How well you perform at an interview will be determine on your preparation, there are no second chances, get it wrong and you stand a you pretty much well given it to the field!

Failure to correctly prepare not only means that you may not get the job but it will also have a major influence on your confidence. So why do so many people leave it to the last minute to find as much information as they can even worse have the thought - "Hey I don't need to worry the job's in the bag" - What a complete --- Even if you're lucky enough to be the favored candidate, and are almost certain to win the position by just turning up, believe this and you will be in for a big surprise! There is no such thing as just "turning up", you should still take the time to prepare because the better you perform, the greater the likelihood that you will be given a second interview or even the job which at the end of the day is what you want.

We've all heard people boast that they've never prepared for an interview in their lives and have done all right. Whilst this boast may not be an idle one, closer inspection will usually reveal that these people were:

lucky- in the right place at the right time;
well connected;
working in a favorable labour market where there was a huge
demand for employees coupled with low supply;
applying for jobs well within their comfort zone-that is, not
stretching themselves to improve their position; or
applying for jobs internally and competing mainly against
external candidates.

Why do I need to prepare?

Do this simple exercise, sit down in a quite room and think about the basic nature of interviews. Not only are you expected to sell yourself in a competitive environment, but you're also expected to compress large and often complex pieces of information into neat and highly articulate answers that avoid any negative connotations and contain the information the interviewer wants to hear. It's no wonder people's stress levels increase. But it doesn't end there. There are three additional reasons that make the case for interview preparation even more compelling:

Interviews are rare events, thus making them unfamiliar and
awkward.
Many people find it very difficult to sell themselves at interviews
because they've been conditioned by family and society not to
blow their own trumpet. Making simple statements such as 'I am
very good at selling xyz' can be quite an obstacle to overcome.
In most interviews, coming second isn't good enough. It's not
just a matter of performing well; it's also a matter of beating
everyone else.

It is unimaginable that you would fail to prepare for an event that is infrequent, competitive and requires behaviors not normally used. Yet that is exactly what people do when they walk into an interview without preparation.

What is incorrect preparation?

Incorrect preparation is any preparation that will not optimise your performance at an interview. A rote-learning generic answer that someone else has prepared has limited value. At best, they can give you an insight into what may constitute a good answer; at worst, they simply lead you astray. It is important to understand that, in the vast majority of cases, there's no such thing as a single answer to a question. What may constitute a great answer for one employer may be viewed as quite ordinary by another. One of the worst things you can do is learn other people's responses off by heart and repeat them at an interview. Repeating other people's so-called great answers can make you sound disingenuous and make you look a bit ridiculous when asked a probing follow up question. It makes a lot more sense to prepare your own answers.

Advantages of preparation

Taking the time to correctly prepare for an interview will:

improve your confidence levels;
assist you in answering questions succinctly, as opposed to taking
forever to make a simple point;
help you know what to say and how to say it;
assist you in handling difficult questions;
help you avoid saying things that will make a negative impression;
improve your rapport-building skills.

Carl Yorke is an experienced sales manager and has recruited managers and sales professionals within many different organizations and Internet host of http://www.theinterviewhandbook.com - Which focuses on really practical advice on topics such as to how to Improve your interview skills, Resume Tips, Motivational techniques and much more.