Interviews look like spontaneous performances and run like rehearsed ones. The candidates who feel calm have done the work beforehand. Here is what that work looks like.
Tip 1: "So tell me about your CV"
Don't read it back. They have it in front of them. Pick the three moments in your career that you'd defend in a bar argument and explain why you made each call. Tie each one to a value, a lesson or a goal. You're not narrating — you're framing.
Tip 2: Build a book of stories
You can't predict every question, but you can stockpile the answers. Write down five to ten stories from your career — wins, losses, moments where you changed your mind. For each, name the situation, what you did, what happened, and what you learned.
Once you have a story bank, most interview questions become a search problem: pick the story that fits.
Tip 3: Rehearse the obvious questions
There are four every interviewer eventually asks. Who are you? Why do you want this role? Where do you want to be in five years? What's a project you're proud of? Have a clear, two-minute answer to each. Not a script — a shape.
Tip 4: Bring your own questions
Nothing signals "I want this" louder than three good questions about the role and three good questions about the company. They flip the interview into a conversation — and they're the only part you fully control.
Rinse, repeat
If it works out, the preparation was worth every hour. If it doesn't, you walk out with a sharper story bank for the next one. Either way, the time was an investment, not a cost.