If you have had an interview with a recruiter that was unsuccessful, you have much to gain from practicing your interviewing skills and reviewing your overall performance in order to garner feedback and pointers for improving your approach.
It can be said that there are two kinds of job interviews– those which generated a job offer and those we would rather forget.
One important difference between the above two is your proper planning.
Therefore, being prepared for the interview is one of the most important aspects that count towards the success of getting the job.
This article is a comprehensive guide to mock interviews.
It provides tips and techniques for conducting effective mock interviews, scripting responses to common interview questions, and using feedback to improve your interviewing skills.
We will introduce you to the mock interview and what it includes. The article contains:
- Introduction
- Preparation
- Practicing mock interview questions
- Feedback
Prepare yourself by conducting a mock interview
Mock interviews can provide the information you need in order to enhance your job interview performance.
Practice makes perfect, it has been said. But more accurately, perfect practice makes perfect.
One of the best ways to prepare yourself for the upcoming job interview questions is a live rehearsal, preparing interview questions and acting out a live job interview, and conducting a mock interview requires some preparations.
You will utilize all feedback and repeat until satisfied with the results.
Mock Interview – Practice Interview Questions
Rather than making your mistakes during your interview, make them during a mock interview, where you can reduce errors and improve your performance through plenty of practice.
1. What Is a Mock Interview?
- A 30-minute video session of you in an interview with a friend, colleague or better yet, a recruiter that plays the role of an interviewer.
- Reviewing the video with constructive feedback on how you performed.
2. Preparation
- Preparation involves researching the company. Investigate and learn the most common industry traits needed – for example, analytical skills, business knowledge, or communication skills.
- Then script answers to show your experience related to these necessary traits.
3. The Session
- Dress in appropriate business attire as you would for a real interview.
- Greet the interviewer with a strong handshake and a confident smile.
- Listen attentively to the question. If you need clarification, ask for it.
- Reply with clear, concise answers – do not ramble on.
- Remember to sell yourself.
- Have a couple of questions prepared to ask the interviewer.
4. Giving Interview Feedback
View the tape, listen to your answers, and observe your feelings.
- Did you and your answers come across as you thought they had?
- Take advantage of all constructive criticism given to improve your interviewing skills.
- Watch the video a few times, with friends or colleagues if possible. Request feedback but use your own intelligence to determine optimum responses. Learn from all feedback, including your own.
Preparations: Job Interview Videos
Lesson Plans and Practicing
Here are some ways in which you can gear up yourself for an interview, using a job interview video technique:
1. Create a script
Develop a list of questions – use the ones in these articles! – for your assistant to ask you.
Plan your responses, enlisting input from others as needed.
2. Only the frequently asked questions
Treat this video as a beta version – a preview – of the interview that you will soon be having.
For optimum results, use only frequently asked job interview questions and be serious, otherwise you are wasting everyone’s time, and missing a good opportunity. Remember your goal! You want to have the best responses in a calm, quick and efficient manner during the job interview itself.
3. Talk Out Loud – Questions and Answers
Prepare yourself to respond. If at first you are very unsuccessful, do not give up. Try again, and these trials will help you do away with the initial nervousness of speaking out in the presence of strangers. Once you have overcome your initial nervousness, viewing the video will allow you to improve your content and delivery.
4. Your Knowledge Base
Improve your skills with a review! Skim any books or other course material that might be relevant to the job, freshen your memory. Interviewers will question you regarding the work profile and other work-related information that is not normally encountered in the day to day working of the profession. You will be all set to respond intelligently.
5. Stay Updated
If you have a technical profession, you must keep abreast of any new technologies, methods and machinery especially when looking for a job.
6. How well have you prepared?
Send a copy or view the video with a friend or colleague, other than the one who helped you. It is even worth asking a few. They will tell you if you are able to make a good impression or need more practice.
7. Come up with the weaker aspects
Once you have gone through the video and have come up with the weaker aspects of your presentation, work towards enhancing them.
Remember that these weak aspects are not necessarily bad but may be points you should enhance/improve before the big day of the interview.
Aspects to Evaluate
Some of the aspects that you should consider are:
- Do you appear completely at ease with yourself?
- Have you stumbled on any of the questions?
- Do you think you would have hired yourself if you were the interviewer?
- What are your unique selling points, have you been able to present them in the proper manner to the interviewer?
- What areas do you think you need to enhance in your basic presentation? The way you speak, or the way you focus your eyes, or even the way you dress.
- Did you come across as an educated and qualified professional for the job? If you did, wonderful. If you didn’t, what can you improve?
Questions to Practice for the Mock Interview
1. Basic Interview Questions
- Tell me about yourself.
- What was it that attracted you to our company?
- Tell me when you were most satisfied in your career/job.
- Tell me what your strengths are.
- What do you feel your weaknesses are?
- What can you do for the company that another candidate can’t?
- What do you know about our company?
- Why are you leaving your current place of employment?
2. Salary Questions:
- What salary are you looking for?
- If we gave you the salary you wanted and asked you to write your job description for the following year, what would that job description say?
3. Career Development Questions:
- If you were hired for this job what would your goals be?
- What are your plans and aspirations in terms of your career development?
4. Behavioral Interview Questions:
- Have you been part of a team where a member wasn’t pulling their weight? How did you deal with the situation?
- Tell me about an incident where you had to give feedback that was difficult. How did you handle the situation?
- Tell me about a time you went beyond your required duties at work.
- What would you consider your greatest failure? Can you tell me what you feel you learned from it?
- If you discovered your employer was doing something illegal, what would you do?
5. Getting Started in the Job Questions:
- How long do you feel it will take before you make a significant contribution to the company?
- If we choose you for the position what is your strategy for the first 90 days?
- Being the new team member, what would you do to quickly establish credibility?
- If I were your supervisor and you disagreed with something I asked you to do, how would you handle the situation?
6. More Questions about You:
- What are your long-term plans?
- Give me a few examples of ideas you’ve had, and if you implemented them, how did you proceed?
- How do you keep yourself organized?
- Who would you say has most impacted your career and how?
- Do you think a leader should be liked or feared?
- What do you think of your previous boss?
- Can you think of one person in your career that made a big difference?
- What kind of personality do you feel you work best with? Why?
- What would you say you are most proud of?
- Who is your hero? Do you have more than one?
- Tell me two positive comments your last boss would say about you.
- What negative remark would you say about your last boss?
- List four words that best describe your character.
- What do you feel are the qualities of a good leader? A bad leader?
- If your supervisor knew less than you, how would you feel about this?
- What magazines do you subscribe to?
- What is the last book you read?
After your mock interview, ask the interviewer and/or a different friend or colleague to critically review the video, preferably with you.
Note their advice and guidance. If you have already done or are preparing a few mock interviews, keep track of which comments belong to which video!
Review the video at least once – you may benefit from more times – keeping their suggestions in mind.
Rehearse and enhance your job interview performance.
Examples of Feedback Questions
Enhance the interview feedback you receive by asking key post-interview questions.
Use these questions to prepare a mock interview evaluation form.
1. Where was the main problem area during my interview?
This is a good place to start – a general question that can help you understand where you need to work and what needs to be emphasized.
2. Were there good points during my interview?
By asking you will learn in which areas you excel in the interview process.
This will give you confidence, and the drive to improve in areas where you were not so successful.
3. Was I lacking in my preparation relating to the interview? The submission of my resume?
Most people are better able to give more information when asked specific questions.
4. How was my attitude during the interview?
If your attitude isn’t right it can turn the interviewer off.
You may not be aware of how your attitude surfaces and appears to others; finding out gives you the knowledge you need to correct this before your next interview. Make certain you do!
5. Was my body language good?
Body language is non-verbal communication. Interviewers and recruiters are trained to pick up on this. Ensure that you are exuding only positive messages.
6. Do you have anything to add about my appearance and presentation?
The interview feedback provided here gives you what you need to make any changes necessary, thereby assuring a more successful interview.
7. Do you have any other suggestions for me?
Do not become offended by the interviewers’ answers. Let their constructive criticism benefit you.
Your mock interview can be a very valuable tool. Learn to make the most of it and before long you’ll be interviewing like a pro.