HAVE MOCK INTERVIEWS

In order to make the mock interview effective, it is essential that the mock interview is conducted in a way in which the real interview is conducted, both in terms of physical setting as well as interviewers. Physical setting includes furnishing of interview room on the pattern of room meant for real interview. So far as interviewers are concerned, you have two options.

First, you may take the help of any competent interview service provider. However, this may be a costly affair as fee charged by such a service provider tends to be quite high. Second, you may take the help of your parents/guardians/relatives, friends, or even classmates for this purpose. In such a case, you can have more mock interview sessions depending on your requirements without much cost. During mock interview, try to overcome some of the mistakes commonly committed by interviewees.
These are as follows:

Lack of Good First Impression. Many interviewees fail to make good first impression. This happens because of lack of confidence, lack of preparation, and facing such an occasion for first time. Since first impression becomes last impression in many cases of interview, it is essential that you overcome your inhibition if there is any so that you are able to make good first impression. If need be, you may have more than one mock interview session.

Repeating Certain Words Too Frequently. Some interviewees repeat certain words like ‘it is nothing but…..,  ‘I mean that…, ‘I feel that……, ‘according to me……., etc. repeating such words quite frequently by an interviewee during the interview process creates bad feeling in the mind of the interviewers. Therefore, try to avoid uttering such words beyond the required proposition.

Inappropriate Body Language. Generally body language in any oral communication is first followed by spoken language like English, Hindi, etc. Body language also supports spoken words during the entire communication process. Body language consists of facial expression, movements of various parts of the body, and physical posture during the interview process.

Many interviewees fail to use appropriate body language during interview. With the result, whatever they communicate does not become effective. Therefore, it is essential that you synchronize your body language with your spoken language during mock interview. (how body language can be used in interview effectively has been discussed in the next chapter.)

Inhibition  Many interviewees show inhibition during the interview process. There are two types of inhibitions which are more common. Fist, in the interview process, an interviewer may ask a question which has not been understood by the interviewee correctly or not understood at all. In such a case, the interviewee should request the interviewer to repeat the question but the interviewee fails to do so because of his unfounded inhibition. With the result, either he gives wrong answer or shows his ignorance about the answer. Both these options go against the interviewee.

Second, in an interview, generally, interviewers invite an interviewee to ask questions but he feels shy of asking the questions under the impression that asking the questions to the interviewers will go against him. This is not correct approach. The correct approach is to ask questions which are relevant like questions about the organization, its human resource management practices, work culture, etc. During mock interview process, such inhibitions should be overcome.

Evaluation of Mock Interview Result

After the mock interview is over, it is essential that its result is evaluated so that deficiency, if any, is overcome. While evaluating the result of mock interview, treat it as real interview. The result should be evaluated by yourself as well as by the interviewers. It is better that first you evaluate your own performance in the mock interview and subsequently ask feedback from the interviewers. In evaluating yourself in mock interview process, ask the following questions to yourself and answer these in yes or no.

1. Was I enthusiastic enough?
2. Did I let the interviewers start the interview?
3. Did I keep a good posture throughout the interview?
4. Did I make proper eye contact when I spoke?
5. Did I listen to questions carefully and, if necessary, ask the interviewers to repeat the questions or to be more specific?
6. Did I express myself clearly and use proper language?
7. Did I take time to think about my answers before giving these?
8. Was I able to be calm, control my nervousness, and demonstrate self-confidence?
9. Did I give positive answers by emphasizing my strengths and skills?
10. 10. Did I answer questions as honestly as possible?
    11. Did I avoid talking too much about my personal life?
    12. At the end of the mock interview, did I ask relevant questions?

If your answers of above questions are in yes, your performance is good. If the answer of any above questions is in no, try to evaluate why it is so and overcome the deficiency. So far your evaluation is based on your own perception about your performance. To corroborate it, have the feedback from the interviewers. If their feedback matches your self-evaluation, the thing is alright. If there is difference between two sets of evaluation, get the feedback from the interviewers where you have gone wrong.

Have a joint session with the interviewers to evaluate feedback. During this process, it is possible that the interviewers may criticize some of your behaviors during the mock interview process. Take such criticism positively and with open mind. If they offer some advice, take it seriously and improve yourself in the light of this. Even if your friends or classmates have acted as the interviewers, do not show any resentment because that will go against the basic philosophy of learning. In the evaluation process, if you find a number of shortcomings, try to overcome these shortcomings and have another mock interview session after a gap of few days to test the improvement you have made during this period.

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