Your outfit is steamed, your resumes are printed, and you’ve read the company website three times through. You’ve stalked your interviewer, her mom, her dog and her college roommates on all forms of social media. You’re ready to nail this interview. There’s only one thing missing: your pre-interview playlist.
Kali Uchis is ultimate pre-interview prep goals.
In those crucial minutes before you walk into the room, it’s so important to get into the right mindset. You might have the perfect skillset and have done all the pre-interview prep humanly possible, but unless you can channel your best, most confident self, all that hard work could be useless. So much of the success of an interview depends on the intangibles: the connection you make with your interviewer. When you walk out that door, you want your impression to linger, in a good way.
Of course, it’s not easy to project sunshine and off-the-charts confidence when your career is at stake. Even if you’ve been through this a million times before, interviews are stressful, especially if you really care about the job.
To help you out of your pre-interview pickle, here are some songs that’ll get you in the right frame of mind to walk in there and wow them. Everyone loves a good, aggressive jam, but you don’t want to go overboard on the Kanye and then scare your future boss. My recommendation: balance out the #girlpower vibes with some blissed-out beats to strike that perfect balance of confidence and sunshine. Ideally, look for songs that can do both.
A pre-interview playlist is a personal affair, but here are a few songs to get you going:
“Stronger,” Kanye West
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO6ZnUZI0g
“Formation, Beyoncé”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZJPJV__bQ
“Tomboy,” Princess Nokia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH-LyInSNYw
“Reborn,” KIDS SEE GHOSTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQC8COGQ4BM
“212,” Azealia Banks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Jv9fNPjgk
“Paper Planes, M.I.A.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y
“Born This Way,” Lady Gaga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw
“Survivor,” Destiny’s Child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmc8bQoL-J0
“I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSD4vsh1zDA
“Hollaback Girl,” Gwen Stefani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgjkth6BRRY
“Don’t Stop the Music,” Rihanna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd8jh9QYfEs
“When I Grow Up,” The Pussycat Dolls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0K46C82v9o
“Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” Lady Gaga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nr33m1zXVE
“My Baby Love Love Loves Me”, Jonathan Richman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km9FyVupd4o
“Dedicated To The One I Love”, The Mammas & the Papas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M7gKZqgHn4
“Where Angels Fear to Tread,” Disclosure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LcBu3cv-jo
This also may be the best video I’ve ever seen.
“Blessings,” Chance the Rapper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeqmbhyoFZQ
“Walking on Sunshine, Katrina & The Waves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmR2IZjuMVc
“Come on Eileen,” Dexys Midnight Runners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwVnX4ZgliY
“Sweet Disposition,” The Temper Trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxKjOOR9sPU
“She’s Got You High,” Mumm Ra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpYsVVUPJ0&t=116s
“My Sweet Lord,” George Harrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTEz4aE4tgg
“Suddenly I See,” KT Tunstall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEoUa0Hlso
Pro tip: pull songs from your favorite movie soundtracks.
Happy interviewing and happy listening!
Text by Katya Lopatko.
Images via @kaliuchis and @latenightinparis.
