My Mock Interview Experience

by Will Ebmeyer

Interviews are a necessary part of advancing in the world. They are often required to get a job, to get promoted, and to get into graduate school. Therefore, cultivating good interviewing skills should be a priority for any undergraduate. One great way to build your interview skills is to participate in mock interviews.

Mock interviews involve having a professor or an academic counselor act as a representative from a program or job you are interested in applying to and interviewing you. This helps in a variety of ways, such as allowing you to better prepare your answers for the various questions you may be asked in a real interview and allowing you to practice your interviewing behaviors. For someone like me, who is nervous during interviews, participating in mock interviews has been very beneficial.

I have participated in three different mock interview settings in my life. One was from part of a career program I was in during high school, one was with the Interactive Measurement Group, the research lab that I am writing this article for, and my most recent one was at UNLV’s career center with one of their counselors. The first two mock interviews were relatively similar. They both involved an interview and then focused on general tips. The last one – the mock interview from the career center – was different than any other mock interview I’ve participated in : It highlighted things that I could improve on, rather than providing general tips that could apply to anyone.

The interview at the career center started with me introducing myself to the counselor. He then asked me a couple of the standard interview questions, including why I chose this program and what my strengths and weaknesses are. I answered them without much trouble, but these easy questions made me feel complacent. Then, he switched things up by asking about my weaknesses again, but in a different way. That tripped me up for a bit because I was not expecting it. He also asked some abstract questions, one of which really stood out to me. The question was “What age would you be, if you didn’t know your age?” Despite being surprised by these questions, I kept my composure and recovered quickly by focusing on what the question was really asking and not what it was asking on the surface. While he was asking me all the interview questions, he was also switching pens occasionally to try and distract me. Finally, as is usual, he finished the mock interview by asking if I had any questions.

After the interview, he talked to me about my behavior and responses during the interview and provided suggestions for how I could improve. He highlighted my tendency to lean forward and slouch, as well as the fact that I got distracted when he switched pens. This was the first time that anyone had mentioned that I slouch during interviews. I eliminated this bad habit when I gave a lab presentation on mock interviews and then answered questions about my Career Center interview. I now focus more on the interviewer’s face, keep my hands still, and make sure my posture remains correct. The best part of the mock interview was that I was recorded during it and I was provided a copy of the video so I could look over the footage to see how I did. The UNLV Career Center mock interview was a valuable experience and one I would recommend to anyone who is preparing for graduate school or workplace interviews. I will definitely take advantage of this resource again.

William Ebmeyer is a psychology major at UNLV. He joined the Interactive Measurement Group in Spring 2015 and remained an active member until he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in Fall 2017. William is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in quantitative psychology.