Mock Interviews

How to make it beneficial for both parties

CSCH offers mock interview sessions for those looking to get into the industry. Check #mock-interviews and ask around. Like anything else in life, it is best if you can make it a win-win for both parties.

The whole point of mock interviews is to improve your interviewing skills. So, what's in it for the person helping you practice? There are a couple of things you could do to make it worthwhile.

First, you could offer to give one back to them. Trading interview 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! Be sincere. They trade time away that they could've used to do something else.

These are the things you could do during the mock interview. Make sure your mic is okay. If you want to take it a step further, which some will require you to do in the real world, you can check the cam too.

Find a quiet room. Make sure the two of you can hear each other. 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 might be like, let the mock interviewer know this and they could try to accommodate you as best as possible.

Try to interview as if it was the real thing. If you go in there and simply ask for a "tech interview", that's exactly what you'll get. And you get what you put into it. The more you hone into your weakness, the better you can root it out.

Tech interviewing is the most common but do not forget to practice for behavioral questions. Ultimately, you can learn tech skills, but personality is much harder to fix.