1.

Plan your travel time carefully. Add a buffer of around 10% to the estimated travel time to ensure your schedule is ideal. Delays can happen, and you definitely don't want to be late. If you do encounter an unexpected delay, it's important to inform your interviewer as soon as possible. A 5-10 minute delay is usually acceptable, as long as it doesn't interfere with other scheduled meetings. On the other hand, it's common for candidates to arrive 10 minutes or more before the scheduled time. However, this isn’t ideal since the interview usually can't be started earlier. We recommend checking in about 5 minutes ahead of time.

2.

Dress appropriately. The saying "clothes make the man" holds true here. Opting for business casual is always a safe choice, as it shows your potential employer that you take the job seriously. This applies even if the company doesn’t have a formal dress code and promotes a casual work culture. We strongly advise against shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops, or casual sandals for men, and short dresses or exposed shoulders for women. Maintaining a certain level of professionalism during interviews is important, especially since you're selecting a place where you might spend a significant portion of your waking hours for the next several years.

3.

We highly recommend researching the company beforehand. There’s nothing worse than a candidate who doesn’t even know which company they’re applying to, let alone the specific role. Our HR team always includes links to the company's website, social media, and other profiles in the email confirming the interview, with the expectation that the candidate will take some time to review them. This helps the company gauge whether the candidate is genuinely interested in the job or if the application is just one of many on a "let's see what happens" list. While the company’s more detailed operations and business plan can be explained during the interview, showing some prior knowledge demonstrates your seriousness about the position. At Level.works, we certainly appreciate candidates who take the time to prepare.

4.

Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. What should you ask about? Primarily about the company and the role you're applying for. This alone helps create the impression that you are genuinely interested in the position. It’s best to ask follow-up questions based on the responses you receive from the interviewer. However, be careful not to interrupt; jumping in mid-sentence is definitely not appropriate.

5.

If the interview will be conducted in English, we recommend practicing with someone in a mock interview setting. This requirement isn’t arbitrary; it's because our team is a mix of various cultures and nationalities, and our daily communication occurs in English (we generally require at least a B2 level). It’s also a good idea to actively find out if the interview will include any knowledge tests or similar assessments and prepare accordingly.

6.

Final tip: Be authentic! There’s no need to prepare for tricky questions like "How would your friends describe you?"—at least not from us. We generally focus on your past experiences, the situations you’ve dealt with in your career so far, and what you expect from the new role. Some companies use what's known as behavioral interviews, but that’s a topic for another article. At Level.works, we usually address them only if there's time left after covering everything else 🙂