An answer you have thought is not an answer you have given. The first time most people say "tell me about a time you failed" out loud is in the interview, and it comes out in four minutes with the result missing. A mock interview is the cheap fix: forty minutes, the day before, with someone asking and a timer running, or alone with a recording. It is the single preparation step with the largest effect, and the one most people skip because it is uncomfortable, which is the reason it works.
Key points
- Out loud, timed, with someone asking. Thinking the answer is not practice.
- Forty minutes: eight questions, two minutes each, with a minute of notes after each.
- Grade four things: length, the action in first person, a number in the result, and whether it answered the question.
- Record it. The recording shows the thing you cannot hear while talking.
- Twice. The second run is the one that goes into the room.
With a friend
Give them eight questions on a card: tell me about yourself, why this role, a strength, a weakness, a conflict, a failure, a success, and one from the posting. Their job is to read the question, start a timer, and say nothing until you stop. Then they write three things: how long it took, whether they could tell what you did, and whether there was a number. No coaching mid-answer. The silence is part of it.
After the eight, read their notes together. The pattern is always the same two: too long, and "we" instead of "I". Fix those two and run it again the next day.
Alone
The same eight questions, each on a slip, drawn at random. A phone recording video. A timer. Answer each one to the camera, stop, write the three notes yourself, next slip. It is worse than a friend and far better than nothing, because the recording does the friend's job.
Watch the recording once, at double speed. Note the answer that ran past two minutes, the one that had no number, and the thing you do with your hands. That is the list for the second run.
Eight questions, two minutes each, a timer, and someone or something listening.
What to grade
| Check | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 90 seconds to 2 minutes for a story, 30 to 45 for a reason | Over 3 minutes, or under 30 seconds for a story |
| The action | "I" for what you did, with verbs | "We" throughout |
| The result | A number, or a before and after | "It went well" |
| The question | The answer was to the question asked | A prepared story that did not fit, forced in |
| The open | The first sentence was the situation or the point | A minute of preamble |
The guide on behavioural questions has the four-part shape the grade is checking.
The second run
The next day, the same eight questions in a different order. The second run is noticeably better, and it is the run that comes out in the interview, because the stories have now been said twice. A third run adds little. Two is the number.
Technical and case interviews
A mock of a technical interview is a problem in the format they use, with someone watching, out loud. The out-loud part is the point: most technical interviews grade the thinking you say more than the answer you reach. If you have no one to watch, record the screen and the voice and watch it back. The posting or the recruiter tells you the format. If neither does, ask the recruiter. It is a normal question.
Practice, on this site
Practice is the mock with the friend built in. It asks a question from the twelve or from the ones the posting implies, you answer by voice or by typing, and it grades the four checks above and says which part was missing. It runs when you have no one to ask and it keeps the grades, so the second run shows the change. A full session of eight questions costs the credits the help page lists.
The questions to use
The eight on the card, for most roles: tell me about yourself, why this role, why us, a strength, a weakness, a conflict, a failure, and a success. Swap the last two for the posting's own questions when Prepare has written them, because the question that names the migration or the launch is the one the hiring manager asks. For a second mock, draw eight from the twelve in the guide on common interview questions, in a different order, so the stories get told from a different door.
Questions
Is it embarrassing to ask a friend?
Yes, slightly, and it is twenty minutes of their time for a job you want. Most people say yes and most find it interesting. Offer to do the same for them.
Does the friend need to be in my field?
Not needed for the eight questions. For a technical mock, yes, or use Practice, which knows the field.
How close to the interview?
The day before, and two days before for the first run. The morning of is for one story out loud, not a full mock.
What if the second run is worse?
It is not worse. It feels worse because you now hear the problems. Watch the recording, count the numbers and the "I"s, and compare.
Can I use the same stories for every company?
Yes. The five stories are yours. The one question from the posting changes, and so does the "why us" fact.