Interview Reflection

Overall, I think that the mock interview went very well. Although I was nervous, I think that I came off confidently, and was able to answer the questions that were asked of me. To prepare for the interview, I read through the articles that were listed for the course and thought through some of my answers for those. I also recalled my fieldwork experiences and tried to think through situations that could be used as examples if need be. I think one thing that was different than what I expected was that I actually was not as nervous as I thought I might be. While I did still feel some nerves because I knew there was only so much I could do to prepare without having the exact questions ahead of time, I felt that also gave me a sense of calm in knowing that others that interview will be in the same situation I am. 

If I could go through this again, there were a few things I would change. As I prepare for real world interviews, I want to make sure to implement these things as well. First of all, I noticed that I say "um" when I start almost every sentence, just out of habit. It's not even that I don't know what to say or that I need a filler word, but I just do it frequently. I want to work on this, as I don't want to come off as being unprepared or using too many filler words. Another thing that I want to work on is that I tend to answer a question immediately after it is asked, sometimes even not hearing the end of a question because I am answering the first part. I don't want my interviewer to think that I am talking over them, but I also don't want to miss out on processing my answer either. I think that I need to be more comfortable with a few seconds of silence so that I am able to collect my answer before starting it.

I feel like I learned so much from this interview process that I can use as I enter the workforce. The first is that I am confident about what I have learned and accomplished. One thing I always struggle to do is to promote my own strengths and accomplishments, but I felt today that I was able to do that in a way that was not bragging, but was advocating for myself.  I also feel that I have, through my fieldwork so far and classes, been able to have real life experiences and scenarios that have helped me prepare both to be a practitioner but also to interview well and to use these lessons that I have learned throughout that. I think this process helped me to put into words more of the practical lessons I have learned from being in school, and I am excited to carry this into fieldwork and into my future job.