How to write a winning scholarship essay - Gen Tanabe, Kelly Tanabe 2018

How to make practice into perfect
Winning interview strategies

The best way to prepare for an interview is to do a dress rehearsal before the real thing. This allows you to run through answering questions you might be asked, practice honing your demeanor and feel more comfortable when it comes time for the actual interview. Force yourself to set aside some time to run through a practice session at least once. Here’s how:

find mock interviewers. Bribe or coerce a friend or family member to be a mock interviewer. Parents, teachers or professors make great interviewers.

prep your mock interviewers. Give them questions (such as those in the next chapter) and also ask them to think of some of their own. Share with them what areas of your presentation you are trying to improve so that they can pay attention and give constructive feedback. For example, if you know that you fidget during the interview ask your interviewers to pay special attention to your posture and movements during the practice.

capture yourself on tape. If you have a tape recorder or camcorder, set it up to tape yourself so that you can review the mock interview. Position the camera behind your interviewer so you can observe how you appear from the right perspective.

get feedback. After you are finished the practice interview, get constructive criticism from your mock interviewer. Find out what you did well and what you need to work on. What were the best parts of the interview? Which of your answers were strong, and which were weak? When did you capture or lose your interviewer’s attention? Was your conversation one-way or two-way?

Review the tape. If you can, watch or listen to the tape with your mock interviewer for additional feedback. Listen carefully to how you answer questions to improve on them. Pay attention to your tone of voice. Watch your body language to see what you communicate.

do it again. If you have the time and your mock interviewer has the energy or you can find another person willing to help, do a second interview. If you can’t find anyone, do it solo.

Practice your answers, and focus on making some of the weaker ones more interesting.

The bottom line is this: the more you practice, the better you’ll do.