Post Mock Interview

    Overall, I feel like the mock interview went well. The person interviewing me said she thought that I sounded confident and that I was able to give detailed answers without giving too long of answers. The questions asked were similar to ones that I have been asked in the past, so that made me feel a little more at ease. I also enjoyed her asking if I have had coworkers in the past that I did not get along with, and if so, how did I handle it? I thought that was a good way to evaluate my professionalism. 

    To prepare for this interview, I role played questions and answers in my head. It always seems to calm my nerves when I verbally practice my answers, so I would think of a hypothetical question and then answer it out loud. I considered role playing with a friend, but I always seem to get more anxious when I do that. I feel like I do best when I can just talk to myself and rehearse my responses until they are smooth and efficient. 

    For the most part, everything during the interview went as expected. However, at the beginning of the interview, the person interviewing me told me that she has had some internet connection problems today then all a sudden, she froze. She ended up turning her video off and just had her voice playing. It was a little weird talking to a screen with only my face, but it was not the worse thing that could have happened. 

    No matter how much I rehearse, I feel like I always say the word "umm" throughout an interview. I am actively working on being more aware of my words and expressions, so eventually, I would like to go into an interview and not use the word "umm" at all. Also, sometimes my mind starts to wonder mid sentence because I am nervous that I will forget what to say --> ironic because that is what makes me end up losing track of thought. So, I would like to be more confident and relaxed during an interview, so that I will stop being so anxious and avoid my mind wandering off. 

    One thing I learned during this interview is that no matter how much you rehearse, you will still probably be asked a question you did not think of. Therefore, it is important to be able to "think on your feet." I found that when I took a second to breathe and gather my thoughts before answering, I was able to give a more coherent answer. Just like during the interview, unexpected things will happen in the workforce and I will have to think fast for a solution. This interview helped me work on "thinking and acting on the spot."