An interview is a meeting between two or more people in which one party (the interviewer) asks the other party (the interviewee) questions. The interview format is familiar from television and movies, with reporters, police, or government officials interviewing sources to learn the facts about a given topic or event. However, interviews are also a very important part of the process of searching for a job, as employers typically interview candidates one or more times to evaluate their personality and skills to see if they are a good fit for a position.

Unlike a news interview where a source can simply answer questions to the best of their ability, successful job interviews should be approached with preparation and strategy. An interview is your chance to demonstrate your professional communications skills, tell your story in a way that conveys your competencies and strengths, and convince your potential employer that you’re the right fit for their organizational needs and workplace culture. It’s also important to learn how to ask your own questions to determine how well an organization fits with your personality, career goals, and salary objectives.

Being able to approach interviews with confidence is an essential skill for the pursuit of virtually any career path. Whether you’re looking to work as an administrative assistant, a software engineer, or a financial analyst, mastering the art of the interview will help you land the job you want - regardless of whether you’re just beginning your career, looking to switch careers, or already have a successful career and want to advance it further.

If you have strong interpersonal communications skills and an understanding of how interviews fit into the job search process, you could pursue a career in human resources (HR). Human resources managers are responsible for planning and coordinating an organization’s staffing needs, including recruitment and hiring. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, human resources managers earn a median annual salary of $116,720, and jobs in this field are expected to grow faster than the economy-wide average over the next decade.

This is an easy question to answer: yes! Whether you’re an experienced job searcher looking to upgrade your interview skills or just starting your career, and whether you speak English natively or need to work on your English language skills, Coursera has courses to meet your needs. You can improve your interview skills with courses and Specializations from top-ranked universities like University of Maryland, College Park, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of California San Diego. Coursera also gives you the opportunity to learn about interviewing with Salesforce, an industry leader in providing software for customer relationship management as well as human resources management.