Interviewing can feel overwhelming, but it’s a crucial step in landing your dream job. To help you navigate this process, The HBCU Career Center offers the "Interview Like a P.R.O." (ILAP) course on our job board. ILAP  takes about an hour to complete online and covers the essential components of effective interviewing. It’s designed to help you articulate your Personal and Past experiences, Responsibilities, Roles, Reactions, and Outstanding Outcomes (P.R.O!).

Preparation is key to a successful job interview every time. Research you've done about the company, the industry, and yourself sets the stage for this critical interaction between you and the interviewer. 

Here are three essential tips that will help you set the stage for a successful job interview:

1. Seek Work that Aligns with Your Values: A targeted job search must create or seek greater alignment between your work and your values, interests, skills, and abilities. When you’ve done the work of thinking through your why, it shows in the job interview — trust me. Take time to think through what you’re looking for in a job. Write it down! This is a much more effective job search strategy than a scattered approach where you just look for any job. Define your personal criteria and focus on companies or opportunities that match your criteria to ensure a fulfilling career path.

2. Understand the Job Beyond the Title: Don’t just focus on the job title. Job titles can be misleading and vary greatly between companies. Look deeper into the job description, required skills, and responsibilities. For example, titles like "operations manager" or "administrative assistant" can encompass a wide range of duties. That same range of duties can be found in other companies under other job titles. Read the job description thoroughly. The last thing you want to do is come to the job interview without an understanding of the role.

3. Consult Career Coaches for Mock Interviews: One-on-one mock interview sessions with career coaches can provide personalized advice and help you navigate your job search. Some career coaches will do this for free, but most professional career coaches will charge fees for their services. Investing in yourself and your career this way can be worthwhile. Budget or save for it, the same way you budget or save for maintaining your car.

Check out our free Interview Like a P.R.O. video course for more help with job interview preparation.

Dr. Marcia F. Robinson, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the CEO of The HBCU Career Center. She’s an award-winning HR and leadership expert with 25 years of experience in HR and Career Development Education. Known as Dr. R, she’s on a mission to make workplaces more inclusive and to help professionals find welcoming spaces that align with their V.I.S.A. (Values, Interests, Skills and Abilities).