4 Tips to Ace Your Next Interview

🗓️ February 25, 2026

✍🏾 Chelsea Nelson

It’s crucial that you connect with the interviewer both on the professional and interpersonal level. Your credentials may interest an organization, but the interview is where employers assess your personality, how well you might work within a team, and how passionate you are about your professional goals. Here are a few tips to help you ace your next internship interview.

Research, Research, Research

Knowing who your interviewer is– what they’re interested in and what demographics they belong to– can inform how you approach the conversation. Search for social media profiles and organizational media to assess any common interests, and use this data to support your conversation. Slip in a (relevant) experience or hobby that you share with the interviewer to establish an emotional connection. If you can’t identify any commonalities, try giving a friendly compliment or (respectfully) inquiring about something they’ve shared to show interest. Establishing a friendly connection during the interview phase increases your chances of being remembered (positively) after the interaction, supporting your image during the consideration period.

Prepare questions beforehand

The best way to prepare for an interview is to anticipate the questions. If the company you’re trying to intern with has an established presence, use Reddit, Handshake, and LinkedIn to find past interns and interview questions. If not, you can utilize any information from the website, such as the company’s objectives, goals, and culture, to compile a list of questions they might ask. Now, you can practice your answers with a friend or by yourself. By the time of the interview, you’ll feel prepared to advertise yourself!

Use this resource by Indeed to help you find relevant questions an interviewer might pose.

Answer modestly

Prompts like “What’s your biggest weakness?” or “Tell me about a time you messed up,” are posed to assess your awareness. Interviewers want to know that you are aware of what you need to improve upon and that you will take the necessary steps to do so. When answering these questions with humility, be sure to follow up with eagerness. In other words, support your flaws with your strengths. For example, instead of saying “I processed an order incorrectly at the register,” you could say, “I processed an order incorrectly, and corrected my mistake by 1) refunding the order, 2) communicating with my manager throughout the process, and 3) offering a free retail item to retain the customer.” 

For more insight on how to answer interview questions, check out this LifeHack article by Mat Apodaca.

When in doubt, use the S-T-A-R Method

STAR stands for situation-task-action-result. It prepares you to answer behavioral interview questions with relevant information and an engaging storyline. For more information on how to apply the STAR method, check this guide by Big Interview.