During my interview, I started to feel a lot more comfortable interviewing someone and afterwards the feedback I got was very helpful. Usually, I feel very nervous or uncomfortable when interviewing someone because my anxiety kicks in and it ends up being fairly awkward, with me feeling very unsure. However, during these practice interviews, I felt very confident with my answers and I thought that I created a good environment for my partner when asking my questions. This practice was helpful because now I am aware of the skills I have and those I need to work on, and I have gained a better idea of what interviewing someone is like.

I think some of my strengths during these interviews was my clarity and my eye contact. Throughout both interviews, I made sure to maintain constant eye contact so that I was always focused on my partner and what they were saying, and I was always nodding or agreeing with points my partner was making to show that I was listening. I also had a very clear voice during the interviews, keeping it at a steady volume that was acceptable in the environment we were in. I kept most hesitation out of my speech and I spoke with confidence in my answers and questions. I think these are good things for me to be able to do because it makes me seem confident and like

I know what I am doing, which adds to the quality of my interview.

Next are some of my stretches. One of the points that the person overviewing my interview gave me to work on was going deeper with my questions. I believe this is in reference to how I could ask more follow-up questions so that I can receive a more thorough and in-depth answer from my interviewee. I think this is a good point for me to work on because for the most part I just stay on the surface and I am satisfied with simple answers. Instead, I should try to get more details in their answers so that I can learn more from the experience. I can start to do this by just asking more follow-up questions, and as I get better at that, I can start to improve them and make them even more helpful and insightful.

Another thing that I have set for myself to improve on is my improvisation. This actually ties in with my previous stretch, as working on my improv will make it easier to ask follow-up questions. I need to work on this because as of now I mainly stick to questions I have prepared, but limiting myself to this means that I don’t always get all the details or insight that I need. I would like to get better at going off-script and going with the flow when I can, asking questions that fill in any gaps in my information. This will help me be more comfortable in the interview since I won’t need my questions at all times, and it will help me get better at asking follow-up questions, another one of my stretches. My goal for this is to start by asking a couple questions in my interviews that I had not pre-planned, and once I am comfortable with that I can start doing it more often and more naturally.

Overall, I believe that what I am taking away from this experience is really going to help me in my future interviews, because I know what I’m good at and that can give me confidence, and I know what I need to improve on. This will help me know what to practice and I can become a better interviewer with this knowledge.