Job interviews are among the most intimidating moments everyone needs to go through every once in a while. Especially if you’re new to the whole job-hunting and applying system, you might not have any single idea about what to do or to even expect in an interview. Meanwhile, if you’re a seasoned applicant who has been to numerous job interviews before, job interviews may still get you nervous. After all, not every interview is the same, and you probably can’t recall the last time you had a job interview.
The best way to overcome this fear and overwhelming feelings is by being prepared. When you’re prepared, you’ll be more confident that you can nail your interview, and eventually, take home that desired job position. There are different ways you can prepare yourself for an interview, and one of them is by doing a mock interview.
What Is A Mock Interview?
A mock interview is the simulation of the actual interview process. You can do this by setting up an environment or a scenario that somehow resembles the real interview. Mock interviews will give you a chance to test out your current job interview skills with someone who will not evaluate you for the actual job. You can learn more here about mock interviews and how they’re often done.
If you’re a college student, you can ask a college alumnus, a professor, or a career services staff to help you with mock interviews and serve as the interviewer. If you’re a seasoned applicant, a mock interview can be performed with your trusted colleague, a friend, or from one of your professional connections. One thing you must remember is to never do mock interviews with any of your family members.
Now that you know what a mock interview is, it’s time to learn the benefits you can expect from mock interviews.
- Reduce Stress And Anxiety About Interviews
It’s normal to feel anxious and stress when you have an upcoming interview schedule. However, letting stress and anxiety overcome you may also affect your performance during the actual job interview. You may end up forgetting to mention some of your skills and experiences in the past, or you could wrongly mix up some dates on your resume.
But when you conduct mock interviews, this will give you an opportunity to practice yourself, your posture, and your way of answering questions. This will make you feel more ready and prepared to nail the actual interview, hence, overcoming your anxiety.
- Boost Your Confidence
In correlation to the previous item mentioned, once you’ve learned to overcome your anxiety, you’ll gain more confidence for yourself too. Your mock interviewer will also help boost your confidence by pointing out your strengths and weaknesses during the mock interview process. This method will give you a chance to address your weaknesses and improve your strengths. Eventually, as your performance with the mock interview improves, the higher your self-confidence will become too.
- You Can Get Constructive Feedback
Everyone knows not a single applicant is perfect for an interview. Thus, mock interviews are done to help you clarify and comprehend your responses to particular questions. This will also help you work on some areas where you may be having difficulty answering or understanding.
In a real interview, the employer will never give any feedback about how you did during the interview or how good were your interview skills. But with the mock interview, you’ll have a chance to find out about your performance. This will also allow you to find out why you’re having difficulty with some parts during the interview.
- Overcome Nervousness
Many of you tend to feel nervous just before your scheduled interview. There are even some who’ll start feeling weird, churning, or tightening knots in their stomach, making them rush to the restroom more frequently. This is normal, and it happens to everyone. After all, interviews can be nerve-wracking as your performance on this stage will make or break your chance to get hired for your desired job.
With mock interviews, you’ll have enough time to practice your interview skills, improve your confidence, and learn to overcome your nervousness. The more mock-ups and practices you do, the less nervous you’ll feel because, at least this time, you’ll know what to expect.
- Improve Body Language
Have you noticed during your past interviews wherein you were unconsciously tapping your feet, or biting your nails, or playing with your pen or fingers, or slouching on your back, or your eyes were constantly looking around? All these tiny body habits can greatly affect the employer’s first impression of you. If you tend to do any of those things, your interviewer can tell you’re nervous, unconfident, or simply unprepared.
Thus, you must be well aware of your body language and professional etiquette, especially during the actual interview. If you’re not confident about your body language yet, that’s when you’ll need to do some practices and mock interviews. This will allow you to prepare and study your body language and know which area or habit you must improve. Your mock interviewer will also point out to you if they noticed any unprofessional body language you’ve shown during the mock-up. Once you’re aware, you can address it immediately and make sure you avoid doing any of these informal habits again.
- Earn More General Knowledge About Interviews
When you conduct mock interviews, you’ll have the opportunity to gather more information and general knowledge about job interviews. You’ll also learn some of the common interview questions you can expect in your upcoming real interview. Some of these common interview questions include:
- Introduce yourself.
- How did you utilize your leadership skills?
- Where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years?
- Summarize your resume.
- Why do you think you’re fit for this job?
- What makes you different from the other applicants?
Once you have general knowledge about the possible questions, you can also prepare your answers. However, it’s not advisable to memorize any response because it might only appear standard or neutralize, therefore, giving the actual interviewer an impression that you’re not genuine with your answers.
- Be More Familiarize With The Situation
Mock interviews are conducted by resembling the actual interview. If your mock interviewer thinks you’ll be having an actual interview with a strict and high-end company, the more intense and challenging they’ll make your mock-up. The best thing about this is that you get to familiarize yourself with the situation and the pressure. Once you’re thoroughly familiar with the setup and the scenario, you’ll know what to expect, and you’ll feel more confident and comfortable.
The Bottom Line
Overall, mock interviews will help you improve and prepare your interview skills and hopefully increase your chances of bagging the desired job position. After all, it’s true how the saying goes: practice makes you perfect. So, keep on practicing even if you think you’re already seasoned, and take advantage of mock interviews. The more prepared you are, the better your impression will be from your prospective employer.
