How to prepare for a job interview

Turn the job ad into your prep sheet

The job ad is the most specific document you have about what this interviewer wants to hear, so it's worth building your preparation around it rather than around a general checklist.

List each requirement or duty from the ad down one side of a page. Next to each one, write the real example from your own work that shows you can do it. You're not writing full answers at this stage, just pairing evidence with each line so nothing gets overlooked on the day.

• Handles competing deadlines: the project you ran alongside two other live pieces of work, and how you kept all three moving
• Leads or supervises others: the stretch where you covered a manager's role, and what you kept running while they were away
• Works with a specific system or process named in the ad: the closest thing you've used, even if it's not the exact one, and how fast you picked it up

Choosing which experience to put against each line is much the same judgement you make when you decide which skills to put on a resume, applied to a conversation rather than a page. If a requirement in the ad has no matching line from you, it's better to find that out while you still have time to think about how you'd answer it.

The same pairing of evidence to requirements is what carries you through the why should we hire you question if it comes up later in the interview.

How many interview stories you need

You don't need a bespoke answer for every question you might be asked. Four to six solid stories, each one built with the STAR method (situation, task, action, result), will flex across most of what comes up. Pick examples you can tell in a couple of minutes, with an outcome you can describe.

• A time something went wrong and you fixed it: shows how you act when a plan falls over, rather than how the work runs in theory
• A time you disagreed with someone at work: shows how you handle a difference of opinion without it becoming a problem for the team
• A time you led or influenced something without formal authority: shows initiative beyond your job title
• A time you missed the mark: shows self-awareness, and what you changed afterwards

Write each one down in a few lines, then say it out loud before the day, to yourself, to a friend or into your phone. A story that sounds fine in your head often comes out longer and less clear the first time you speak it, and it's much easier to trim at home than in the room.

If you expect the conversation to open with the usual invitation to introduce yourself, it's worth reading how to answer "tell me about yourself" and practising that answer the same way.

Questions an interviewer can't lawfully ask you

Nearly everything an interviewer asks is aimed at whether you can do the job, but a small number of questions sit outside that, and they're easier to handle if you can recognise them. The Australian Human Rights Commission's guidance for employers on preventing recruitment discrimination sets out what's off-limits, and the same list applies from the other side of the table.

There are genuine exceptions. If a role involves lifting, shift work or travel, an interviewer can ask whether you can meet those specific requirements. What they can't do is use a question about your health, your family or your history to judge you for reasons that have nothing to do with the job.

• Prior workers' compensation claims or how much sick leave you've taken, where it's unrelated to your ability to do the role
• Health or disability details beyond what's needed to check you can meet the job's actual requirements
• Marital status, family plans or parental status, when it's being used to judge you rather than just make conversation

You don't have to answer a question like this. It usually works better to answer what the question is really trying to check, rather than the question itself: if you're asked about children, for example, you can say plainly that you're able to meet the hours the role needs.

If it happens and you think it affected the outcome, you can complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission, or ask the Fair Work Commission to deal with it as a general protections dispute. Those protections cover people applying for a job, not only employees. This is general information, not legal advice.

The 30-60-90 day plan

For roles with real autonomy or team leadership, an interviewer may ask what you'd do in your first three months. A plan in three stages is enough to answer that, and it shows you can think ahead rather than wait to react once you start.

• First 30 days, learn: meet the team, understand what's already in place, and get across anything that's currently a live problem
• Next 30 days, contribute: start on the parts of the role that don't need the full picture yet, and share your first real observations
• Final 30 days, own: take clear responsibility for at least one piece of work, with a result you can point to

You don't need exact figures against each stage, and numbers invented to sound thorough tend to invite questions you can't answer. A sensible order of work is what the interviewer is listening for. If the role is junior or heavily process-driven, the question is less likely to come up at all, and an unprompted 30-60-90 answer can sound rehearsed rather than useful.

The night before and the morning of

Most of the practical details can be settled the night before, which leaves less to organise while you're getting ready.

• What to wear to an interview chosen and ready, not decided on the morning
• Printed or saved copies of your resume and the job ad itself
• Directions and travel time checked, with extra time built in for parking or delays
• For a video interview: camera, microphone and internet connection tested in the actual room you'll be using, not just once weeks ago
• Notebook, pen, and two or three questions you want to ask, written down so nerves don't wipe them
• Phone on silent and out of sight

None of this decides the outcome, but it does keep the day clear for the conversation itself.