Don’t be the person who leaves an interview saying, “If only I knew . . . the right words to say . . . Or, how to have answered the questions being asked and how to compose myself after stumbling through a response . . . I could have landed that job!” Instead, be proactive and schedule a mock interview today.
The Career Development Center provides practice employment interviews in a simulated office environment for a small fee. The interview allows you to practice several behaviors such as answering tough interview questions smoothly, how to dress for an interview, recognizing body language, and practicing manners and eye contact.
The interviews are recorded onto a DVD so that visual feedback can be provided during the interview session. Mock interviews are conducted Monday through Friday during the semester and may be scheduled by visiting the Career Development Center in Pratt 302. Once an appointment is scheduled, a résumé, cover letter, and job posting must be submitted at least two business days before the scheduled interview.
Mock Interview Guidelines (Please read full policies below)
The following policies have been established to maintain a professional interviewing process:
- All in-person interviews must be scheduled in the Career Development Center, Pratt Hall, Suite 302. Absolutely no interviews are scheduled via telephone, except for online courses.
- There is a nonrefundable mock interview fee of $15 that is to be paid online by credit card or e-check to the Career Development Center's Marketplace before you schedule your mock interview. The combined cost for purchasing a mock interview ($15) and an etiquette dinner pass ($15) is $30. The cost of the mock interview includes a DVD recording of the in-person interview. If you do not have a credit card or are unable to pay via e-check, you must pay for the mock interview in the Bursar's Office and bring the receipt to Pratt 302.
- Scheduling is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please schedule early to avoid conflicts. If you are required to do an in-person interview, you must bring your Marketplace receipt to 302 Pratt Hall by the deadlines listed below. If you are doing a phone interview, you will need to call the Career Development Center and provide a receipt number.
- Important dates to remember:
Spring Semester 2013
- Mock Interview sign ups begin: February 11, 2013
- Mock Interviews begin: February 18, 2013
- Mock Interview sign ups end: March 13, 2013, 7 p.m.
- Mock Interviews end: May 3, 2013
Requirements:
- For phone interviews, a copy of the student’s résumé, cover letter, and a job posting are to be submitted online via Moodle at least two business days before the scheduled interview.
- For in-person interviews, a copy of the students résumé, cover letter, and a job posting are to be submitted to the Career Development Center at least two business days (only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are considered business days) before the scheduled interview.
- Failure to submit a résumé and cover letter by this deadline will result in a deduction of points (if an evaluation is required for a class assignment) or even cancellation of the interview.
- Interviews last approximately 45–60 minutes, including arrival time.
- Students enrolled in a course that requires a mock interview should access the Career Development Center course on Moodle and read the Mock Interview Program Guide and view the Employer's Corner video to prepare for the interview.
- Students enrolled in a course that requires a mock interview are required to take the Employer's Corner Video Quiz on Moodle by April 7, 2013, by 11:00 p.m.
- There are no refunds for mock interviews or etiquette dinners.
- Because of extensive demand for the program, there is absolutely no rescheduling of interviews.
- Plan to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the scheduled interview for an in-person interview.
- Appropriate interview attire is required for an in-person interview.
Mock Interview and Etiquette Meal Policies
Refund Policy
The Career Development Center does not refund mock interview and/or etiquette meal fees, except for very rare situations.
Exception:
If the fee was paid and the class subsequently dropped before the drop/add period for the semester was over, the student may contact the Mock Interview Program coordinator for permission, and then contact the Bursar’s office to request a refund for the fee(s). The Bursar and/or the Career Development Center have the right to refuse a refund at any time, and refunds will not be permitted after the drop/add period is over.
*Sign-up Policy
Students will be given information at the beginning of the semester via in-class presentations and/or online via the Career Development Center Moodle page for the mock interview and etiquette meal sign-up process. It is the student’s responsibility to access and follow directions for signing up for mock interviews and/or etiquette meals. Students must sign up for a mock interview and/or etiquette meal within the specified time period during the semester. If a student fails to sign up within the time period, he/she will not be allowed to sign-up late for either event and will forfeit the grade for both assignments. All deadlines for sign-ups are final.
Document Submission Policy
Students must submit all required documents (example: resume, cover letter, job posting) for their interview by the specified date and in the specified manner (example: phone interviews = submit online; in-person interviews = submit in person). Should students fail to submit their documents in the specified manner and by the specified due-date, they will forfeit all associated points for their mock interview grade. The interviewer may, however, still critique the documents and give feedback regardless of the date submitted.
*No-Show Policy
Students must appear at the Career Development Center (for in-person interviews) or answer the designated phone (for phone interviews) at or before the time of their selected interview as applicable. Mock interviewers will wait 15 minutes for in-person interviews and will call twice for phone interviews if student does not answer/arrive for their interview promptly. If at that time students have still not answered/arrived for their interview, they will be marked as a no-show for their interview. No-show students will receive a grade of 0 percent and will not be allowed to reschedule their interview.
*Rescheduling Policy
Mock Interviews will not be rescheduled. Once the student chooses a time-slot for their interview and/or etiquette meal, that decision is final.
Moodle Quiz Policy
Students taking classes that require the completion of the Employer Corner Video Quiz and/or the Etiquette Quiz (both available on the Career Development Center Moodle page) must fully complete the required quizzes by the due dates and times specified on Moodle. If students fail to start the quizzes before that time, they will receive a grade of 0 percent for the quiz. If students, however, begin the quizzes and fail to complete them before the due dates and times specified, they will be automatically logged out and only the scores that they had completed prior to the deadline will count towards their final quiz grade. Students will not be allowed to complete a Career Development Center quiz more than once, or past the specified due-date. All quiz grades are final.
*Exceptions to Policies:
Very rarely, exceptions can be made in dire, life-altering circumstances that were unforeseen and unavoidable. Exceptions can be made for the following policies only:
- No-Show Policy
- Rescheduling Policy
- Sign-Up Policy
In such cases, the student must contact the Mock Interview Program coordinator within 24 hours of missing his/her interview and/or within 24 hours of the sign-up deadline for interviews to request a review of the situation and a new interview slot. The students must present substantial, credible evidence that an extreme, unforeseen, and unavoidable situation prevented them from attending their interview or signing up for an interview within the entire established time-frame (examples include extreme medical emergencies/hospitalization, or similar immediate family emergencies). Students in such situations must provide documentation to the Mock Interview Program coordinator to receive consideration for rescheduling. Please note: Technological difficulties will not be considered as exceptions to such policies, as it is the students’ responsibility to ensure their own access to the necessary technological requirements for sign ups and interviews.
The program coordinator will confer with both the director of the Career Development Center and the student’s class instructor as necessary to make the decision. The students will be informed via phone or e-mail within one calendar week if they have been granted an exception to the policy. If an exception is not granted, students forfeit the Mock Interview grade in its entirety. If an exception is granted, students must then choose a new interview slot within three business days of being informed of their allowance (Please note: These timeframes are accelerated during summer semesters due to the rapid-paced nature of such shortened semesters). Should an allowance be made, the program coordinator has the discretion to install a point deduction for the student’s grade, not to exceed 20 percent of the total Mock Interview grade. Should a student miss the new interview slot, no further exceptions will be made under any circumstances, and the student will forfeit the Mock Interview grade in its entirety.
Exceptions will not be made for the following policies:
- Document Submission Policy
- Moodle Quiz Policy
