Interview practice can boost your confidence during important interviews by helping you refine your interview skills. A mock interview is a useful way to prepare for a real interview with a potential employer. They allow you to practice interviewing in a similar setting so you can feel comfortable with the environment. In this article, we will explain what a mock interview is and how you can prepare for one.
How to prepare for a mock interview
You can prepare for your mock interview questions by following eight steps:
1. Dress appropriately
Your appearance is an important part of the interview since professional attire can positively influence the hiring manager. For in-person and video interviews, dress as if you’re going to the real thing. Your mock interviewer should evaluate your professional dress as part of the testing process so you can receive feedback about how you present yourself.
2. Mimic the interview setting
Feeling comfortable in an interview setting allows you to maintain your focus on your responses and interactions with the interviewer. Aim to create an interview setting that is as close to the real environment as possible to become familiar with your surroundings.
For an in-person interview, try to mimic a space with a desk or table in between you and the interviewer. You should be able to put your resume or portfolio on the table just as you would in a real interview.
If you’re preparing for a phone interview, choose a quiet place with good reception. Make sure your battery is full if you’re using a cellphone. Since a recruiter will call you, have your mock interviewer reach you at a designated time.
3. Choose the right interviewer
Ideally, your interviewer should be able to ask you a variety of questions related to the role and industry and provide specific feedback on your responses. You can check with your local career center to see if they offer mock interviews in your field or you may prefer to use a mentor or colleague as your mock interviewer.
4. Bring your resume and other necessary materials
Just as you would for a real interview, bring copies of your resume, portfolio and any other necessary information that your interviewer might need. Your mock interviewer should be able to provide feedback on these materials so you can make adjustments to what you bring to the actual interview.
5. Take your time answering questions
A mock interview allows you to carefully consider questions and form thoughtful responses that relate to your qualifications and skills. Try to use the STAR method for as many answers as you can to give the interviewer real examples of your abilities. When you use the STAR method, you provide a response that includes these elements for your responses:
- Situation: Explain the context for what was happening at the time you are discussing.
- Task: Explain your role in the situation.
- Action: Describe your actions in detail.
- Result: Explain the results of your actions, making sure to use concrete numbers whenever possible.
Take the time to practice responses that fully answer the question and impress the interviewer.
6. Research the company
Review the company’s website, social media posts and any news articles that may be available. You should know about their mission statement, values and relevant recent changes. Try to include your research in your mock interview answers to practice delivering responses that will show the hiring manager you’re interested in the company.
7. Review the interview criteria
Either provide a syllabus to your interviewer or ask your career counselor what they will use to determine the success of your interview. You want to make sure that your mock interviewer provides clear feedback on your appearance, ability to answer questions, communication skills and qualifications for the role. They should be able to tell you where you excelled and skills you can work to improve.
You may want to interview with multiple people to get feedback from different sources. Interviewing with different individuals will help you identify patterns in comments to determine specific areas of improvement.
8. Record it
Your mock interviewer should give you constructive feedback, but recording the interview can allow you to review yourself. When looking at or listening to your recording, take notes. Watch your facial expressions, hand gestures and posture. Listen to the tone and speed of your voice to make sure it sounds conversational and positive. After reviewing the recording, try practicing your interview again to improve any areas that might need work.
1. Can You Tell Me A Little About Yourself?
This is usually one of the first questions an employer will ask you, an important one, but at the same time it provides a great opportunity for you to be able to really sell yourself and make a great impression.
Employers usually use this one to learn about who you are as a person before delving into the ‘nitty gritty’ career type questions.
To tackle this question really spend time getting to know your CV inside out and then focus on delivering a two to three-minute summary of yourself, highlighting the key achievements in your employment history that you really want to make sure the interviewer knows about. Using these experiences and achievements, then relate them back to why they make you an ideal candidate for the position on offer.
“Tell Me About Yourself” – Example Answer
I’ve held various engineering jobs in Scunthorpe over last five years, primarily working in project management roles. I most recently worked as a senior Project Manager for a large automotive component company managing large product development projects and overseeing other project managers. And now I’m looking to expand my experience across different industries, particularly renewable energy, which is why I’m so interested in joining an organisation such as yours.
2. Why Do You Want To Work Here?
I can’t stress this enough when it comes to answering this interview question, but… “Do your research!”.
This questions provides you with the chance to discuss all you know about the job and the organisation, and why you are a good match for them. The interviewer is listening for an answer that indicates you’ve given this some serious thought and not just turned up to the interview because it’s the only job out of the many you’ve applied for that you’ve actually managed to get to this stage of the process, so do your homework properly.
Think about it, employers want to hire people who are passionate about their jobs, so this is why you should have a great answer about your reasons for wanting the position.
“Why Do You Want To Work Here?” – Example Answer
Having studied the job description and responsibilities for this role, I really feel I have the skillset, and experience to carry out the job to a very high standard. I also feel the role will provide me with a new challenge; something which I have been looking for and wanting to get my teeth sunk into, for some time now.
Researching your organisation in detail, there seems to be a very positive approach to the work you carry out and I’ve particularly noticed the way you strive to deliver high levels of customer service. It’s certainly not common to see such high levels maintained these days, so the potential to work in a company that looks after its customers I find exciting as I enjoy seeing positive customer interaction, feedback and testimonials within my jobs.
3. Why Should I Employ You?
Are you the best candidate for the job? Despite this question seeming very intimidating if you’re on the receiving end of it, it actually represents an ideal opportunity to really sell yourself to the interviewer!
You should really try to craft an answer that’s confident, concise, and focused, covering three core factors.
- That you’re the only one that can do the tasks required of the job
- You’re capable of delivering great results
- How you are best suited to the role and the organisation
More than likely the job description will be your greatest asset when preparing an answer to this question, it’ll usually give you a good indication of what they’re looking for.
Make sure you address the particular skills the employer has stated they are looking for and where possible provide specific examples of what you have done so far in your career that can demonstrate your capability of performing well within the role.
“Why Should I Employ You?” – Example Answer
You should hire me because my skillset and experience is almost perfectly aligned with the requirements you asked for in the job description.
I have gained six years’ experience in the administrative business support industry, advancing from my initial role as a Returns Administrator with Greenwood trading to my current position there as an Office Manager. I’m well-versed in providing timely and effective business support to an organisation and its management, and I pride myself on my ability to quickly resolve problems so that efficiency within the organisation is maintained.
4. What Are Your Strengths?
This is one of the questions that employers almost always ask to determine how well you are qualified for the position. When you are asked about your greatest strengths, it’s important to not only discuss your skills that qualify you for that specific job but to be honest about them also, don’t just state things that you think the employer wants to hear; it’ll catch up with you later on should you be successful in getting the job.
Above all try to say something different that makes you stand out from the other candidates. Try give a relatable example of why you are better than the others and try to make yourself real!
“What Are Your Strengths?” – Example Answer
As an SEO specialist, my greatest strength is my love of data analysis. I enjoy researching the search engine trends so that our website remains competitive against the competition in obtaining organic traffic and ultimately sales.
Not only do I do this by reading the latest industry new and journals, I also convinced my employer to fund my participation in bi-annual SEO conferences, such as BrightonSEO. This has allowed me to build a network of peer resources, many of whom are leaders in the field, that I can call upon for strategies when new search engine algorithm changes arise.
5. Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years?
If asked this question, be honest and specific about your future goals, but have in the back of your mind an employer is wanting to know if:
- You’ve set yourself realistic expectations for your career
- You have a thirst for ambition
- The position on offer aligns with that of your goals and ambitions.
Don’t tell them you plan to have moved on from their company, either internally or externally.
Loyalty is very important to the vast majority of employers. Remember, they have to spend time, money and resources training you up in the role, so they will want to see a return from their investment.
Good ideas to get you started are:
- I’d like to be leading a small team.
- I want to be taking the lead on major projects.
- I hope to be known as the go-to person for my specialism (whatever that may be)
“Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years?” – Example Answer
I’m someone who likes job stability. My goal is to find a job that I can hold long term with a local company, becoming a valued employee as I gradually advance to positions of increasing authority and responsibility. I’m extremely interested in the Industrial cleaning operations supervisor job here in Scunthorpe because of the managerial experience it offers. My long-term goal is to eventually become a contracts manager after I’ve proven my competence out in the field.
6. What Are Your Weaknesses?
The best approach here is to pick a trait that you have already made positive steps to address.
For example, if your IT skills are not currently at the level they need to be in this digitally driven age we’re now in, state this as a weakness before letting the employer know about how you’ve been working to overcome this weakness. Whether that be things such as attending training courses or time spent outside of work you’ve used to improve your IT skills.
Whatever you do, don’t just reply to the question saying you don’t have any weaknesses. This clearly indicates to the employer that you’re not self-aware or honest about yourself, and possibly lack the drive for continuous self-improvement.
“What Are Your Weaknesses?” – Example Answer
I would say one weakness that I’ve been working on is that sometimes I get slightly irritated when people don’t carry out their work to a standard that I would deem acceptable.
Because of the high standards I set myself, I expect others to have them too, and due to peoples differing abilities and work ethics, this simply isn’t always the case. Although it irritates me, I have learned to just focus on my own job and do it to a consistently high standard.
But as a means to improving on my weakness, I have recently been trying to turn it into something positive by helping other people within the working environment to improve. So if they’re struggling, or not performing to the required standard, I will always offer to help them where I can, so that they can also improve.
7. What Are Your Salary Expectations?
While you should never mention salary unless asked or prompted, it’s important to understand the value of someone with your current skills.
The #1 rule of answering this question is doing your research on what you should be paid by using sites like our job category pages, such as Sales jobs, or industry sites such as Indeed, and Glassdoor.
You’ll more than likely come up with a range of salaries based on the salary research you conduct. Our advice is to shoot for the higher values within the range in accordance with the skills and experience you have.
However, try to remain as flexible as possible and indicate that you are willing to negotiate for the right opportunity.
Using these methods indicates to the employer that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the job and are willing to negotiate.
“What Are Your Salary Expectations?” – Example Answer
Looking online and using reliable sources such as Indeed, the average salary for a HGV Class 1 Driver in Scunthorpe is around £26,000 per year. I brought home £24,750 last year. While I would definitely welcome a salary over the £25,000 mark, particularly given the costs of relocating, I’m open to negotiation if a lower salary was accompanied by additional holiday time.
7. What Are Your Salary Expectations?
While you should never mention salary unless asked or prompted, it’s important to understand the value of someone with your current skills.
The #1 rule of answering this question is doing your research on what you should be paid by using sites like our job category pages, such as Sales jobs, or industry sites such as Indeed, and Glassdoor.
You’ll more than likely come up with a range of salaries based on the salary research you conduct. Our advice is to shoot for the higher values within the range in accordance with the skills and experience you have.
However, try to remain as flexible as possible and indicate that you are willing to negotiate for the right opportunity.
Using these methods indicates to the employer that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the job and are willing to negotiate.
“What Are Your Salary Expectations?” – Example Answer
Looking online and using reliable sources such as Indeed, the average salary for a HGV Class 1 Driver in Scunthorpe is around £26,000 per year. I brought home £24,750 last year. While I would definitely welcome a salary over the £25,000 mark, particularly given the costs of relocating, I’m open to negotiation if a lower salary was accompanied by additional holiday time.
8. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
This can often be a tough question to answer, but 9 times out of 10, you’ll probably be asked it.
Keep It Positive!
The interviewer wants to know why you want to work for their company, that you show an eagerness for new challenges. When asked about why you are moving on from your current position, stick with the facts, be direct and focus your answer on the future possibilities that it offers you; the fact that it’s a better fit to your ambitions and goals than our previous role – You’ve nothing to gain by basing your answer on being negative about your current employer.
“Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?” – Example Answer
I’d really love to be part of product development from beginning to end, and I know I’d have that opportunity here.
“And if you were let go due to redundancy, which has been a real issue in recent years? Just keep it as simple as possible,”
Unfortunately, I was let go due to company redundancies.
“…is an absolutely fine answer.”
