By Samantha Martens
ATTENTION EVERYONE! Career Services will be hosting mock interviews for the second time this school year during the week of April 8th! If you heard about the mock interviews that we had last semester but you missed out on them, now is your chance to try again! Speak with real recruiters and business people (some of whom are alumni) just to test out your interview skills. There are no strings attached, and there are no jobs or internships on the line. This is simply a chance for you to get more comfortable with the interviewing process. BUT YOU HAVE TO SIGN-UP BY FRIDAY, APRIL 5TH AT NOON!
There are peach-colored sign-up sheets on the door of the Career Services office, located in Thomas Library’s COMPASS Sweet Success Center. We’ve got opportunities for you to practice interviewing Monday through Thursday in 30- or 45-minute time slots. So feel free to sign-up for the date, time, and time increment that works best for you! You can practice interviewing for jobs, internships, or graduate schools, so we really cater to all your needs!
These mock interviews are truly a great opportunity for Witt students. I myself participated in the mock interview during Fall semester, and I’m so glad that I did! I had one in-person interview, and it went really well. My interviewer gave me a lot of helpful feedback and asked me questions that you could expect to hear from any normal interview. I took part in a second interview as well (because practice makes perfect!), and that one was over the phone. It was very different because I’d never done a phone interview before, but it was just as helpful as the first one! My interviewer threw some curveball questions at me, such as “If you had to guess, how many windows are in New York City?” or “How would you describe the color blue to a blind person?” These questions definitely threw me off a little, but I knew that she only asked them to help prepare me for any surprises in interviews in the future.
Not only that, but when my phone interviewer found out that I’m a senior, she asked me about what I wanted to do after graduation, so I told her about my interests and hopes and she actually connected me with two of her colleagues in Springfield who do EXACTLY what I’m interested in! So in this one interview, I got to practice my interviewing skills, I was pushed to think outside the box, AND I got to make some great networking connections!! I met up with one of those colleagues over winter break, and we talked for an hour-and-a-half about his experiences in the field. It was an awesome chance for me to learn more about my interests from a professional in the area!
So you never know who you might meet as part of these mock interviews. Even if you don’t happen to make any ideal connections, you’ll at least get some great practice with interviewing. Prep yourself for when you have to go to an ACTUAL interview for your dream job, internship, or grad school. Like I said, practice makes perfect, so be sure to sign up for the Career Services Mock Interviews the week of April 8th! Call 937-327-7521 if you have any questions.