"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." - Alexander Graham Bell -

• Prepare yourself! Familiarize yourself with the company. Visit its home page, read the annual report, look for news articles, for example, via Google or Bing News, ask your friends, etc. Note down questions that you may want to ask during your interview.
• Carefully read the job description. Try to read between the lines. Is there any information that in your eyes is missing? Note these down in your questions.
• Put yourself into the role of the employer. Ask yourself the most likely questions: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why did you become an engineer? Tell me about your achievements? Why should we hire you? Work on your answers to fine-tune your performance.
• Be aware of surprises. Your interviewers may, for example, test your foreign language skills by bringing in a native speaker.
• Make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early. Plan the trip in advance so you arrive relaxed. Use this time to quickly walk through the anticipated questions and answers in your head.
• Dress appropriately. You can never go wrong with a formal business suit, but you can certainly spoil your chances and make the wrong impression by arriving underdressed.
• Have your questions and a note pad ready during the interview. Take notes as this signals interest. No one can memorize in detail the full contents of a 90 minute conversation. We often see candidates failing their interviews based purely on the fact that they were not prepared.
• If you interview with a group of people, keep eye contact with all of them. Don’t talk to one person only.
• Stay concentrated. Don’t ask redundant questions. Avoid being too talkative.
• If you are not able to answer a question, tell the interviewers that you will think about it after the meeting and send the answer by e-mail.
• It is especially important not to make the financial package the main subject of your first interview. Leave it to the interviewers to introduce this subject. But have your answer well prepared. Know what your expectations are in terms of base salary, bonus, company car, etc.). Avoid being vague by giving ranges as your interviewers will try to make you commit to the lower amount.
• If the opportunity presents itself, close the interview by giving a summary statement on why you are interested and why they should hire you.