How to Prepare for a Job Interview in One Week (Day-by-Day Plan)

You have an interview in a week. That's enough time to prepare well — if you use it deliberately. Most candidates either over-prepare on the wrong things (memorizing every possible question) or under-prepare on the right ones (actually practicing out loud).

This is a realistic day-by-day plan built around how interview preparation actually works.

The Core Principle: Spread It Out

The single biggest mistake candidates make is cramming everything into the day before. Spaced practice over several days produces dramatically better recall and fluency than a marathon session the night before. You're not trying to memorize information — you're building a speaking skill, and that takes repetition over time.

The plan below takes 60–90 minutes per day. If you have less time, cut depth not days.

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Day 1: Research the Company and Role

Time: 60 minutes

Before you can prepare answers, you need to know what you're preparing for. Spend Day 1 entirely on research — no practice yet.

What to cover:

The company (30 minutes):

• What does the company actually do? Who are their customers? What's their business model?
• What are they known for? Recent news, funding rounds, product launches, controversies?
• What's their stated mission and values? (Check their website, "About" page, careers page)
• What do employees say? (Glassdoor, Blind, LinkedIn reviews — look for patterns)

The role (20 minutes):

• Read the job description line by line. Underline every skill and responsibility.
• For each requirement, think: do I have this? What's my best example?
• Identify the 3 things they most need this person to do — those will drive the interview

Your interviewer (10 minutes):

• Look them up on LinkedIn. What's their background? How long have they been at the company?
• This isn't about finding dirt — it's about having context for who you're talking to

Output: Write a one-page cheat sheet summarizing the company, the role's top 3 priorities, and your interviewer's background.

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Day 2: Build Your Story Bank

Time: 75 minutes

Your story bank is a set of 5–7 career stories that you'll draw from to answer behavioral questions. Build it today.

For each story, capture:

• Headline: One sentence describing the situation
• Situation: 2–3 sentences of context
• Task: What you specifically were responsible for
• Action: What you did (focus on you, not we)
• Result: What happened — quantified if possible

Stories to target:

1. A challenging project you delivered under pressure
2. A time you disagreed with a decision and what you did
3. A mistake or failure you recovered from
4. A time you had to influence someone without formal authority
5. Your proudest professional accomplishment
6. A time you had to adapt quickly to change
7. A time you went above and beyond your role

You don't need all seven — five solid stories covers most interviews. Quality over quantity.

Output: A document with 5 STAR stories written out in full.

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Day 3: Practice Your Stories Out Loud (First Pass)

Time: 60 minutes

Today you practice speaking your stories — not reading them, not thinking through them. Speaking them.

Set up your phone to record yourself. Answer each story question out loud as if you're in the interview. Don't stop to edit. Let the rough parts be rough — you need to hear where they break down.

After each answer, note:

• Did you know the result? (Many people know the story but not the specific outcome)
• Was it under 3 minutes? (Most answers should be 90 seconds to 2.5 minutes)
• Did you use "we" too much instead of "I"?
• Did you have a clear beginning, middle, and end?

Don't fix anything yet. Just identify what needs work. Save the recordings.

Output: 5 recorded practice answers and a list of specific things to improve in each.

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Day 4: Research Common Questions for Your Role and Practice Again

Time: 75 minutes

Now layer in role-specific preparation.

First 30 minutes — Question research:

Find the 10–15 questions most likely to come up in your specific interview:

• Google "[Company name] interview questions" — look for recent Glassdoor or Blind posts from people who interviewed there
• Google "[Role title] behavioral interview questions"
• For senior roles: add leadership, strategy, and ambiguity questions

Map each question to one of your existing stories. Most questions can be answered with the stories you already built.

Next 45 minutes — Practice:

Pick your 3 weakest stories from yesterday (the ones that felt rough) and redo them. Specifically address the issues you noted — add the result, cut the story to under 2.5 minutes, replace "we" with "I."

Then practice answering 3 of the role-specific questions you just researched.

Output: A question-to-story mapping so you know which story to reach for each question type.

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Day 5: Practice the Hard Questions

Time: 60 minutes

Every interview has a few questions that candidates find genuinely hard. Practice these today:

"Tell me about yourself." This is your opening pitch. It should be 90 seconds: where you've been, what you're good at, and why you're here. Write it out and practice it until it's clean. You'll use this in almost every interview.

"Why do you want to work here?" Your research from Day 1 pays off here. Practice a specific answer that references something real about the company — not "I love the culture of innovation."

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Have a genuine answer. It doesn't need to be a perfect plan — it needs to be believable and compatible with what the role offers.

"What's your greatest weakness?" Choose a real weakness (not a humble-brag). Show that you're aware of it, working on it, and have made progress. Read our full guide on answering this question →

Salary question (if relevant): Know your number before you go in. Research the market rate for the role and location. Have a range ready. Don't say "I'm flexible" — it signals you don't know your worth.

Output: Practiced, fluent answers to each of these five questions.

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Day 6: Full Mock Interview

Time: 45 minutes

Today you run a full mock interview — start to finish, no stopping.

Use an AI interview tool like Reherse, ask a friend to practice with you, or record yourself answering 8–10 questions back to back without pausing between them. The goal is to simulate the actual pressure of being "on."

Things to pay attention to:

• Energy level — are you engaging, or flat?
• Pacing — are you rushing when nervous?
• Filler words — "um", "like", "basically"
• Eye contact if it's video (look at the camera, not your own face)

After the mock, write down the 2–3 specific things you most want to fix. Don't try to fix 10 things — pick the ones that will have the biggest impact.

Output: Identified 2–3 concrete improvements to make before the real interview.

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Day 7: Light Review and Logistics

Time: 30 minutes

Do not cram on Day 7. Your brain needs consolidation time, not more input.

Light prep:

• Re-read your company cheat sheet from Day 1
• Review your story bank once — don't practice, just read
• Prepare 3–4 questions to ask the interviewer (research-based, specific to the company or role — not generic "what's the culture like")

Logistics:

• Confirm the time, format (video or in-person), and who you're meeting with
• Test your tech if it's a video interview — camera, mic, lighting, internet
• Plan your outfit
• Know where you're going / how you're connecting 15 minutes early

The night before: Stop preparing by 9pm. Get a full night of sleep. You've done the work — the best thing you can do now is show up rested.

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What If You Have Less Than a Week?

3 days: Day 1 (research), Day 2 (build story bank + practice), Day 3 (hard questions + mock interview)

1 day: 2 hours of focused prep — research the company, write 3 core stories, practice out loud for 45 minutes. It's not ideal but it's far better than winging it.

The most important thing regardless of time: Practice out loud. Not in your head. Out loud.

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Reherse lets you run a full AI mock interview anytime — voice-based, with personalized questions and real-time feedback. Start your free mock interview →