A week is plenty — if you spend it on the right things. The classic failure is trying to relearn your entire field in seven days, drowning in tabs, and defaulting to the one activity that feels productive and changes nothing: passive reading. This plan fixes that. It's weighted toward what actually shifts outcomes and front-loads research so your practice at the end is aimed, not scattered.
Skim the whole plan first, block the time in your calendar now, then work it day by day.
The seven-day plan at a glance
Two days to understand the target, two to build your material, two to practise it out loud, one to rest. Research early so your stories and questions are tailored; practice late so it's fresh on the day.
DAY 1 Decode the role + company. List the 4-5 competencies they're really hiring for. DAY 2 Map your evidence: which of your stories proves each competency? DAY 3 Write your core answers (tell me about yourself, why this role, strengths). DAY 4 Build a story bank of 5-6 STAR examples + your questions for them. DAY 5 First full out-loud mock. Record it. Note what fell apart. DAY 6 Second mock. Re-run the answers you fumbled. Tighten timing. DAY 7 One calm run-through. Sort logistics. Stop. Sleep.
Days 1–2: Decode the target
Read the job description between the lines. A job post is a list of problems written as requirements — your job is to work out what they're actually trying to fix with this hire. Under each bullet, ask: what would go wrong on this team if the person they hired couldn't do this? That's the competency.
Get specific enough that you could answer "why this job?" with real detail rather than flattery. Then, on day 2, map your own history against those competencies — one concrete example each. This mapping is the single highest-leverage thing you'll do all week, because it turns "prepare for the interview" into a finite, checkable list.
Job post says "comfortable with ambiguity." Decoded: the roadmap changes often and nobody will hand you a spec. Your evidence: the quarter your team's priorities flipped twice and you shipped anyway. That's now a story you'll tell on day 4 — not a vague trait you hope to convey.
Days 3–4: Build your material
Now write. Draft your "tell me about yourself" answer, your reason for wanting the role, and your strengths — in words, not bullet points, so they're concrete. Then build a bank of 5–6 stories in STAR shape that cover the competencies you mapped on day 2. For a fuller walkthrough of that step, see preparing for behavioural questions.
Don't script word for word — you'll sound like a hostage reading a statement. Write bullets you can hit in any order. Also draft two or three questions to ask them; good questions signal that you decoded the role, not just memorised it. For technical roles, spend this block drilling the two or three most likely topics rather than skimming everything shallowly.
Days 5–6: Practise out loud
This is where prepared becomes ready, and it's the part almost everyone skips. Saying an answer out loud is a different skill from knowing it. Answers that felt airtight in your head come out at twice the length, circle back on themselves, or trail off — and you only find out by hearing yourself.
Do full mock interviews: timed, spoken, unscripted, ideally recorded. Play it back. You'll wince, and that wince is the whole point — it's the fastest feedback you'll get. Re-run anything you fumbled until it lands. If you want a sense of how many reps this takes, we go into it in how many mock interviews before the real one.
Spending days 5 and 6 re-reading your notes because it feels safer than hearing yourself struggle. Re-reading is day-1 work. By day 5 the notes are done; the only thing left that improves your odds is your mouth moving.
Right now, before you plan anything else: set a 60-second timer and answer "tell me about yourself" out loud. Record it on your phone. Play it back once. Whatever made you cringe is your day-3 to-do list — you just found it in two minutes instead of in the room.
Day 7: Light touch, then stop
Resist the cram. Do one calm run-through of your key answers, sort your logistics (tech check and quiet room for video; route and timing for in-person), lay out what you're wearing, and then genuinely stop. A rested brain that rehearsed beats a frazzled one that crammed the night before. Sleep is prep. Treat it that way.
- You can name the 4–5 competencies the role is really testing
- You have a mapped story for each, in STAR shape
- Your "tell me about yourself" runs under 60 seconds, out loud, no notes
- You've done at least one full recorded mock and acted on it
- Two or three genuine questions ready for them
- Logistics sorted the day before, not the morning of
The one rule
If you internalise nothing else: shift time away from reading and toward doing it out loud. Passive review feels like progress and delivers almost none. Spoken reps are where nerves get rehearsed and answers get sharp. A week weighted that way is more than enough.
Turn your prep week into real reps
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
Can I prepare for an interview in one week?
Yes, if you focus. Spend two days decoding the role and mapping your evidence, two building your answers and story bank, two practising out loud with full mock interviews, and the last day on a light run-through and rest. The key is shifting time from passive reading to spoken reps.
What should I do the day before an interview?
Keep it light. One calm run-through of your key answers, sort your logistics (tech check for video, route for in-person), lay out what you'll wear, then stop and sleep. A rested brain that rehearsed beats a tired one that crammed.
What's the most important thing to do before an interview?
Practise your answers out loud, ideally in full mock interviews. Answers that feel solid in your head often fall apart when spoken under pressure, and out-loud reps are what rehearse the nerves and sharpen delivery.