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Mock Interviews
How to best prepare for and conduct mock interviews.
Preparing for a Mock Interview
In preparation for an online mock interview, one of the most important things to do is to make sure your mic audio works well. Not having a working mic can be more detrimental than people realize — not being able to hear you half the time will, unfortunately, make a bad impression.
If you're taking it a step further and doing an in-person mock interview, find a quiet room. Make sure the two of you don't have distractions and can hear each other well.
How to Use the Mock to Improve
Decide early on what you want to improve. To do that, you need to figure out where you are and what you hope to see as an outcome. For example, suppose you are going to do an on-site interview — you should research what the on-site interview at this company. Let the mock interviewer know this, so they can try to accommodate you as best they can.
As for the type of interview a technical interview is the most common but do not ****forget to practice for behavioral questions as well. Ultimately, technical skills can be learned, but soft skills are much harder to get right.
Most importantly, try to interview as if it was the real thing. If you go in there and simply ask for a technical interview, that's exactly what you'll get. And you get out from it what you put in. The more you hone into your weakness, the better you can root it out.
Giving Back
The whole point of mock interviews is to improve your interviewing skills. So, what's in it for the person helping you practice? Like anything else in life, it is best if you can make it a win-win for both parties. There are a couple of things you could do to make it worthwhile.
The most obvious option is to offer to give one back as trading interviews is very common. You could ask them if there is anything you could do for them — something that can be done in one hour. If nothing else, thank them, and be sincere! They traded time away that they could've used to do something else.
CSCH offers mock interview sessions for those looking to get into the industry. Check #mock-interviews and ask around. Before the mock interview, make sure to review our Mock Interview Guidelines section of the Community Rules.