How to Succeed in Any Job Interview | My 10 Golden Rules

Hey guys,

In this article I want to talk about something really important, how to properly prepare for and pass an online job interview.

I’m Alex, a UK Chartered Engineer, a European Engineer, and a Certified Career Coach for Engineers.

Over the past few years, I’ve gone through over 50 interviews myself. Some of them were successful, others not so much. But every time I learned something new. That experience, combined with what I’ve learned as a coach and hiring manager, helped me create a simple and effective system that actually works.

So how do you actually prepare? I usually break it into two key stages. Let’s walk through them together.

This stage starts several days or even weeks before your interview. But if your interview is tomorrow, don’t panic, just go through everything today. It’s still worth it.

Start by looking up the country where the job is located. Who is the president or king? What’s the capital? Where is it on the map? Just open Wikipedia and read the basic facts. It only takes 10-15 minutes, but it shows respect and genuine interest.

Then move on to the company. Go to their official website and read through the “About Us” page. What do they do? What’s their mission? What projects are they working on? Learn their tone and values. Companies love it when candidates show real understanding of their business.

Next, dive into the job description. Read it not once, but three or four times. Highlight key responsibilities and required skills. If you know which department the role belongs to, even better. Try to imagine what problems they might be facing right now and how you could help.

Then comes one of the most important parts, your answer to “Tell me about yourself.”

And trust me, this is where most candidates either shine or fail. You need to have a solid, well-structured answer that’s tailored to the role you’re applying for. Not just your work history in chronological order. This answer is your pitch, your moment to show why you’re the right choice.

This topic deserves its own video, and I cover it in full detail in my “Engineer-Millionaire” program. You’ll find the link down below .

Make sure you’ve also prepared answers about your achievements. Every strong answer here should be based on the STAR method, Situation, Task, Action, Result. If you’ve never heard of it or want to see real examples, don’t worry, I explained it in another video.



As a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) with 17+ years of experience in the oil and gas industry, working for companies like Shell and Saudi Aramco, I can say this clearly: interviewers care about real results. Numbers, KPIs, reliability improvements, cost savings, safety outcomes. This is exactly what you should highlight when using the STAR method

And don’t forget to prepare a few questions you want to ask the employer. This shows initiative and genuine interest and the first step to land an interview is to prepare professional engineering resume:

From everything I’ve shared today, you can create your own interview checklist, something you go through before every online interview. It will help you stay calm, confident, and fully prepared.



And remember, interviews are not about being perfect. They’re about being real, being prepared, and showing that you care.

One more thing I want to add, especially for international students and young graduate professionals: online hiring is becoming the norm, so your virtual interviews must be treated with the same seriousness as face-to-face meetings. When you are interviewing with global companies, they often evaluate not only your technical competence but also your communication, cultural awareness, and ability to represent the company professionally during the interview. There are many services and resources available today that provide structured interview tips and practical tools, but the real value comes from applying these tips to help you refine your story, your clarity, and your confidence. If you approach each interview as a skill you can train and improve, your results will change dramatically over time.

If you’re interested in techniques like STAR, want to build an international career, or need my personal advice, there are links down below this page.