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The State Job Service is offering MOCK INTERVIEWS at their offices. I am trying to get some friends who are out of work to come along but they think the whole idea is really dumb. They don't think practicing outside of a real interview is going to do any good.
Role playing can help. If you practice with friends, it may take some time and effort to get past the novelty of pretending to be serious with them, but if doing it with people at the State Job Service, even better.
I think it's a good exercise. Especially if those people give you feedback on what you're doing wrong, or areas to improve. Getting into the interview mindset is useful, you rehearse certain answers and by the time you get a real interview, the answer will come easily.
I thought having speeches in my business/communications classes in college were dumb, too, but I eventually realized that the feedback I received from my instructors helped me improve on my weaknesses and build confidence in my ability.
I agree that it would be a good thing to try If it's free, what do you have to lose besides an hour or so out of your day?
My employer was (and will be again) laying off, and I hadn't interviewed in over a decade. I know people who have been laid off a year before finding new work so I started looking. I got realll lucky and I landed an interview at a college. I went to a mock interview at the local workforce site. It helped a LOT even though it was night and day different from the real thing. I am now the final candidate for a new job. It is a REAL good thing to hear constructive critique.
Add me to the list of people that think it is a great idea. Interviews can be daunting for some, even more so if one is being interviewed by a panel. Even if it doesn't help, it surely cannot hurt (and I'm betting it will be helpful).
My school's career center offers mock interviews and I recently went to one a few weeks ago. The mock interview was held by a student and I thought the experience was beneficial and was glad I went, but it wasn't exactly the same kind of interview that I will be encountering when finding a job.
My mock interview consisted of way too many education-based questions, like promotional questions for the school (favorite class, favorite prof, etc) But I thought it was still good practice. I was also being taped during the interview and afterwards we went over my body language and my answering technique. I even got to keep a copy of the interview.
All in all, it was a valuable experience and I would recommend a mock interview for people trying to get back into the swing of interviewing. I also think it's best if you don't round up a bunch of your friends and just go by yourself. It'll make you look more professional/mature and it's just another step to prepare you for the real thing.
It can do a world of good. An ex-boss used to do something I felt invaluable; when he did NOT get a position, he asked either H/R or people he interviewed with, to critique what he did well on, and what areas he did less well than other candidates.
It can do a world of good. An ex-boss used to do something I felt invaluable; when he did NOT get a position, he asked either H/R or people he interviewed with, to critique what he did well on, and what areas he did less well than other candidates.
That can work in some situations, but I've also heard of it backfiring. I think it depends on how the person does it and the manager/person they're asking. I once had a boss who advised his coworkers not to do that. He compared it to someone being broken up with and the person pleading with the boyfriend/girlfriend, asking what they did wrong.
Like I said, it depends on how you go about asking, but some people who do the hiring don't have time to give a critique, or the person might not have done enough wrong to be memorable, instead simply just not the right fit for the job.
I have brought up the Mock Interview idea to many of my unemployed friends, and they all agree- it is an extremely dumb idea. My next question is how are the interviews they are going on working out for them so far. They say, "just fine, I am doing a great job, it is just the economy and the fault of the idiots that are interviewing me."
I am afraid many of us unemployed are not looking at things logically. We keeping failing but refuse to admit our job search plan, resume, cover letter or interview skills is the reason for our trouble to connect with employers, we keep blaming the economy!
I ask my friends, how could trying the mock interview hurt. Their reply is always it would be a waste of time.
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