Interviewing for a new job can be a bit like trick-or-treat. Here are 11 tips to help you bring home the goodies.

1. Unmask the company. Do your homework. Research the company by visiting its website. Search the Internet by entering the company’s name in search engines like google.com and read articles about the company. Learn everything you can about the company, its mission or goals, what it does, the key players, main products, principal clients. There might be bios of people who are going to interview you. Determine how the job you are applying for fits into the future of the company. Knowing the company, the industry and the people you’ll work with will enable you to answer interview questions with authority and confidence.

2. Pick the right costume. Dress the part. Wear clothes you feel comfortable in. Make sure your outfit is clean and is appropriate to the position you’re seeking. The more comfortable you feel, the better impression you’ll make. Avoid wearing strong cologne, perfume or after-shave.

3. Bewitch them. Display personality. Develop a sense of rapport with each of your interviewers. Smile, create a personal connection and make eye contact. Practice your handshake so it is firm and not clammy. Convey the sense that you are comfortable in the company environment; that you would fit in. Show flexibility, enthusiasm and a sense of humor. Collect business cards and email addresses so you can keep in touch with the interviewers.

4. Be an in-spectre. Have answers ready. Prepare for tough questions. Practice with a friend. Prepare anecdotes for each job on your résumé and be ready to tell what you liked best about it. Practice talking about your greatest achievement at each job and why you left each one. Have questions ready too. Ask about the company’s short term and long term plans and projects, what traits and experience they most need, and how the position fits into the overall picture. Your priority is to learn about what you’d be doing, how it is useful to the company’s mission, and what they most value in that position. Listen carefully to their answers to determine if this job is right for you.

5. Don’t curse your future by dredging up the past. Moaning and groaning about previous jobs and employers, even if your last boss was a demon is a sure way to drive a stake through the heart of your chances. An interview is no place to complain or gripe.

6. Don’t disguise your skills, experience and talents. Don’t undersell. A job interview is not a place for modesty. You are there to convince the employer that you are the best person for the job. Show why you would be an asset to the company. Highlight your strengths and capabilities. If you don’t have the specific experience they are looking for, point out how the experience you do have relates to their needs. If you don’t have the specific skills they are seeking, describe a success story showing how the skills you have are related to their needs. Stress that you learn quickly, are good with new software and that you work well both independently and as part of a team.

7. Don’t dig your own grave by saying you can do things you can’t. Don’t lie. If interviewers use unfamiliar jargon, ask for a definition or an example of how it is used at that company and see if you can relate it to something in your experience. But don’t pretend to be a rocket scientist if you’ve never taken physics. Honesty is more valuable to an employer than an inflated ego that might get you in over your head.

8. Cast a spell. The chief challenge of a job interview is to show that what you have to offer fits with the job you are seeking.

   Show you can do the job — show knowledge about the tasks you would be performing. Explain how your experience, training and qualifications are a good match for their needs and how your skills and accomplishments will help you do the job.

   Show enthusiasm — a willingness to do the job.