Whether you’ve got a face-to-face or video/Skype interview coming up, there are so many benefits of an online practice interview – here are 7 of them which will all increase your chances of getting offered the job.
1. Practice your answers
A key part of preparing for an interview is to consider what questions might come up and how you plan to respond. Some people find writing their answers down on paper useful, but most don’t actually practise their answers out loud! This is a crucial mistake as written answers tend to be more formal and don’t always translate well to a verbal response. An online practice interview will give you the opportunity to hear how your answers actually sound and test whether you respond with what you actually want to say.
2. Get impartial feedback
If you have a good relationship with friends or family you may have asked them to help you practice your interview technique. Although this is often better than not practicing at all, those closest to us will have their own judgments and biases when offering advice and feedback. One of the biggest benefits of an online practice interview is that you get impartial feedback from a careers expert. Feedback you can trust is invaluable, as it gives you the opportunity to work on your development points and perform to the best of your ability at interview.
3. Increase your confidence
A key part of any online practice interview is to get constructive feedback, and while this is often constructive you will also learn what you’re doing well! This will give you reassurance that you’re on the right track and provide you with that extra confidence boost you need before the real thing. Feedback on what you are doing well can be hugely valuable and is often-overlooked when considering the benefits of an online practice interview.
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4. Test your current level of preparation
An online practice interview will also give you the chance to check your current level of interview preparation is sufficient. Whether you’ve prepped for your interview as if it was the real thing, or not found the time to do much beforehand, it will quickly reveal how much preparation you still need to do before the final interview.
5. Practice improvising
Interviews can be stressful. You don’t know what questions will be asked, which means there’s a lot of unknowns about what the experience will be like and how well you will perform. Thinking of a response on the spot doesn’t come easily to most people, but the good news is it’s a skill you can learn. Unless you get incredibly lucky, it’s likely at least one question will come up during your interview where you have to improvise and think on your feet. Depending on how you respond, feedback following an online practice interview will give you the reassurance you dealt with the questions well, or show you where you need to improve. A careers professional such as myself will give you tips on how to respond better if you face a similar situation in the real interview.
6. Bounce your ideas off a careers expert
A crucial part of any interview is when your interviewers ask ‘Do you have any questions for us?’ Many people are unaware of just how important this stage in the interview is and struggle to know what to ask. An online practice interview will give you the opportunity to test out your questions and bounce your ideas off a trained career professional.
7. Test your technology
And finally, if you’ve got a video interview coming up it goes without saying that an online practice interview is a great way to test your webcam and microphone are working properly. You can identify any problems which may cause your real video or Skype interview to go wrong, meaning you can sort out any issues before the day and feel confident your technology won’t let you down.
Want to practice your interview skills and get feedback before the real thing? Schedule a Skype practice interview today.