Good impressions are what an interview is all about. If you've made it far enough to be granted an interview, you've already succeeded in convincing the company that you have the education and the skills to do the job well. What they want to find out now is what kind of person you are, your ethics, your personality. Are you the kind of person they want to work with everyday? Would they enjoy hanging out with you at the company Christmas party? Will you make them look good or create more work for them? Here are some tips to make sure you make the best impression possible.

Before the Interview

If you can, find other people who currently work at your prospective company or have in the past. What do these people like or dislike about the company? If you can find someone employed in the same department, try and get an insider's view into the atmosphere and day-to-day workings of the office. What are the issues they struggle with? Who last held your position, and why did they leave? Tuck most of this information away to inform your decisions about what to wear, what to bring up during the interview, and what not to bring up. Since this is not first-hand knowledge for you, it qualifies as a rumor, and rumors aren't appropriate interview conversation.

Find someone to practice your interviewing skills with. Set up a mock interview with you as the interviewee and have them throw questions at you so that you can practice fluency and ease in your answers. Tackle the uncomfortable questions, the ones you might have the most difficulty answering. It's better to be prepared, so practice as much as you can before the interview.

Who Are You Interviewing With?

What is this company's history? Who is their target demographic? What is their mission? Are they doing well or struggling to come out of a slump? Come up with a list of questions that will fill in the details of recent events and upcoming issues. If they have a specific problem, suggest an answer to it. If nothing else, this will start a discussion. If you admire something they have recently accomplished, say so and say why it was a good idea, pointing out specifics that would be apparent to someone behind the scenes but not necessarily on the surface. Demonstrate yourself as an asset to their company and your ability to hit the ground running. Genuine interest goes a long way toward impressing you upon them as colleague material.