It’s the night before an interview for your dream position at a company you’ve cyber-stalked for years. You set your alarm, went to bed early, Googled your interviewer, and rehearsed answers to about 1,000 generic interview questions the interviewer may pull out of their bag of tricks. Still, you’re wondering if you’ve done all you can to prepare yourself for the big day ahead.

If this sounds like you, here are three things to do before you sit down and face your interviewer (that you probably haven’t heard a million times before).

1. Interview your friend for the job you want

It’s insightful to see things through the eyes of another, and this case is no exception! Find a willing victim, err, friend, to play the role of the interviewee, as you will be interviewing THEM! Try to interview them for the job you are targeting. Think of what your potential employer is looking for in a candidate and select a few questions that may help determine if your friend has what it takes. Interview your friend and observe how their answers positively or negatively influence your (the interviewer’s) hiring decision.

2. Bring examples of your work

It’s time to take a page from the portfolio of a designer. When going to your next interview, bring a few documents that demonstrate what types of projects you’ve been working on. These could be things like project plans, task lists, or even emails. Use them when giving examples of how you nailed a specific project, just make sure to black out any private information ahead of time. Select three to five examples to share when answering a question about your successes.

3. Get into the right mindset

On the way to your interview, put on some music that you find motivating. This could be anything from that workout mix you have saved in your Spotify to the soundtrack from Star Wars (John Williams, anyone?). This is the time to break out your “high power” playlist. Focusing on music that is high energy with a strong bass line has been shown to increase confidence levels among both athletes and test-takers. Why not give yourself that same boost?

And there you have it! Give these three ideas a go the next time you have a big interview lined up and stay ahead of your competition!

To check out some of Advent Group’s open job opportunities, click here to go to our job board.