Aside from “wowing” a potential employer with your cover letter, coming across as energetic and passionate is just as important. But, what if you’ve followed all of our recommended interview tips (“Your Job Interview: 4 Things You Must Do“) and still aren’t finding luck when you meet person face-to-face?
We know that for some people an interview can feel somewhat like a test, and it’s not always where you feel you can shine the most. If you’ve experienced great traction with your cover letter and resume but are finding yourself in less than stellar interviews, it’s time you take a different approach, the “mock interview.”
Find Your Comfort Zone
Almost as important as answering questions as accurately and intelligently as possible, is your ability to feel comfortable in an interview situation. It’s not like you’re waiting for the results on a scary health test, though it can feel like it at times. And if you are comfortable (but not too comfortable) during your interview, your confidence will show.
“When it came time to meet with someone in person, something wasn’t clicking,” says Ryan Thompson who went on multiple interviews over the course of six months before he tried a mock interview.
“For me it wasn’t just about memorization of answers to potential questions, such as, ‘If she asks this, I’ll say this,’ although that definitely helped. It was more about making me feel like I had my bases covered, and that because we spent so much time practicing, nothing about the interview could catch me off guard. And that led to me feeling much more comfortable right from the start.”
The Type of Feedback You Might Get
You know how you can be in a fight with your parents and a significant other and not have the ability, for the life of you, to figure out how to make things better? What do you do? You go to a family member or friend for advice and feedback on your situation. Often times your family and friends will tell you something that may seem obvious to them but not quite as clear to you.
“My friend Steve gave me some really good tips about connecting with the interviewer,” Ryan says. “He said to pick something out in the room that could be used as a conversation piece, which I did. He also said not to babble on and on and to give short, direct answers that could lead to more questions. What surprised me most is that none of the ‘hard’ questions we practiced for actually came up in the interview. But if they would have, because of the mock interview, I would have been prepared.”
The Bottom Line
The saying “practice makes perfect” exists for a reason. You can never really over-prepare for an interview, but you can easily fail in an interview if you don’t practice enough. And remember, with each interview you do (whether real, informational or mock), you are further honing your ability to stand out in all the right ways. Good luck!
Practice with a Mock Interview to Stand Out from the Flock Image Credit
