mock interview with AI or a friend (45 minutes)
• Record yourself—watch for filler words ("um," "like")
• Practice your core answers 10 times each
• Practice your STAR stories out loud
• Get feedback on clarity, pacing, and confidence
• Identify which answers need more work

Day 5 (Friday): Refine & Polish

Goal: Improve weak answers and add polish

• Revise answers that felt clunky or unclear
• Practice transitions between answers
• Work on your body language and eye contact
• Practice your questions to ask them
• Do another full mock interview
• Aim for answers to feel natural, not memorized

Day 6 (Saturday/Sunday): Logistics & Light Practice

Goal: Handle logistics and do light review

• Plan your outfit—try it on completely
• Map your route to interview location (or test Zoom link)
• Print extra resume copies
• Prepare folder with: resume, questions list, notepad, pen
• If virtual: test camera, mic, lighting, background
• Do one final light practice of core answers
• Review your company research notes
• Relax—don't overdo it

Day 7 (Interview Day): Final Prep & Execution

Morning:

• Eat a good breakfast
• Review "Tell me about yourself" one last time
• Read through your questions to ask them
• Arrive 10 minutes early (not 30, not late)

Right Before:

• Take 5 deep breaths
• Remind yourself you're prepared
• Smile, make eye contact, firm handshake