How to Prepare for a Mock Interview: A Step-by-Step Guide

A mock interview should have a certain degree of discomfort.

That’s exactly the point—it offers you the opportunity to get a feel for the pressure of answering questions out loud, explaining your experience, and thinking on your feet before you face an actual interviewer.

Just being present for a mock interview is not sufficient. Proper preparation for a mock interview can make the practice itself a great deal more useful.

If you’re going into your first job interview or are preparing for a major change in your career, here is some advice on how to make the most of your next practice interview.

1. Begin by understanding the role

Before you start practicing, make sure you know what you are really getting preparation for.

Carefully read over the job description. Consider the responsibilities, the skills and experience the employer is seeking. Think about the sorts of questions that might arise in relation to the position.

You should tailor your preparation to match the interview you are probably going to have, not just compile a set of standard interview questions.

2. Know Your Resume

The resume is probably the first thing an interviewer examines, so you need to be at ease when discussing every point on it.

Consider the roles you have had in the past, the projects you have been involved in, the achievements you have made, and the skills and responsibilities you have held. Think of specific examples which show how you have solved problems, worked with other people, met challenges, or attained results.

A personalised mock interview can be very useful in this situation since the questions can be drawn from your real experience rather than being taken from a general list.

3. Practice answering questions out loud.

It’s useful to read through interview questions in your head, but that doesn’t mean you’re answering them.

In an actual interview you need to listen to the question, collect your thoughts, organise your answer and explain it clearly, usually within a short time frame.

Which is why when carrying out mock interview practice you should actually say your answers out loud since you might pick up on things that you would never spot if you were just rehearsing them silently, for example repeating yourself, losing your train of thought or taking too long to get to the point.

4. Make preparations for different kinds of questions

Actual interviews seldom stick to a single standard format.

You could be asked behavioural questions concerning your previous experiences, technical questions designed to assess your knowledge, or questions that are specific to the role, the company, or the industry.

You need to take these differences into consideration in your preparation.

Trying out different kinds of interviews will make you more at ease when you need to switch between describing your experience, tackling problems, and showing off your knowledge.

5. Approach the mock interview as if it were the actual thing.

It is tempting to carry out a mock interview in a casual manner since you know it’s just for practice.

Try not to.

Find a place where you can focus. If this helps you to get into the right mental frame, then dress appropriately. Keep your phone at a distance and answer the questions without referring to any prepared answers.

The more closely the practice resembles the actual situation, the more useful the experience will be.

6. Carefully go over your feedback.

The end of your preparation does not come about when you have completed a mock interview; it is in fact at that point that the process of learning begins.

Good feedback from a mock interview should enable you to see what has worked and what requires correction. Were your answers easy to understand? Has your response given sufficient detail? Were you too concise or too lengthy? Did you express your experience with confidence?

After its personalised interview sessions, CareerMap gives candidates detailed feedback which helps them to identify their strengths and the areas in which they need to improve, rather than just providing them with a score.

7. Practise Again

It is unlikely that one mock interview will improve your interview performance overnight.

The true value lies in applying what you have learned and then attempting it once more.

If your feedback indicates that your answers are not well structured, then you should focus on improving the structure of them. If you have a habit of rushing, make sure to watch your pace. And if particular questions always surprise you, try answering them more and more until you get used to them.

What we want is not to remember exact answers; instead, we want to improve our ability to think, react, and communicate when under pressure.

Make Your Mock Interview Practice Count

Preparation for a mock interview is more about getting used to the interviewing process than it is about forecasting every question that might be asked.

Understand your role, make sure you know your resume, practice responding out loud, try different kinds of questions, and most important of all, use the feedback to improve and then rehearse once more.

CareerMap enables candidates to achieve this by providing them with personalised mock interviews which are based on their resume, the position they are applying for, the company and the industry, as well as offering practice for both behavioural and technical interviews and giving them detailed feedback.

The more deliberately you practise, the better prepared you will feel at the end of the practice when the actual interview starts.

Ready to Practise?

Get a tailored mock interview from CareerMap and use each interview session to find out what your strengths are, spot the areas where you need to improve, and boost your confidence ahead of your next interview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What steps should I take in order to prepare for a mock interview?

Begin by understanding your role and have a look at your resume; gather examples from your own experience, practice responding to questions out loud, and treat the mock interview just as seriously as you would a genuine interview. Then look over the feedback you receive and use it to inform your next practice session.

What ought I to practise during a mock interview?

Try out a variety of common, behavioural, technical, and role-specific questions. You should also work on being able to explain your experience clearly and on answering questions that come up unexpectedly rather than just depending on memorised answers.

How many mock interviews should you have before your actual interview?

There isn’t a specific number that applies to all individuals; instead, the aim should be to keep practicing so as to gain greater comfort in answering questions, in expressing your experiences, and in coping with pressure. Once you have looked over your feedback, going through the process again can make each session more useful.