As Susan Loffredo says at the end of Segment One, the more practice you get at interviewing, the better you will be. Conducting mock interviews, similar to the ones on this video, can be a great way for your students to get practice at this vital workplace skill, from preparation to the interview itself and their own evaluations and follow-ups afterwards.

1. There are five key aspects to good interview preparation:
   1. Conducting research, on the company and the industry
   2. Knowing your resume, and knowing how to move beyond it
   3. Preparing for questions: both the ones asked of you and the ones you ask
   4. Knowing your transferable skills, and knowing how all of your experiences will make you right for a job
   5. Preparing the night before, so that your mind is free and clear
   
   Use the exercises described in the "Before" section of Exercises and Discussion Points. Have your students choose a field and a company to research. Have them take notes, keep track of sources-journals, newspapers, websites (after all, this could be valuable information to them when they begin their job searches). What does their research tell them, not only about current events, but also about company policy, politics, atmosphere, even dress code. Have them use their research to prepare for questions that they might be asked: how can they use answers about themselves to reveal their best qualities in relation to what they know about a company? Have them use their research to compose questions that they themselves would ask, as a way to dig deeper into an industry and a company.
   
   Also have them study their own resumes. As mentioned before, if resume writing is a portion of the course, this exercise can be integrated with your previous lessons. Your students could also use portfolios or some kind of accomplishment report, such as on the HM Assessment and Portfolio Builder CD. Have them take notes on ways that they could enhance their credentials and achievements during an interview, so that they are sure to get across the best about themselves. Make sure that they include their non-paid experience, hobbies, affiliations, and other activities that may have developed their transferable skills. For more information on "transferable skills" direct them to the SCANS report (see Resources below).
   
   Depending on how possible this is for your course, you may want to have your students prepare the night before, as if they were going on an actual interview. Set an appointment time. If you have the capabilities to have your students conduct these mock interviews outside of class, make the interviewee responsible for knowing directions. Have them dress appropriately. Bring resume and references. As much as possible, your students should approach this interview as if it were the real thing.
   
   
2. This is where your students will put all of their preparation together. Have your students break off into groups of 2 to 4. Depending on how flexible your class is, you will want an interviewer and an interviewee, as well as another observer. Students should rotate their roles so everyone gets a chance to do each part.
   
   The Interviewer: Ideally, students should be matched up in groups according to the industry they have chosen. This will allow them to use their research as a way to prepare for being the interviewer. They can use the questions they anticipated in their preparation to enhance their interview. They can also use the standard set of questions below.
   
   The Interviewee: This is where the preparation pays off. The interviewee should be prepared to answer questions and to ask them. They should have resume and references copies.
   
   Observer: It will help your students to have an objective third person to observe the interview while it is taking place. This person can not only provide further input on how questions were answered and what information was given, but they can also give feedback on more subtle qualities, such as eye contact, nervousness, fidgeting, that the other two participants may not have caught.
   
   These interviews should last between 5 and 10 minutes each, time allowing. Though a real interview will of course take much longer, this should give students an idea of the situation, and how they would react. For many of them, this may be their first interview, and they may be surprise at how they handled it. Have your students spend time, within their group and as an entire class, to discuss their reactions and their evaluations. It may be particularly interesting for students to read their evaluations and see how their actions and words were interpreted by others. They may disagree with each other's impressions. However, it is important to realize that a manager in an actual interview may have a similar impression to their colleagues. Discuss with your students what this exercise has told them about themselves.
   
   
3. Students should go through the entire interview process, which includes evaluation and follow-up. In an actual interview, students would not get an evaluation filled out by the interviewer. Their only measure of their performance will be whether they get an offer of call back. However, as Susan Loffredo says I the video, evaluating yourself is an important part of the interview.