Hi everyone, and welcome to today’s episode, which is about one of my favorite tools for interview preparation: mock interviews. When conducted correctly, they can be extremely valuable in two ways. First, they can help you quickly identify your strengths and improvement areas when it comes to interviewing, enabling you to save time and focus on the most important things when preparing for your upcoming interview. Second, they are a great way to build confidence because you can practice handling different kinds of questions, giving concise and relevant answers and managing your nerves. So, today I will show you a simple, 4-step approach to help you get going with mock interviews. And, at the end of this episode, I will even share how you can access – for free – our new AI interview simulation tool during a time-limited beta phase. Now, let’s dive into the four steps.

Step 1: Find your practice partner

Friends, family, current or former colleagues or managers, mentors or interview coaches can be a good choice here. But, try to find the right person, because how much you get out of the mock interview depends a lot on who you select to take the role of the interviewer. It’s of great advantage if your practice partner has some knowledge of the job’s industry and the position you are applying for, so they can ask relevant questions and use appropriate terminology. Ideally, they should also have good communication skills and some interviewing experience, so can simulate a realistic interview situation and provide objective and constructive feedback.

Step 2: Prepare for the mock interview

Another factor that greatly impacts what you will get out of the interview simulation is how well your practice partner is prepared for the role-play. That’s why it is important to provide them with all the information needed to decide what to focus on and develop a list of traditional and behavioral questions to ask you. So, share your resume, the job description and any relevant information about the company and its culture. Also, tell them about any areas you feel extra nervous about. For example, you might want to share a list of interview questions you really hope won’t be asked, so you can practice answering them in a safe environment.

Step 3: Conduct the mock interview

How the mock interview is conducted greatly impacts the benefits you will get from it. Try to choose an environment as close to the real interview situation as possible. For example, if you have a video interview with the hiring manager, use the same technology during the mock interview, so you familiarize yourself with the technical setup and can practice maintaining eye contact, managing audio levels and presenting yourself confidently on camera. But the most important factor determining the value of the mock interview is acting as though it is real. So, be professional, listen actively to the interviewer and give thought-through answers. Stay in the role-play, even if you have difficulties answering a question, and try to handle the situation as you would in the real interview. Also, make sure to ask the questions you would ask the hiring manager, even though your practice partner might not be able to answer them.

Step 4: Get feedback

Rehearsing the interview situation, as described in the previous step, is one of the benefits you will gain from mock interviews. The second is the feedback your practice partner can provide. Good feedback should include both what you did well and what you can improve. Aspects that should be covered are how well you addressed the questions, if your answers were convincing, concise and well-structured, and the quality of the questions you asked the interviewer. Getting feedback on how successfully you presented yourself, your skills and experiences, and your motivation for the job and the company is equally important. Other areas that might be worth covering are your body language, how well you handled unexpected interview questions and, if applicable, how well you interacted with the camera. Finally, reflect on the feedback you get, plan how to improve, and schedule another mock interview a couple of days later to track your progress.

These were the four steps. As mentioned earlier, we have just released the beta version of our brand-new AI mock interview app. It helps you practice for your upcoming interview with tailored questions, follow-up questions and objective, real-time feedback so you can get going quickly even without a practice partner. Click on the link in the episode description to join our time-limited beta period and access the app free of charge and without needing to register with an email or similar.

That’s all for today. Thank you for listening, and I hope this was helpful to you.