How to Remember Things for Your Next Interview
If you need to get ready for a job interview, it might help to remember important details. You may need to prepare answers to common interview questions or remember information about the company or your field. In this article, we list some helpful ways to remember things quickly and well.
How to remember things
Even though tips, tricks, and techniques for memorizing can help you remember things quickly, the best way to remember things is to give yourself time. If you can, study for your interview ahead of time and look over your materials every day. Here are five ways to remember things for your next interview:
- Use the way you learn best.
- Prepare.
- Write it out over and over.
- Use memory tools.
- Try things out.
1. Use the way you learn best
The first thing you should do to remember things well is to use the way you naturally learn. There are seven main ways people learn. Some people learn and remember things better when they hear them than when they see them, or the other way around.
Some people remember things better when they work with someone else or when they are by themselves. You can take an online quiz to help you figure out how you learn best if you’re not sure. Find a way to use the way you learn best to remember information for your next interview once you know how you learn best. Here are some suggestions for each of the seven main ways people learn:
Auditory
The best way for auditory learners to remember something is to hear it out loud. When you go over your notes, read them out loud or ask someone else to do it for you. You could record yourself talking and then listen to it whenever you have a chance, like when you’re working out, driving, or going to sleep.
Visual
People who learn best by seeing need to see what they need to learn. Try using pictures, videos, or images around you to help you remember what you need to know.
Verbal
People who learn best through words, both spoken and written, understand information best. Read your assignments and talk about them.
Social
People who are good at social learning like to work with a group. Ask friends or family members if they want to study with you or talk about the material with you.
Solitary
People who learn best on their own do so when they are alone. Find a place where you won’t be interrupted while you learn.
Physical
Physical, or kinesthetic, learners understand things better when they move. Try associating the information with certain gestures or movements, or move around while you study. For example, you could walk around the room while trying to remember something or link different hand gestures to different answers.
Logical
These students do best with clear reasoning, like in math or logic. Find ways to connect your information in a logical way, move from one point to the next, or focus on why you’re learning what you’re learning.
2. Prepare
Preparing carefully before you study can help you remember things better. Think about how you learn best and set up your space or get in the right mindset before you try to memorize something. Think about these ways to remember things:
Exercise
Exercise can help you feel calm and focused before studying, and it can also help get rid of nerves or stress. Some kinds of exercise, like yoga, can help you remember things better.
Rest
If you get a good night’s sleep before studying, you’ll be more awake, rested, and ready to concentrate.
Drink green tea
Green tea has some ingredients that may make you smarter, so you might want to drink it before or while you study.
Use the daytime
Some people learn better in the afternoon, so that’s when they choose to study. Find out when you can pay attention and remember things best, and use that time to prepare for your interview.
Eliminate distractions
To remember things, you need to pay attention, so try to avoid getting distracted while you study. This could mean going somewhere quiet to study. Try turning off your phone or putting it somewhere else so you don’t get distracted by notifications. If you focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to do several things at once, you should get better results.
3. Write it out over and over
Handwriting has a much bigger effect on memory than typing. Using a pen, pencil, and paper takes more thought, time, and physical movement than typing, so it has a bigger effect on your body and brain. Try writing the information down more than once. One of the best ways to learn something is to say it over and over and write it down. You can also say the information out loud as you write it to learn it in two more ways: through speaking and hearing, as well as through thought and movement.
4. Use things to remember
There are a lot of tricks and tools you can use to help you remember things. Try different things until you find the one that works best for you:
Put things together
You can make connections between things you want to remember by putting words with pictures or coming up with analogies. The “journey method,” also called “the memory palace,” is a way to remember things by linking them to a familiar journey.
To use this method, put the information you want to remember along a route you know well, like your drive home or the steps from your kitchen to your bedroom. You can remember the order of things if you remember the steps.
Use mnemonic devices
A pattern that helps you remember something is called a “mnemonic device.” Try making an anagram to help you remember a set. For example, you could use “Fanboys” to remember “For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.” Other ways to remember information include putting it to music or using rhymes.
Compartmentalize
Make groups out of your information. Use color coding or other easily recognizable categories to help you keep track of what goes where.
Say it your own way.
Try summarizing the information in your own way if you need to know specific facts and answers to interview questions. Putting things in your own words can make them more personal. This makes it unique to you and helps you remember it better than if someone else had told you about it.
Start to care.
When you care about something, it’s much easier to remember it. Find a way to become genuinely interested in what you’re trying to learn to help you remember it.
5. Test yourself
Finding ways to test or quiz yourself on the information you want to learn can help you remember it better and show you how well you’re learning it. Here are a few ways that testing can help you remember what you need to know:
Flashcards
Flashcards are one of the most common ways to learn and remember things. On one side of a card, write a question or key word. On the other side, write the answer or full information. As you go through the cards, try to remember the answer side just by looking at the keyword. You can turn over the card to see if you were right.
Create questions
Think about what you know, and then come up with questions about it. How well you can answer those questions will show you how well you know the material and where you need to do more research or study.
Educate someone
One of the best ways to know if you understand something is if you can explain it to someone else. Preparing to teach someone or give a speech about a topic can help you remember it well.
