After sending out 50 applications, you’ve finally been shortlisted, and the interview is on Thursday. Your stomach is already turning. You keep imagining the panel saying, “Tell us about yourself,” and your mind going completely blank. Take a deep breath. Interviews reward preparation more than talent, and preparation is entirely within your control.
To prepare for a job interview, research the company and role, match your experience to each requirement, prepare five or six short stories using the STAR method, practise common questions out loud, plan two or three questions of your own, and sort out logistics such as traffic, power and data in advance. Then follow up within 24 hours.
Key takeaways
- Most employers ask structured questions, so you can predict and prepare for many of them.
- Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for “tell me about a time” questions.
- Prepare for Nigerian realities: traffic on the day, and power and data backups for virtual interviews.
- Legitimate employers never ask you to pay for an interview, test or training.
Why preparation works
Many organisations, from banks and FMCG companies to tech firms and NGOs, now use structured interviews, where every candidate is asked similar job-related questions and scored against the same criteria. Research on hiring has found that structured interviews predict job performance much better than unstructured chats (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). For you, that’s good news: if the questions are predictable, your answers can be prepared.
Step 1: Research the company
Read the company website, recent news, annual reports if they’re public, and LinkedIn pages for the company and your likely interviewers. Understand what they do, who their customers are, their values and any recent changes. Be ready to answer: “Why do you want to work here?” with something specific, not “because it’s a big company”.
Step 2: Map the job description to your experience
List the five most important skills or requirements. For each, write down one example from your work, NYSC, SIWES, school projects, volunteering or side hustle that proves you have it. This becomes your preparation sheet.
Step 3: Prepare STAR stories
Behavioural questions such as “Tell me about a time you solved a difficult problem” are best answered with the STAR method:
- Situation: set the scene in one or two sentences.
- Task: what was your responsibility?
- Action: what did you do? Be specific, and say “I”, not only “we”.
- Result: what happened? Use numbers where you can, and say what you learned.
Example: Picture Chukwuemeka, interviewing for an operations role. “During my NYSC at a logistics company in Abuja (Situation), deliveries were often late because drivers had unclear routes (Task). I mapped our 30 most common delivery addresses and created a simple daily route sheet with the dispatch manager (Action). Late deliveries fell by about a third over two months, and the sheet is still in use (Result).”
Prepare five or six stories covering teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, handling pressure, a mistake you learned from, and a success you’re proud of. One story can often answer several questions.
Step 4: Practise common questions out loud
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why do you want this role, and why this company?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Why are you leaving your current job?
- What are your salary expectations? See how to negotiate your salary, and check what an offer really pays with our PAYE calculator.
Practise with a friend or record yourself on your phone. Aim for clear answers of about one to two minutes. Listening back is uncomfortable, but it’s the fastest way to improve.
Step 5: Prepare for tests and panels
Many Nigerian graduate programmes and larger employers use aptitude tests, assessment centres or panel interviews. Practise numerical and verbal reasoning questions, and for panels, make eye contact with everyone, not just the person who asked the question.
Step 6: Prepare your own questions
- “What does success look like in this role in the first 90 days?”
- “What are the biggest challenges the team is facing right now?”
- “How do you support learning and development?”
- “What are the next steps in the process?”
Step 7: Plan the logistics
- In person: confirm the address, plan for traffic and aim to arrive 15–20 minutes early. In Lagos or Abuja, leave far earlier than you think you need to.
- Virtual: test Zoom, Teams or Google Meet the day before, charge your laptop and phone, keep backup data or a hotspot, and have a plan for power cuts, such as a charged power bank or a quiet spot with generator or solar power.
- Dress: match or slightly exceed the company’s dress code.
- Documents: carry copies of your CV and certificates in a neat folder, unless told otherwise.
Step 8: Handle nerves
Some nerves are normal and can sharpen your focus. Try slow breathing (in for four, out for six) while you wait, remind yourself of your three strongest stories, and remember the panel wants you to do well, because they need to fill the role. If you often feel you don’t deserve to be in the room, our guide to imposter syndrome can help.
Step 9: Follow up
Within 24 hours, send a short thank-you email that restates your interest and mentions one point from the conversation. Keep it to four or five sentences.
Beware of recruitment scams
Legitimate employers do not ask candidates to pay for interviews, tests, training, uniforms or “processing fees”. Verify unfamiliar companies before you share personal documents or travel to an address. See our guides to spotting fake job offers and avoiding online scams.
Try this this week
Tonight, write out three STAR stories from your own experience: one about solving a problem, one about working in a team, and one about a mistake you learned from. Practise saying each one aloud in under two minutes, ideally to a friend who will be honest with you.
Frequently asked questions
How do I answer “Tell me about yourself”?
Use a present–past–future structure: what you do now and your key strengths, the relevant experience that got you here, and why you’re excited about this role. Keep it under two minutes and link it to the job, not your life story.
What if I don’t know the answer to a question?
Stay calm and be honest. Say how you would find the answer or approach the problem, and connect it to a related experience. Interviewers often care more about how you think than whether you know everything.
How early should I arrive for an interview in Lagos?
Plan to arrive 15–20 minutes early, and build in extra time for traffic, especially at rush hour. If you arrive much earlier, wait nearby and walk in about 15 minutes before your slot.
Final thoughts
You can’t control who else applies or what the panel decides, but you can control how prepared you are. Research, stories, practice and logistics will carry you further than luck. Prepare well, and walk in ready to show what you can do.
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Related reading
- How to write a CV that gets interviews
- Imposter syndrome
- Remote jobs in Nigeria: how to find legit openings
- How to spot fake job offers in Nigeria
Sources
- Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–274.
- Levashina, J., Hartwell, C. J., Morgeson, F. P., & Campion, M. A. (2014). The structured employment interview: Narrative and quantitative review of the research literature. Personnel Psychology, 67(1), 241–293.
Written and fact-checked by the Mindset.ng Editorial Team in line with our Editorial Policy. Last updated: 8 October 2026.
