I am convinced that there are few things less enjoyable in life than interviewing. I would choose a dentist appointment, driving to Cleveland on Ohio Interstate 71, or cleaning up cat throw up over being interviewed.

Why Do I Hate Interviews?

In my personal, self-pitying opinion, traditional interviews are a torture designed by extroverted business individuals who want to see introverts sitting across the desk squirm and suffer under their unyielding gaze.

I think interviews can be difficult for anyone. You are expected to be charismatic, dynamic, and confident as you talk about how awesome you are to a stranger.

It's the ultimate in speed-dating: You're not asking for a second date, you're asking them to pay you to (in essence) marry their company after knowing you for an hour.

However, during my nine-month-long job search my senior year of college, I had to go to a lot of interviews; I wanted a job and needed to pay my bills. Therefore, I had to take a giant leap out of my comfort zone and learn how to show someone I was hireable.

After going on about 10 face-to-face interviews and 15 phone interviews, I got plenty of practice, and developed some pretty solid interview tips.

So, I now present these business interview tips, listed in order of importance, in the hopes that they will help you feel a little comfortable during what feels like the defining hours of your life.

My Tried and True Business Interview Tips

1. Practice makes perfect 

This is my number one interview tip, because it's that essential to your success. Go on every interview you possibly can. Seriously. Interviewing is an acquired skill in so many ways. The more interviews you go on, the more confident and at-ease you will feel, and more importantly, look.

2. Take notes

This is also essential to your success. When they are telling you about the position and the company culture, take note of everything. You will look super studious, and it shows the interviewer you are actually listening and paying attention.

Make sure you write down the questions that the interviewer is asking you and treasure them. Studying those questions before an interview is like studying your class notes before an exam. The results will always be positive.

Write down the top skills and the type of personality they are looking for and find a way to work those buzzwords into any further correspondence.

3. Have a script

This is another essential tip, but use it carefully. You should be able to rattle off your elevator pitch without any hiccups, but please do not make it sound like you've memorized it. Make sure to change up a little of the wording every time, preferably to personalize it to the person/organization you're talking to.

Take that list of interview questions you've been writing down from tip two and figure out which ones most frequently come up. Have those answers prepped for go time.

Again, don't list them off in a creepy monotone, and try to customize your answer to the situation if possible. 

For example, if the questions is: "What are your three biggest strengths?", have your three biggest strengths ready and waiting, and just switch up the order, or the way you describe them.

Don't be afraid to write yourself a few reminder notes in the corner of your note-taking paper. If you want to mention a specific project or strength because it relates to the job description, just write it down. It won't be noticeable to the interviewer unless you make it so.

4. Do your homework

Seriously though. Please don't ever go into an interview without spending some quality time with the job description and the company website.

You don't need to know every little thing about that company or your interviewer. But do take some time to look outside the box a little bit. Look at the company's Facebook page and check to see if there were any notable events recently that relate to the position or department you are interviewing in.

Try to find the position you are interviewing for on Glassdoor and check to see if anyone has listed any of the interview questions they were asked. 

Check out the LinkedIn page of both the company and the interviewer and make at least one note of anything that might seem relevant that you could mention in the interview.

Does that kind of seem like cheating? Maybe, but the whole point of interviews is to prove that they should hire you over another person. If that means that you congratulate the interviewer for heading up a team that just won an award, then you do it!

5. Be prepared

Another crucial point. Make sure you know exactly where the office is, exactly how to get there, exactly where to park, and exactly how long it will take you to get there, plus 15-45 minutes for traffic.

Have your own pen and paper, and BRING EXTRA RESUMES. In a nice, simple portfolio, not a spiral notebook and pink glitter folder. Or even worse, a folder from class with a big MKT 4200 on the front that rats you out.

Know the name of your interviewer before you walk in the door. Know which position you are interviewing for, in what department, and what time the interview was scheduled for. 

Know the dress code and how you are expected to dress for the interview. Being over-dressed is only just a little better than not being dressed up enough.

6. Follow the directions and pay attention to details

This one seems super obvious, and unfortunately can ruin your chances before you even walk in the door of the office if you ignore it. 

Make sure you follow the directions given to you by the hiring manager, or the interviewer, or the security guard.

If the hiring manager asks you to send the most updated resume to them the day before the interview, and you don't see those directions, or you forget, you've just thrown up the biggest red flag ever. 

If the interviewer left a note at the very bottom of an email saying to park in lot 3D and you park in lot 6F and get a ticket, they're probably not paying your ticket, and they're definitely not hiring you. 

7. Smile, make eye contact, and use your power poses

Sure, you're nervous as hell, and uncomfortable, and you would prefer to be in the dentist's chair than the swivel chair in that conference room or office. But your interviewer doesn't need to know that. So smile constantly and show them respect by looking them in the eye, all the time. They WILL notice. 

Also, watch the Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are TED talk by Amy Cuddy on power poses. Especially if you're introverted, or feel uncomfortable talking to strangers, or if you're anyone, really. I think I can attribute finally landing a job, at least in one tiny part, to the Wonder Woman power pose. It's real life, people. 

If you use these tips, I can't guarantee that you'll land a job on your first interview, or your second. That's why practice makes perfect is at the very top of the list.

However, it will give you a starting point for feeling more prepared, and therefore more confident, and you can then adapt these tips with your own experiences.

Don't hold back on us! If you have tips that I haven't mentioned here, share the love and mention them in the comments!