This past week I had an internship interview in Quincy, MA. This meant that I would have about an hour and 15 minutes in the car as I traveled from Clark to the office I was going to. As I was preparing for my interview a few days before, I began thinking of all the extra things I should bring. Thinking about all the time I would be spending in the car made me realize how many issues I may have. I decided to prepare a car bag with a variety of extra products and supplies I would need during my journey or upon my arrival and it worked out really well! Here is what I brought with me:
- Extra Résumés – This is an obvious one. You never know if the people you will be meeting with will have your résumé printed and ready to reference. It never hurts to bring an extra copy or two just in case.
- EZ Pass – I don’t usually keep my EZ Pass in the car but because I knew I was going to be travelling on toll roads, I threw it in my bag. This is especially important now that the tolling in Massachusetts is all electronic. It’s always a good idea to check out which route your GPS will be taking you beforehand to know if you’ll need to be prepared for tolls.
- Waze App – I used the Waze app for the first time during this trip. Waze is a great GPS app that constantly redirects you to the most efficient route and can even alert you where police are located. I had a great experience with it and it was nice to know that I was taking the fastest way to get there.
- Car Phone Charger – Using apps like Waze can really kill your battery and I wanted to make sure I would have enough charge to make my whole trip. It’s always a good idea to make sure your phone is powered up whenever you take a long car trip or are going to an unfamiliar place.
- Water Bottle – It’s so important to stay hydrated on a regular basis and I figured because I would be in the car for so long, it wouldn’t hurt to bring a water. I try to carry water with me at all times anyways.
- Snacks – I brought a smoothie and two Nutrigrain bars to eat if I got hungry during either half of my trip. It was nice to know I had some snacks in case I got hungry and didn’t have time to grab something to eat on the way there or back.
- Change of Clothes – Considering the very green smoothie I brought, I figured if there was any chance of a spill along the way, I should bring a pair of back up pants! It’s always a good idea to have a backup outfit when heading to something important like an interview. You never know what might happen along the way and you’ll be confident knowing you’re prepared for anything.
- Extra Shoes – I hate driving in heels, so I packed those in my bag to change into when I arrived. However, I wore a nice pair of flats just in case I needed to wearing my driving shoes into the interview.
- Extra Makeup – I thought it would be nice to have some extra makeup in the event that I needed to touch up my foundation a little bit depending on how early I arrived.
- Lint Roller – Just in case there was dog hair or dust on my outfit! I wanted to be able to look as sharp as possible.
This may seem excessive, but I honestly used most of the things I brought! You can always modify this list to suit your specific needs. The car bag was super useful for me and made me feel incredibly prepared and confident going into my interview. Hopefully these tips will help you prepare for an ace your next interview!