A week is enough — if you spend it on the right things. The classic mistake is trying to relearn your entire field in seven days, getting overwhelmed, and doing the one thing that doesn't help: passively reading. Here's a day-by-day plan weighted toward what actually changes outcomes.
Days 1–2: Research and target
Understand the role and company well enough to answer “why this job?” with specifics. Read the job description between the lines — what's the real problem they're hiring to solve? Note the likely focus areas so your prep is aimed, not scattered.
Days 3–4: Build your material
Prepare your core answers: “tell me about yourself,” why this role, your strengths, and a bank of 4–6 stories in STAR shape. For technical roles, drill the most likely topics rather than everything. Write things down so they're concrete.
Days 5–6: Practise out loud
This is the part that separates prepared from ready, and the part people skip. Say your answers out loud. Do full mock interviews — timed, unscripted, spoken. You'll discover that answers which felt solid in your head fall apart when you actually voice them under a clock. Better to discover that now than in the room. Re-run anything you fumble.
Day 7: Light touch and rest
Resist the urge to cram. Do one calm run-through of your key answers, sort your logistics (tech check for video, route for in-person), and then stop. A rested brain that's rehearsed beats a frazzled one that crammed. Prioritise sleep over one more practice problem.
The one rule
If you only internalise one thing: shift time away from reading and toward doing it out loud. Passive review feels productive and changes almost nothing. Spoken reps are where the nerves get rehearsed and the answers get sharp. A week of that is plenty.
Practice until the real interview feels easy
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Start practicing freeFrequently asked questions
Can I prepare for an interview in one week?
Yes, if you focus. Spend two days on research, two building your answers and story bank, two practising out loud with mock interviews, and the last day resting. The key is shifting time from passive reading to spoken reps.
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.