Job Interview Tips in 2026
Another college graduation period is almost upon us. I was recently asked by a client to talk to their soon-to-graduate son about how to get a job in an increasingly difficult labor market. I agreed. The client asked me what I was going to talk about. My response was simple: I will advise him to prepare like you are a lawyer going to court for a trial. The expanded answer was to learn as much as you can about the company; the people doing the interviewing and be ready to talk about yourself. Here is the guidance I gave.
First, know the company for which you are interviewing. Check all social media of the company and any public information you can source. If it is a publicly traded company, check the investor relationships web page as well as any recent webinars they have shared with the public. Investor relations reports offer a treasure trove of information.
Second, know the people you are talking with during the interview. If you can get the names of the people before the interview, research them. Check social media, and especially LinkedIn, for intel. I have been amazed at what I have learned about people from their postings on social media.
Third, develop your story. Can you talk for five uninterrupted minutes about you and your unique story? Make your story interesting. No one knows you better than you. A job interviewer cannot gauge much about you from a standard resume. Several years ago, I worked at an investment banking firm in New York City. One of my colleagues was responsible for recruiting college graduates. She reviewed thousands of applicants. I asked her to tell me about a resume that caught her eye and got moved to the top of her stack. She said she saw a young man who took a very interesting job after graduation, and she had to know more. I asked her what he had done. She said he had worked for two years as a clown for Ringling Brothers Circus.
Fourth, sell yourself. Practice the delivery of your unique story. Write it down like a script, practice your delivery, video it, review your video, and have others review it. Most important, be brutally honest about your performance. Your goal is to get your name from the bottom of the stack of candidates to the top of the heap. Develop interesting questions to engage the interviewers based on the research that you did pre-interview.
Fifth, be persistent and do not give up. Bring a small notebook and take notes not during the interview but when you walk out of the interview with your thoughts about the company, the interviewers, and your performance.
Goal of your Interview: You want the people who are talking with you to come away with a feeling of wanting to know more. You are selling a product; make them want to buy it.
Carl Gambrell