The Day Before an Interview: A Checklist

Preparation the day before an interview can determine whether you arrive calm and ready. This guide is a checklist for in-person interviews, online interviews and general preparation. See Batch 1, no. 10, for online tests and recorded AI interviews, and no. 8 in this batch for assessment-centre exercises.

1. Confirm the interview details

1. Re-read the invitation email and check the date, time (including time zone), location or online link, format, interviewer names and titles, required documents or advance submissions, and dress code.
2. Email HR today if anything is unclear. Do not wait until the interview day.
3. Set a calendar reminder with enough time to travel or test your equipment.
4. Save HR’s phone number and email address so you can contact them quickly if something goes wrong. CUHK’s Career Planning and Development Centre advises candidates whose phone or video interview is interrupted to apologise promptly by phone or email and arrange another time.

2. In-person interview: the journey

1. Check your route and travel time, then add a buffer. CUHK’s career centre recommends arriving 10–15 minutes early and says that transport or parking problems are not acceptable excuses; find out in advance how to get to the employer. Prospects’ assessment-centre advice is to plan the route and arrive at least 10 minutes early.
2. Hong Kong office-building lobbies commonly require visitor registration. Include time for queues and getting an access pass.
3. If travelling from Shenzhen or elsewhere on the mainland, allow time to cross the border and bring valid travel documents and endorsements. See Batch 2, no. 4, for documents used by mainland residents travelling to Hong Kong.
4. Check the weather. If there is a severe-weather signal, contact HR to confirm whether the interview is going ahead; do not decide on your own to skip it.
5. Prepare your clothes the night before and go to bed early. Prospects gives the same advice.

3. In-person interview: what to bring

1. Identification: Hong Kong identity card or passport; some buildings require it to register visitors.
2. Several printed copies of your CV, using the same version you submitted; see nos. 1 and 2 in this batch.
3. Documents requested in the invitation, such as transcripts, certificates or a portfolio.
4. A pen and notebook.
5. A fully charged phone and a power bank.
6. One page of notes: keywords for your introduction, three main examples and questions to ask. Review it before entering; do not consult it during the interview.
7. Clothing: CUHK’s career centre generally recommends neat, well-fitting business attire, simple accessories and limited perfume and make-up. Ask HR if unsure; it is safer to be slightly more formal.

4. Online interview: equipment and setting

1. Test a few days beforehand. Prospects recommends testing your computer, camera and required software several days before the interview, checking that the picture is clear, sound works and the connection is reliable.
2. Test again the day before using the platform for the interview, such as Zoom or Teams. Check that your display name is your real name.
3. Setting: CUHK’s career centre recommends a quiet place, a stable camera, a tidy background and good lighting. Avoid strong light or a window behind you; use a professional virtual background if needed.
4. Position the camera at eye level and look at the camera rather than at your own image. Prospects also recommends this.
5. Close software that may make notification sounds, silence your phone and tell people you live with that you will be in an interview.
6. Have a backup plan: phone hotspot, another device and HR’s number. Prospects advises charging or plugging in all devices, and turning on the computer and logging in to the required software at least 30 minutes early on the day.
7. Notes: Prospects says you may use notes in a video interview, but keep them to prompts and place them near the camera. Avoid looking down repeatedly or reading them aloud.
8. Dress as you would for an in-person interview. Prospects advises avoiding busy patterns and stripes that may look distracting on camera.

5. Final review of the content

1. Re-read the JD and your submitted CV version so that what you say matches the interviewer’s copy.
2. Review recent public information about the employer and team. You do not need to memorise a lot; remember two or three facts relevant to the role.
3. Practise your introduction once in the one-minute version and once in the two-minute version; see no. 7 in this batch.
4. Review three to five main examples and practise explaining each with STAR; see Batch 1, no. 16.
5. Prepare four or five questions; see no. 11 in this batch.
6. For a technical or finance role, review one or two likely technical topics rather than trying to learn new material at the last minute.
7. If you have a presentation, rehearse it once in full using the method in no. 9, and check that the file opens.

6. On the day

1. Re-check the invitation before leaving or turning on your computer.
2. On arrival, check your appearance and silence your phone.
3. Be courteous to reception staff and everyone you meet. CUHK’s centre notes that interviewers may observe how you interact with reception staff, HR and other candidates.
4. During the interview, maintain eye contact, watch your pace and ask for a question to be repeated if you did not hear it.
5. If there is a technical problem during an online interview, do not struggle in silence. Prospects recommends explaining the issue; the other person may resolve it quickly or reconnect by calling back.
6. Thank the interviewers at the end and ask about the next step if they have not explained it.

7. After the interview, that day

1. As soon as you can, note the questions, the key points in your answers and the interviewers’ names. CUHK’s career centre recommends this too.
2. Send a thank-you email within 24 hours; see no. 12 in this batch.
3. Update your tracker (see no. 1).
4. If there is another round, record the points raised in this one as preparation for the next.

8. One-page checklist

1. Interview time, time zone, location or link confirmed.
2. HR contact details saved.
3. Route and buffer planned, or equipment, connection and software tested.
4. Identification, CV and required documents ready.
5. Clothing ready.
6. Introduction, key examples and questions reviewed.
7. Phone and equipment charged.
8. Get to bed early.

Sources

• CUHK Career Planning and Development Centre, “Assessment Centre and Interviews”, checked 20 October 2026.
• Prospects, “Video interview tips”, checked 20 October 2026.
• Prospects, “Assessment centres”, checked 20 October 2026.