Your résumé and cover letter might get you the interview, but the interview is what’s going to actually get you the job. So if you sound amazing on paper, then you must make sure to do the same in person! It’s not an easy task, as you can get flustered or be at a loss for words when you’re put on the spot to talk about yourself, especially when you don’t have much familiarity doing so.

The solution? As mom always says, “practice makes perfect.”

Don’t know what to practice exactly? Learn about your interviewing strengths and weaknesses by scheduling a mock interview, or better yet, a video mock interview at Career Services.

I did a video mock interview on Friday with Lisa Allen, Student Employment Coordinator for Career Services, and it has definitely been one of the most useful and constructive career-building tools I’ve experienced thus far. Not only will you get the idea of what a real job interview will be like, you have a professional analyze what you you’re good at and what you need to brush up on, AND you get to play it all back to see everything for yourself! Talk about practical.

Lisa said I did well in regards to portraying confidence, displaying a passion for what I want to do and making good use of examples to back up my answers, which I was definitely happy to hear. She also said I let my personality reflect into the interview, which is good because some interviewees tend to lose their personalities, or get dull/robotic in work-related things.

But not everything was sunshine and rainbows! There are definitely some things I need to work on.

I didn’t use “um,” “ah,” “like,” and “you know” to an annoyingly great extent, but when I was stuck on a question I didn’t know how to answer right away, it was all I could say. In fact, for one question, which asked what five adjectives I’d use to describe myself, I took a tally of five “ums” when we replayed the video. Lisa said that there’s nothing wrong with pausing briefly to take time to think about how you want to answer questions instead of buying yourself time with “filler words,” which portray insecurity and uncertainty. And whatever you do, do not shrug!

Also, don’t use the word “pretty” before an adjective, i.e. “pretty good,” “pretty organized,” etc. You want to use solid adjectives and descriptions, and “pretty” demeans whatever it is you were initially trying to get across.

When it came to questions regarding weaknesses (such as office miscommunication at The Dragon Chronicle), I didn’t put enough of a positive emphasis on what had been done to come up with a solution. Whenever talking about weaknesses or flaws of any sort, always always always put a positive spin on it! And be prepared to tell employers why you’d be good for them, not just why they’d be good for you.

A common way of ending interviews is for the employer to ask the interviewees if they have any questions or want to add something that wasn’t mentioned. Don’t ask something you already know or can find out about on the company website. Because I didn’t want to just end it right then and there and didn’t know what else to say, I said “This internship includes a 40-hour work week right? Because that’s what was said on the website.” Instead, answer questions like that by asking something specific about the work environment or even what the employer’s job encompasses. If you have no questions, just reiterate the positives of why you’d be an asset to this company or organization. To prepare for that, look over your résumé and know exactly what you want to cover.

I wasn’t too horrified by what I’d done wrong. I’m just so relieved that I know what to work on so I can bring out my best in future interviews. And like I said in the beginning, “practice makes perfect.” Lisa gave me a list of interviewing tips and a list of popular interview questions. Have your friends and family read the questions off to you so you can prepare for the interviewing process. Even if you have a perfect answer orchestrated for the questions you expect, practicing will help you become more comfortable with interviewing in general, even when unexpected questions are thrown at you.