Pre-Interview Routine
Getting a good night’s sleep is the most important thing the night before an interview
I have an interview in the morning. That means that tonight, I went through my pre-interview routine. It’s not that I purposely went about setting up a pre-interview routine, more that I simply realized I have one.
First, I have to try on what I am planning on wearing. I have to like it. C has to like it. I have to feel professional and confident in it. Once I decided that I have the right outfit, I do my hair the way I intend to in the morning and put on the jewelry I want to wear. Confident that I have the look down, the first part of the routine is complete.
I then put the entire outfit on one hanger and hang it outside of our room, so that I don’t have to find it in the closet. This also makes it easy for me to get dressed either in our room or the bathroom the next morning.
After that, I put everything I need to go to the interview together. I have my leather portfolio with extra copies of my resume, note pad and pen. I add to that my email string with the recruiter/interview scheduler, so that I have all the directions and their contact information in one place.
The portfolio then gets set on the dining room table under my purse.
I know this doesn’t sound like much, but I’m not the kind of person who usually plans what I am going to wear, let alone sets it aside. I’m also much more likely, on a normal morning, to be running around gathering what I need two minutes before I walk out the door.
But when I have an interview scheduled, I don’t want to have to think in the morning. I want everything set and ready to go, so that I can be on autopilot until I have to find my way to where ever it is I am going.
Do you have a routine when you have a big event the next day?
The nice thing about interviewing when it comes to your wardrobe is that you can often wear the same thing to different first interviews and not be repetitious. Of course for me, wearing my good suit is pretty much the starting point, then it's just a matter of picking out the right shirt and tie.
The other thing to remember here is that I've lost about 60lbs since I last really bought clothes (I've bought a few pieces here and there for interview purposes) and am still losing weight, so I really do need to try things on and make sure they are fitting properly- especially the shirts.
Although it has been awhile since I interviewed. My wardrobe was the easy part. I always carried an extra resume, samples of my work and references. I never gave references until they were ready to give me an offer.
The nice thing about being a man- interview clothes are the easy part.
My portfolio has extra copies of my resume, references, and my salary history (since it sometimes comes up).
Back when I was an analyst looking for a higher level analyst job, I also carried samples of my work, but that's not really possible now.