11 Interviewing Skills to Benefit Your Career

Interviewing skills are the emotional and tactical techniques that make job seekers more effective when interviewing for a new position. These skills are important to gain, just like the technical skills and workplace skills you need to perform well in a position. 

By developing interviewing skills and practicing them throughout your professional journey, you can feel more confident about any upcoming interview and experience a more fulfilling career. Review 11 important interviewing skills and learn how to develop interview skills to prepare for a job search. 

11 job interview skills 

Explore skills you can use before, during, and after an interview with a potential employer. 

Before the interview:

• Self-preparation

• Researching

• Mastering your emotions

• Logistical planning

During the interview:

• Communicating

• Introducing yourself

• Presenting your qualifications

• Listening 

• Asking questions 

After the interview: 

• Following up with your interviewer 

• Reflecting on your interview and refining your methods

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1. Self-preparation 

Much of successful interviewing has to do with being able to align your unique gifts and qualifications with the position you’re applying for. Write down your personal and professional strengths, including the accomplishments you’re most proud of, your values, and your job experience. Reference your resume, cover letter, and the details of any prior projects, if needed.  

Self-preparation can put your own strengths at the forefront of your mind and make it easier to articulate them in a conversation. 

2. Researching 

Thorough research into the company you want to work for—including company reviews, its products and services, and its competitors—can help you determine if the career path will be a good fit.  

Scour everything you can find online about the company and jot down your thoughts on what it might be like to work there, as well as any questions you may have about the company culture and the role. Write down specific ways you can contribute to the company and be a part of its mission beyond what you may have outlined in a resume or cover letter.

3. Mastering your emotions 

Even with thorough preparation, the experience of anticipating a job interview can feel both exciting and stressful. Mastering your emotions can help you stay calm during the interview process, so you can focus on making the best decision for your career.

To build emotional resilience for your job search, review your self-preparation and company research notes several times. This can give you a confidence boost before the interview.

Deep breathing to calm your nervous system

To reduce jitters on the day of the interview, try deep breathing. Get in a comfortable position and slowly inhale, filling your lungs with air. Hold your breath for five counts or longer, and then slowly exhale until you release all the air. Repeat this exercise several times.  

4. Logistical planning

For every interview, you’ll want to arrange all the details of the experience, from how to travel to a location or join a Zoom meeting to deciding what to wear. Working on your logistical planning skills can make your interview process run more smoothly, freeing up more energy to focus on your career goals. 

To practice this skill, gather logistical details from your interviewer as early as possible and list out the arrangements you’ll need to make, including transportation, parking, internet access, childcare, and more. 

5. Communicating 

Brushing up on your effective communication skills can help you to establish a rapport with your interviewer. Verbal communication skills include choosing your words carefully and describing your qualifications clearly. Nonverbal communication skills include smiling, nodding, and making eye contact. 

Practice good communication in advance by observing your body language in front of a mirror. Ask a friend or family member to do a mock interview with you. During the interview itself, it’s okay to speak slowly and deliberately and even pause to consider how you’d like to answer the interviewer’s questions. 

6. Introducing yourself

Your introduction at the beginning of an interview can help to set a positive tone for the rest of the conversation. After greeting your interviewer and thanking them for the chance to meet, be ready to deliver a short professional introduction or elevator pitch, especially if the interview says, “Tell me about yourself.” 

A good elevator pitch will present who you are as a person, your qualifications, and your enthusiasm for the position, among other details. 

You can prepare your introduction or elevator pitch in advance of the interview, using notes from your other preparation steps. Rehearse it several times so that you can deliver it naturally. 

7. Presenting your qualifications

Once the interview is in motion, you’ll likely be answering a few behavioral or situational interview questions so that your interviewer can evaluate your qualifications. Questions might start with something like, “Tell me about a time when you solved a problem,” followed by, “What solution did you come up with?” These can be easily answered using the STAR method.

How to develop interview skills: Use the STAR method

For any behavioral or situational questions (common for program management interviews), use the STAR method: situation, task, action, and result. Applying this method helps to explain an example or story in a compelling, logical manner.

Read more: STAR Interview Questions: What They Are + How to Answer Them

8. Listening 

There will be moments during an interview when the interviewer will do more of the talking, particularly to explain the position you’re applying for, describe the company’s goals and initiatives, and answer any questions you may have.

Practice active listening so you can decide if this position is for you. Make eye contact and nod to signal that you understand the interview. Jot down notes to capture the crux of what the interviewer is saying so that you can reflect on it after the conversation. 

Read more: What Is Active Listening and How Can You Improve This Key Skill?

9. Asking questions 

Asking your interviewer questions is a great way to demonstrate your interest in a position and get the information you need to make an empowered career decision. 

To practice this skill, write down your priority questions in advance of the interview and have them handy for quick reference. As you jot down details of what the interviewer shares with you, look for opportunities to form new questions on the spot.

10. Following up with your interviewer

In the hours following your interview, write a follow-up email to your interviewer to thank them for the conversation. If you worked with a recruiter, take the time to thank them too, and update them on how the interview went.

In your email, be thoughtful and brief. Speak to your enthusiasm for the position, specific qualifications that you spoke about during the interview, and a polite request for updates on the hiring process. 

If you don’t hear back from the interviewer in several business days, feel free to follow up.

Read more: Follow-Up Email After an Interview: Guide and Samples

11. Reflecting on your interview and refining your methods

Another skill to practice after an interview is to reflect on the experience and refine your methods, even if you get a job offer. That way, your interviewing skills can become rote, making it easier for you to create exciting new career opportunities. 

Examples of areas for improvement include:

• Using the STAR method to tell even better stories about your professional history

• Conducting more thorough research on a company 

• Brainstorming more insightful questions about a position you’re interested in

Explore how to improve interview skills on Coursera

When you improve your interview skills, you can be more confident in your interviews and do a more effective job of presenting your skills and talents to potential employers. To brush up on your interview skills, the Successful Interviewing course from the University of Maryland will take you through researching the market, answering common questions, and demonstrating your skills. Enroll for free today.