How To Prepare For A Mock Interview

Who Can Help You Practice A Mock Interview

Mock Interview Preparation: Common Questions with Feedback!

There are several options for practicing with a mock interview. If you’re a recent graduate, reach out to your local college or university’s career service center. They likely have resources available to support you and trained career counsellors who can perform a mock interview with you.

If you’ve been in the workforce for some time, you can contact your local provincial government employment services office for support. They typically have employment counsellors on staff to assist you with practicing your interviewing skills. Alternatively, you can hire a career coach who specializes in helping individuals find and land their desired job.

Another option is to ask a family member, friend or colleague for help. If you ask someone you know, be sure that they can provide you with objective feedback. Often close family members and friends know you too well to give constructive criticism, so be mindful of who you ask to make the most of the experience.

To prepare your interview partner for the mock interview, ensure you provide them with as much information as possible. For example, give them notes about the company, the position you are interviewing for and the job description. This allows your mock interview partner to prepare appropriate questions and create a realistic interview environment.

How To Stay At Home And Prepare For A Mock Interview

During COVID times, dont wait for the right time to think about your career advancement.

Utilize this time at home and practice mock interviews with some useful tips to refine your interview skills.

This will help you to ace your final interview with a hiring manager. Well, the show must go on, whatever may come. So, start preparing now.

Find The Right Interviewer

If you are extremely nervous about your first interview in a while, the support of family and friends is a good place to start. However, although this can be a great way to boost your confidence, it wont be as effective in terms of getting an expert perspective on your performance.

If you are a college student or an alumna you can take advantage of the career services center on your campus. Most towns also have a job services department that may offer similar help. Or, leverage your social contacts to find someone with professional experience making hiring decisions and offer to buy them dinner in exchange for some time helping you hone your interviewing skills.

People with experience giving interviews are in the best position to spot common mistakes and give you precise directions for improvement that will make a difference. Now that is feedback you can count on!

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Build The Soft Skills Needed For Success

interview prep uses mock interviews to help your students practice the essential soft skills that employers need most to achieve their goals. Developing these skills gives your students the knowledge and confidence to ace their interview and land their dream job.

feel more prepared, they feel relieved that theyre going to have something to use to practice

Cayla Johnson McLennan Community College

Build A Pitch Based On Questions

Creating a sales pitch for an interview is the same as building a pitch to hook new prospects: you need to know their needs before you can present a solution.

So, what are the needs of the company youre interviewing with? What are they looking for in a sales rep?

Here are some questions you can ask the interviewer to better frame your responses to their needs:

Is this a new or existing position?
What did you like about the last person who filled this position?
What was missing from the last person who filled this position?
What are your goals for a new in relation to the company?
How do you hope to benefit from filling this position?
How is the success of this position measured?

When you ask these kinds of questions, you can connect the benefits of hiring you to the needs theyve expressed.

Pro tip:

Record Your Mock Interview

An effective strategy for self-evaluation is to record the mock interview. You don’t need professional equipment, the video function on your cellphone will do. You can record your mock interview to assess your responses, tone of voice and body language. If videoing your mock interview isn’t possible, even an audio recording can provide helpful insight into your confidence.

How Do I Schedule A Mock Interview

Login to your NoleNetwork account:
In the Type drop-down, select Mock Interviews
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Check Availability
Upcoming appointments will then appear on the right-hand side of the appointment request window

When filling out the appointment request details, be sure to attach your resume and cover letter as one 2-page document*. If you do not attach your resume and cover letter in one document, your mock interview will be rejected.

*Note: Mock interviews are based on the one page document that includes your resume and cover letter. Mentors will use the company/industry you list and will ask you questions that you might be asked during an actual interview.

Once you click Submit Request you will get an email confirmation from the system. When your appointment is approved you will also receive an email.

Locating Your Mock Interview Zoom Link

All mock interviews will be offered via Zoom during the virtual instruction period. After your mock interview is approved, you will receive a separate email which includes the Zoom link for your mock interview appointment.You must save this email and be able to locate it at the time of your mock interview. It will only be sent once.

Subject: IMPORTANT: Mock Interview Zoom Link
Email Example:

Making Changes to Your Schedule

This is also how you can cancel your mock interview.

No-Show/Cancellation Policy

Recommended Reading: What Questions To Ask In A Sales Interview

Choose The Appropriate Attire

Use the mock interview as a dress rehearsal for the real meeting with the employer. Wear an outfit that reflects the company’s standards and reflects positively on you as a candidate. For example, if employees often wear a suit and tie in the office, then you might wear similar attire to show you can meet the dress code. A hiring manager may evaluate your professionalism based on your physical appearance. Consider asking your mock interviewer to deliver feedback on your attire so you know how you presented yourself.

Bring All The Materials You Need For A Real Interview

Mock Interviews for Students — Here’s What you NEED to Practice

Preparing for your mock interview like a real interview means bringing all the necessary materials such as your resume, pen and notepad, especially if you’re meeting the mock interviewer for the first time. The way you present yourself during a mock interview can be an indicator of your performance when you meet with a hiring manager.

Mock Interview With A Family Member

Mock interviewing with family members can provide the necessary emotional support to make you more comfortable for the day of the interview. However, you may want to outline your expectations for the advice you’re looking to receive from them to help you gain productive feedback based on their personal experience in the workplace.

A family member can work with you on simplifying your responses to general interview questions. If you’re trying to answer how you describe yourself, you can communicate your answer to a family member. Also, they can help you brainstorm ideas to make it more concise since you’re going off of a time limit.

Think About How Youll Answer Common Sales Interview Questions

While you can never be 100% sure what youll be asked during a sales interview, there are a few sales interview questions you will most likely hear in some form or another.

Here are some guidelines on how to answer some of the more common sales interview questions:

Why are you interested in sales?

You want to have a clear reason why you’re in sales, and have a strong narrative around it. One of my main questions, when I interview people, is to ask why.

For some people, the reason will just be that they want to make a lot of money. For others, it will be because they have a lot of experience and insight into the particular industry, because they like to communicate with people, or many other reasons. There are no good or bad reasonsbut they should be your honest reasons why, and you should have clarity around this.

Why do you want to sell this product? Why do you want to work with this company?

Believing in a product is a good motivation to sell it, which is why most interviewers will ask some variation of this question. Know something about the product and the target market, and youll prove you took the time to develop an interest in this sales job with this company .

When was the last time you missed quota?

What was the most difficult/most significant deal youve closed?

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Practise With The Right Mock Interviewer

It is best if the person who will carry out the mock interview is from your field, as that will enable them to ask you probing and career-specific questions without needing to do too much research. They will also be able to give you an accurate assessment of your interview performance and let you know if you are likely to be considered for the position. You can ask an experienced and senior professional to help you out, or you can check with online and offline job portals to find out if they offer mock interview opportunities. Additionally, you can ask family members and friends to help you practise.

What To Practise For Technical Mock Interviews

Mock Job Interview Questions & Tips for a Successful ...

When it comes to technical interviews, it is always a good idea to practise technical mock questions and other questions from past technical interviews. However, there are certain topics, which if you study, will definitely help you during your technical mock interviews. Many mock interview services allow you to take a mock interview online for free.

Some of these services such as Pramp, InterviewBit, Interviewing.io and PrepBunk even allow you to take multiple retakes. There are even mock interview apps that you can use to take technical mock interviews from your phone. Most of these services come with a preparatory period, crash courses, study material and syllabuses that can help you prepare.

However, if you truly wish to ace your interview, then you can consider taking up a Coding Ninjas course such as the Interview Preparation course for Service-Based companies which will train you efficiently for your upcoming interviews through modules or classes and provide mock interview features as well.

However, if you wish to practise on your own, it is recommended you practise the following topics and the problems associated with them:

Foundational Programming

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Nail Your Next Sales Interview And Mock Sales Pitch

Any kind of job interview can be terrifying, but a sales interview with a mock pitch is even worse.

That said, when youre well-prepared, you can go into that interview with confidence.

Preparation for a sales interview is more than just researching the company and getting to know the product . You need to be ready with the right attitude to sell yourself to the interviewer.

Think of the entire sales interview as just another pitch, and youll come at it with the same amount of energy and finesse that you have as you sell every single day.

But theres always room for improvement.

Want to take your sales pitches to the next level? Take a deep dive into the Ultimate Sales Pitch Guide, with 8 chapters of expert advice on developing, scripting, delivering, and following up on a high-performing sales pitch.

One of the most important skills to master for any sales rep is the follow-up. Whenever I interview a sales rep and I see that they have great follow-up skills, that’s a big plus. I’ve written an entire book on the subject, and you can get it free today:

How To Prepare For An Interview

If you want to do well in job interviews and secure a job then it is essential to take time to prepare for it. According to a study from JDP, the applicants spend about seven hours researching the company they are interviewing for before the interview. About 64% of the candidates also make time to know about the interviewer. 70% of the interviewers practice their responses out loud as it gives them confidence. 62 % prepare anecdotes they can share with the interviewers.

Here are some interview preparation tips that will allow you to perform impressively at an interview.

Read Also: How To Interview A Candidate

Tell Us About Yourself

This is often the first question a recruiter asks, so it can be helpful to practise it in a mock interview. Instead of rephrasing the content of your CV or telling the interviewer about your professional life, you can explain how your knowledge, achievements and skills are relevant to the role.

Example answer:’I’ve always enjoyed writing and communicating with people. This is why I spent three years getting a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I’ve been an editorial writer for over five years and have worked with several brands, organisations and companies. These experiences have helped to sharpen my writing skills, attention to detail and creativity.’

Prepare For The Real Thing

Job Interview Simulation and Training – Mock Interview

In order for your mock interview to be successful, you need it to mimic a real interview as closely as possible, right down to your outfit and the time of day.

Treat it as an actual interview, ul Haq said. Do your research to anticipate what sorts of questions you might be asked. Dress as you plan to dress for the real interview. Sit in your chair the same way you plan to in your real interview.

The more they feel that you are in a real interview, the more effective the mock interview will be.

Revisit past projects, test your coding knowledge in an online exam, or collect info from co-workers about your strengths if you can showcase your full abilities in your mock interview, youll be more confident sharing them in the real thing.

Someone applying for an engineering role still has to brush up on their technical and system design skills and treat the mock interview as a real interview, said ul Haq. In fact, the more they feel that you are in a real interview, the more effective the mock interview will be.

Never Memorize Your Answers

This is very straightforward you do not want to memorize your answers. Memorizing your answers will make you sound unauthentic and over-rehearsed. It is good to understand that job interviews are not exams.

Rather, they are conversations between your potential employer and you to determine whether you are the right person for the job as well as for the company.

The best strategy is using a bullet point approach, where you get to practice while noting down the key points you want to address instead of rehearsing the exact answers you plan to give.

Record The Mock Interview

While the mock interviewer’s feedback about your interview questions can be valuable, you will also benefit from recording the mock interview and reviewing your performance yourself. Try to be as objective as possible when you view the recording. Keep a notepad at hand to make notes. Note if you have a straight posture or if you are slouching, if you are making too many hand gestures, what your facial expressions are and if you appear calm or flustered.

Choose A Professional Setting

It can be helpful to make the setting for your mock interview as similar as possible to your real interview environment. If you’re practising in person, you can use a table so you can sit across from your mock interviewer as you might in a real interview. For a virtual mock interview, it can be beneficial to choose a location with no background noise or distraction.

Why Should We Hire You

This is how you prepare for Mock Interview â Best Guide ...

Talk only about the things that you think would be useful for the interviewer in selecting you for the job. Based on the type of skill set required for the job, mention your characteristics that would be useful for that skill set. Don’t overly pride yourself, and at the same time, do not sound like you lack confidence.

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Common Mock Interview Questions:

Tell us something about yourself

This question doesnt mean that the interviewer wants to know your entire life story. This is the best opportunity for you to explain your educational background knowledge, skills that you possess, and whether they are suitable for the job that you are applying for.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Focus on your skills, strong traits, or any other accomplishments that are apt for what is needed for the job. As for weaknesses are concerned, share what all you think you have done to improve your weak points.

Where do you see yourself in five years? OR What are your future career goals?

A more appealing answer to this would be about the future skills that you want to develop or inculcate into yourself.

Why do want us to hire you for our company?

This is where your research and knowledge about the company comes in. The best answer to this question will by explaining how your knowledge and skills are perfect for what the organization is looking for. You can also end by saying how you would like to contribute in achieving the companys goals.

Do you have any questions to ask from us?

Here you can use your research about the company to ask any query you have. This will show that you are genuinely interested in the job.