Practice makes a better interview

I really enjoyed the exercise we did in class today because it gave me an opportunity to practice my interviewing skills. Generally you only get to judge your interview skills after you leave a job interview and then base whether you did well or not on getting offered the job or not. It was nice to evaluate myself in a friendly setting and have an honest critic right on the spot.

Through this I learned that it is important to know generally the style you will be interviewed in. Each of us in our group were applying for different positions, and each of us knew what was expected of us in our particular interview. I learned that I could expound upon my answers and give experiences to back up my claims. This is a powerful way of validating what you have written in your resume and cover letter. Re-emphasizing these points in your interview allow you to elaborate upon the experience you actually have. I felt that I did well on explaining why I wanted the job and that I was knowledgeable about the position I was applying for. I felt confident in my experiences and this made me feel confident that I was a good pick for the job.

The best advice I would give someone is prepare for the interview before hand. Don’t just ‘wing it’. Writing down your answers to these questions is one thing but actually verbalizing them is another. Practicing your answers over and over again, and verbalizing them to someone helps you remember them better and work out how you want to say something before being put on the spot. Also having someone watch you as you answer these questions can also be a huge help. Most of us at this point in our lives know not to fidget, but there are other signs we should avoid like to much or too little eye contact etc.