Mock interviews

Learning intention

• I will prepare for and take part in a mock interview

Success criteria

• I can prepare for an interview
• I can be an interviewee
• I can be an interviewer
• I can take part in class discussion
• I can self-evaluate

Before you start

• Have a look at the factsheet and planning your sessions articles for the Interview tool and consider completing My Interview 
• Consider completing the Strengths lesson plan
• Consider completing the Know your stuff for interviews lesson plan
• Download and prepare class resources 
• Define rules for active learning

Resources and downloads

• Printing facilities
• Front screen computer required for presentation
• Pupil IT access useful for next steps activity (we recommend you use the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox or, in the case of Internet Explorer, version 10 or later)
• Powerpoint presentation
• Worksheets– question sheets, job ads, interview scripts, self evaluation sheets 

Duration

These are suggested timescales only and will vary dependent on your group.

• 5 mins: Introduce topic
• 15 mins: Interview role play
• 5 mins: Discussion of mock interview task
• 15 mins: Prepare answers to mock interview questions
• 5 mins: Prepare for interviewer / interviewee roles
• 20 mins: Conducting mock interviews
• 15 mins: Self-Evaluation
• 5 mins: Plenary    

Suitable for

This topic is suitable for:

• Preparing for work experience
• Preparing for the world of work
• Those seeking college or university places – entry interviews
• Those seeking training from a training provider
• Anyone undertaking volunteering 
• Those undertaking leadership courses
• Anyone studying courses where self-analysis / self-awareness is necessary
• Anyone undertaking employability training and vocational courses

Complete My Strengths

15 mins

• Young people should go online and complete the Strengths quiz

Interview role play 

15 mins

• Ask two volunteers to read interview script 1 aloud to the whole group. One should take the role of the interviewer and the other the interviewee 
• Get feedback from the group on the questions asked and the answers given 
• Repeat exercise with script 2
• Facilitate a discussion around the difference between the 2 scripts. Who do they think would be the better person for the job? Why? What did this person do well? What impressions would these answers give the employer?

Mock Interview

45 mins

• Select a job advert (this could be one for the whole group or individuals can pick one each)
• Ask the group to imagine that they are going for an interview for this position
• Issue everyone with the potential interview questions (either as a full sheet or cut out as cards) and ask the class to prepare possible answers to these questions. Limit the time on this so that they only have enough time to prepare for some of the questions. You may want to choose specific questions for them to prepare in advance
• Once they are prepared split the group into pairs. One should take on the role of the interviewer and the other the interviewee. The interviewer should select a number of question cards at random from the card pack. The interviewee should answer these questions, some of which they will have prepared for, others that provide an element of surprise as in a real interview
• To highlight different interview scenarios pupils could try this several times in different formats e.g. sitting back to back to replicate a telephone interview, in groups with one person as the interviewee and the rest as interviewers to simulate a panel interview and facing each other in pairs to replicate a one-to-one interview. This could also be tried using Skype, if feasible, as this is an interview method used increasingly by interviewers
• If IT facilities allow, filming the interviews would be beneficial. Individuals can then watch the videos back in order to self evaluate, developing self awareness

Self Evaluation 

15 mins

• Using the evaluation worksheet ask pupils to self evaluate how they think the interviews went. This could be set as a homework activity
• Once this is completed, discuss in pairs or in groups what they could do better next time and what worked well 
• Reinforce interview dos and don’ts and suggest next steps

Next steps and related activities

• Complete My Interview on My World of Work
• Mock interviews conducted by employers / local businesses
• Discussion about non-verbal communication
• Discussion about what to wear to an interview