The interviewing process is always daunting, no matter what job you are being interviewed for.
Mock interviews, which can also be referred to as “practice interviews” are a great way of allowing you to get feedback on your interviewing skills, as well as get used to the atmosphere that you can expect from a job interview.
Mock interviews allow you the opportunity to practice an interview beforehand, as well as receive feedback, before moving on to the actual employer and real interview process.
If you’d like to understand a bit more about what a mock interview entails, as well as the benefits you can actually get from them, carry on reading! Everything you need to know about mock interviews should be within this article!
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Mock Interviews
Mock interviews are essentially trial interviews, allowing you to receive feedback, usually with a professional career counselor as your mock interviewer.
The mock interview process can be extremely beneficial, as it helps you to get a good grasp of the sorts of questions that the employer will be asking you, as well as a good understanding of the best ways to respond.
You can use a mock interview process to come up with a plan or interview strategy for an upcoming interview, receiving feedback so that you can ensure that when you walk into the real interview, you try your best.
Another great positive of a mock interview is its ability to help you to reduce stress. This is because I mock interview can relieve a lot of your stress and anxiety just by giving you an idea of what to expect when you walk into the interviewing room.
A mock interview gives you the opportunity to work on your communication skills, your levels of confidence, and even the way that you answer difficult questions.
It also allows you to work on your eye contact and body language, which are both particularly important when it comes to interviewing.
Where To Do A Mock Interview
Before making an appointment for a mock interview, you should try to write down everything you know about the position that you are applying for, as well as the company that the position is with.
By doing this, you allow the mock interviewer to tailor the mock interview to your exact needs, giving you the best possible practice for the real thing.
Believe it or not, it’s actually quite easy to find someone willing to help you practice for an interview. In fact, the career centers of many colleges actually offer mock interviews. You might also choose to ask a counselor or careers coach to help with this.
You can even be able to do a mock phone interview, which can especially help those that are prone to anxiety to prepare for any interviews that happen in this format.
It doesn’t really matter where you decide to do your mock interview, as long as you find someone that understands how the interviewing process usually works.
Finding someone professional, such as a career counselor, to conduct a mock interview for you makes a lot of sense, however, as it gives the interviewer the opportunity to provide you with feedback on your performance.
What Happens In A Mock Interview?
A mock interview often lasts around thirty minutes, and can often be recorded so that the mock interviewer will be able to provide you with a video of your interview so that you can review it yourself if need be.
The mock interviewer should ask you questions similar to those that you might expect your preferred employer to ask you.
After you have answered the questions, the mock interviewer will go back over the footage from the interview with you, whilst providing you with feedback and pointing out the areas in which you can improve.
What Types Of Questions Will The Mock Interviewer Ask?
A lot of the questions the interviewer will ask will be based on the information that you have told them about your potential employer.
If you really want to get the best out of your mock interview experience, make sure that you give the interviewer absolutely all the information that you possibly can about yourself and your potential employers, to ensure that they are able to interview you in a way that benefits you, instead of just asking questions for the sake of it.
If you don’t have any potential employers in mind and instead want practice, you should try to tell the mock interviewer your interests and future aspirations so that your interview is as useful as it can be, for you.
There are two categories of questions that could be asked within your mock interview – questions that are specifically about a particular job, and questions that are specific to the company that you are looking to work with.
Interview questions specific to the job that you are applying for help to improve interview skills, as you will need to think on the spot, specifically surrounding your chosen career.
This means that when you interview for a real position, you’ll already be pretty good at answering questions about your chosen role on the fly, which will help you to leave a good impression for sure.
Some companies actually have their interview questions online, meaning that it shouldn’t be too hard for your mock interviewer to find them and interview you with them.
This way, you’ll get to practice similar interview questions (if not the exact same ones) before doing your actual interview.
What Do I Need To Do To Prepare For A Mock Interview?
There’s no point going through all the trouble of a mock interview if you aren’t going to put one hundred percent effort into it.
You should ensure that you are presentable, wearing smart, suitable interview attire. Try to bring similar items to the ones you would take to a normal interview – such as a notepad and pen, your resume, and any certificates.
Make sure that you arrive early to the interview (around ten to fifteen minutes) to ensure that you aren’t late.
Final Thoughts
As we’ve said – interviews are always a daunting experience, and no one can blame you for wanting a bit of practice before you dive right in there.
Mock interviews can be genuinely helpful and should be utilized way more often. They can be an amazing tool for relieving anxiety around interviews and just generally trying to ensure that you communicate your points across better.
