Mock Interview Drives
Most students answer the first question by reading out their resume
The interviewer has the resume in front of them. What they want is the person behind it. This session helps students build a short, honest introduction that points the interview towards what they know best.
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The opening question sets the direction of the whole interview.
Interviewers often follow whatever the student says first. An introduction that mentions a project and a subject the student enjoys tends to produce questions on exactly those things.
An introduction that lists name, college, branch and marks, and then stops, hands the direction of the interview to the interviewer. Students who are nervous also tend to rush it, or to recite it in a flat voice that sounds learned by heart.
This is one of the few answers a student can fully prepare. It is worth getting right.
Building the answer
14 topics across 4 areas. Four parts, each short.
Who You Are NowA sentence or two, not a biography.3
- Your name, branch and college, once
- What you are studying and what interests you in it
- A line on where you are in your final year
What You Have DonePick one or two things, not all of them.3
- The project or piece of work you can discuss best
- A skill you built while doing it
- An internship, club or competition, if it is relevant
Whatever you mention here is what you will be asked about. Mention only what you are ready to discuss.
What You Are Looking ForShow you know why you are in the room.3
- The kind of role or work you want to begin with
- One reason this interests you
- Willingness to learn what the role needs
What to Leave OutThings that waste the two minutes.5
If something on your resume looks weak, such as a low semester or a gap, do not bring it up here. Prepare a calm, short answer for when it is asked.
- A full list of marks since school
- Long family history
- Claims you cannot support, such as being a perfectionist
- A list of every tool you have touched
- Apologies for what you have not done
What this session covers
- A simple structure: now, done, next
- Examples of weak and stronger openings, written for the room
- How the answer changes slightly for technical, HR and managerial interviews
- How to stop at the right point and let the interviewer speak
What students leave with
- A written draft of their own answer
- A version spoken aloud to a partner
- A note of what the listener remembered
- A shorter version for when time is tight
How the session runs
An interviewer from industry explains what they listen for in the first minute and demonstrates a weak and a better answer. Students then write their own, say it to a partner, and hear what the partner remembered. Most students need two or three attempts before it sounds natural. It suits a classroom, a seminar hall or an online session.
What your students leave with
- A written introduction of about two minutes, in their own words
- A clear idea of what to include and what to leave out
- An opening that leads the interviewer towards the student's strongest area
- A version that sounds spoken, not memorised
- Practice saying it aloud with someone listening
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Two minutes, said calmly, and the interview goes where you want it to.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.