It’s one thing to have worked out all the answers to expected questions, and the points you need to get over to the interviewer, but it is quite another thing to pull all the information together while you are trying to pay attention to your body language and respond to questions, all at the same time.

So you need to have several mock interviews to give you an opportunity to test your readiness and rehearse your responses. Sometimes these can be arranged by your school or college, or through career services, career coaches, or a workforce service. If these options are not available, ask a friend or family member to do this for you. Or better still ask several of them, they will all take different stances, and ask different questions.

Get them to ask you the questions you expect as well as any they think of. This will give you an opportunity to test drive your answers. Sometimes as soon as you speak the words aloud you know how you could have put that better!

You will feel less stressed at the actual interview knowing you have done this several times before, and the answers will come more naturally , leaving you freer to concentrate on interacting with the interviewer .

The person conducting the mock interview can give you some feedback on your responses, and they can probably make suggestions as to how to improve your responses.

Ask for positive feedback as well. What did they think went well? They can point out your strengths, and this will boost your confidence, helping you perform better in an actual interview.

So with constructive feedback in a familiar environment you can clarify your own responses and work on areas where you are less confident.

In a real interview, there isn’t the opportunity for feedback about your interviewing abilities, so this is a good opportunity to find out why you may not be having the success you are hoping for.

So you are trying to achieve two things here;-

• Practicing your answers so they become natural and easy
• Getting and implementing feedback

Several heads are better than one when it comes to behavioral-based interview questions, and suitable responses. Another person’s view can unearth elements of your anecdotes you have not thought through, to illustrate the point you want to make. If you’re not familiar with this type of interviewing, it will definitely be advantageous to give it a practice run in a mock interview.

Remember “Prepare, Practice, Perform “.

Even if you think your skills are at a very high level you will benefit from mock interviewing opportunities.