Here are some things that you should do:

Everyone knows first impressions last; after you’ve made that first impression, it will be hard to change what they think of you. You need to focus on your introduction and give careful consideration to how you’re going to introduce yourself.

Understand that you want to be seen as a professional while still maintaining a friendly persona. Give a firm handshake and establish eye contact. Let the interviewer know right from the start that you are a professional who is looking to add value to their company.

Whenever you’re going in for an interview, you want to blend in. Therefore, you’ll need to know beforehand how they dress so that you can dress up like they do. It’s better to overdress than to dress too casually.

Not everyone is good with conversations, but this doesn’t mean that you can use this as an excuse to procrastinate when it comes to practicing for the interview. If anything, this should be something that motivates you to work harder at it.

Here are some things that you shouldn’t do:

Avoid telling stories of how frustrated you are with your past employers or your job search. When you’re in the interview, all the interviewer wants to know and hear is how you are going to help their company and what value you’ll bring. They don’t want to hear about your failures or sob stories; they already have more than enough on their plates, and have no time to worry about you.

Mentioning compensation too early in the job interview is something that you don’t do unless the interviewer brings it up—and even then, you still need to be careful in how you respond. Forgo the salary and benefits discussion until after they give you an offer.

Sometimes when you’ve been to a lot of job interviewers after a long while of searching for a new job, there’s a tendency to show desperation. You have to keep in mind every time you go to an interview that you don’t want to show any signs of desperation.

The interview process is a very complex. Even if you think you’ve mastered everything there is to know, there are always new surprises. The only thing you can do is prepare to make sure that you know what to do during the interview to give yourself a better shot at the job.