The interview is your time to shine, but it can also be your Waterloo. Hiring Mangers don’t want to feel that you just walked in off the street not knowing what’s behind the door. Sure, having your hair perfectly coiffed and your suit pressed is a big part of the game, actually it’s 55% of the game if you’re to believe the data below, but you also want to know something about the company your hopefully about to join.

While we’ve already written extensively about using social media in your job hunt, keep in mind that Linkedin is a goldmine for jobseekers. Most companies now have a page devoted to themselves where you can find their website, number of employees, and most importantly people that work there and how you may be connected to them. See if you can find an inside connection. Someone that can give you an idea of the hiring process, company culture, and maybe even introduce you to others within their office. Being a talked about, hot property definitely won’t hurt you at all, and it should go without saying that you want to treat everyone of these interactions as if they were a mini-job interview.

While on the subject of social media, now’s the time to get your social media life in order. Just as you’re going to use it to find out about your potential new employer, they’re going to use it to find out about you.

Unfortunately, there may be blemishes on the internet that you can’t do anything about. For example, that drinking incident in your freshman dorm. Yes, campus police reports could show up to haunt you.  Accept that you may get asked about these indiscretions and be prepared to talk about them. Do not bring negative issues like this up yourself, but if asked simply respond that you were young, and it was a very valuable lesson to learn. Show them that you’ve grown and moved on from the person you were at 19. How you handle your mistakes can speak volumes about your character.