Rehearsing for a Job Interview, good to do?

[KrillBee]

Does anyone here believe in rehearsing for job interviews? Like sitting down the night before and writing down answers to questions you might expect to be asked, and then memorizing those answers so that you can recite them back? Or any other types of rehearsing?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i like the 'wing it approach'

if they do ask your rehearsed questions, you will sound smooth
if they ask unrehearsed questions (and they will), you will not sound quite so smooth, and it will probably be apparent what you practiced for and what you didnt

of course you want to prepare - think about what is asked and how you might respond, but i think actually memorizing answers will come of as canned and possibly insincere

 

[monk3y]

I don't memorize answers... but usually before I go to bed I will visualize things they might ask me, and I'll come up with responses that would be ideal. I don't make myself memorize those answers but the jist of the answer usually sticks. I used to do the same for presentations, tests, and stuff.

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
i like the 'wing it approach'

if they do ask your rehearsed questions, you will sound smooth
if they ask unrehearsed questions (and they will), you will not sound quite so smooth, and it will probably be apparent what you practiced for and what you didnt

of course you want to prepare - think about what is asked and how you might respond, but i think actually memorizing answers will come of as canned and possibly insincere

i agree. the interviews i went on, i knew the answers that i HAD to give especially ones dealing with ethical and moral issues...

everything else i sort of "winged"... stick to your guns and what you believe in... and most importantly be yourself...

 

[cw42]

Writing it down and memorizing sentences wouldn't be a good idea. However, having an idea of what you'd like to mention for a question is def a good idea.

 

[LegendKiller]

I usually go into the interview with 3-4 pages of questions written down, some extensive research of the company, and a good idea of what they are looking for. Then, I basically wing it.

I do it pretty well considering I just got a job offer from a street bank today

 

[simms]

I prep. I research the questions I expect to get asked, write down a STAR method for the question and memorize it.
As a result I'm not even out of school yet, but have a job offer, full time with full benefits.

 

[KrillBee]

Would an interviewer think less about the employee if they knew that they had prepared answers for some questions in advance, instead of whipping out answers on the spot?

Would preparing answers in advance ever come across as dishonest?

 

[spidey07]

I generally rehearse my "story"

It's the story you tell on where you've been, what you've done, how you got there to get them interested to hear more.

 

[chrisms]

They ask the same general questions that you should prepare for, with a few random ones mixed in. Why do you want to work here, what is your worst quality, explain a time you had a conflict at work at how you resolved it, etc. Prepare and know the general idea of what you're going to say. At the interview, I usually fake thinking about it for about as long as it took me to think of the questions I hadn't prepared for (a second or two). This way it seems as though I haven't prepared at all and am just so smart as to give these perfect answers off the top of my head.

I'm 4/4 so far!

 

[nakedfrog]

I've been to a few interviews in the past two months, and I've just kinda gone over things I might like to say and how I'd say them in my head.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

1. Think about how you'd answer the awkward "it's a trap!" questions but don't recite the answers like a parrot
2. Do a little research on the company beforehand
3. Dress appropriately
4. Be punctual
5. Relax
6. Engage the interviewers
7. Be concise
8. Have some questions ready for the end

 

[KrillBee]

Something just seems really corny about rehearsing answers to interview questions, or things to say.

Like it feels like a form of cheating that is accepted by society. I don't like it, but I'm afraid I may have to do it in order to compete with other applicants

 

[Looney]

Really nothing to memorize, although be prepare for questions like 'what would you consider a weakness of yours?' or 'explain a situation in which you've had to demonstrate leadership qualities'. I also like to ask questions that completely throw them off and have no relevance to the job or any common sense... like 'if you were a pie, what kind of pie would you be, and why?'