You have secured the interview for the job that you would love. What’s next?

By preparing ahead of time, this will help you keep calm and perform at your very best.

Below we offer our top five tips to make sure you succeed in the interview:

1. Research the company

The first thing you should do once accepting the interview, is to research the company. You will know the basics about the company from what you have read up on before submitting your CV, but now you will have to research a bit more deeply. Who will be interviewing you? Who are their clients? How long has the company been in business? Who is/are the director/directors? Showing that you know about the company will look good to your interviewer and shows that you want to be a part of the business.

• Understand what they are expecting from you and what you have to offer as a candidate

Go over the job specification from the job advert you applied for. This will include everything that you would be doing day to day. If you have a good understanding of what the interviewer would be expecting from you, then you can make sure your answers meet them.

Make sure that you re read your CV before going into the interview. This will mean when they ask questions about what you can offer you can think about elements of your CV that fit with the job description.

• Prepare for common interview questions and have specific examples ready

Research some ‘common interview questions’ and prepare answers for the questions you think you’d most likely encounter in the interview.

Also have some specific examples ready as you may be asked questions such as “tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation”, so having some experiences written down will mean you don’t have to rack your brain for examples during the interview.

• Think of some questions that you would like to ask

During your research there will probably have been things you’d seen that you’d like to know more about. Write them out as questions for the interviewer. This will help you be prepared when you’re asked if you have any questions.

• Prepare the night before

Make sure to prepare a few things the night before the interview. As well as doing your research of the company, studying your CV and writing down questions, you should prepare yourself too. Make sure to have your outfit laid out, check the address of the company so you won’t get lost on your way to the interview and have a copy of your CV ready to take with you.

Finally, be positive and wear a smile!