Frequently asked questions

What is expected of me for a practice interview session?

A mock interview or a practice interview session is 1 hour long.

In this session, candidates want a real-world simulation of an actual interview experience. This should include the conversational back-and-forth, the "challenges" and the "stresses" they'd face in a real interview environment. Please reserve 5-10min to provide high level verbal feedback to the candidate at the end of the session.

Our recommended format is

  • 3-5min intro / scoping
  • 30-40min mock interview
  • 15-20min feedback

The scoping step is often as simple as clarifying what the candidate would like to achieve in the session. Candidates provide some information in advance the vast majority of time (eg. coding, system design, product sense, analytics cases etc). Candidates also provide special requests when they need something custom (eg. I'd like to just have your review of my portfolio presentation etc). Candidates will also be encouraged to upload their resume and job description for sessions which are behavioral or context-heavy. Please do make sure you briefly review this in advance so that you can verify if you can support their requests. The scoping step can prove extremely important in case the candidate has something specific they want to get out of the session, so please do remember to ask; it's much better to clarify upfront than complete a session and receive an unhappy review if the candidate feels they didn't get practice in the focus area they wanted.

For the mock interview and feedback: Some coaches like to interweave feedback within teh questions. Others like to save it for the end. Here too; we'd suggest asking the candidate how they'd like to format it. By all means express your recommendation on what you've seen being most effective to deliver value; but ultimately the candidate is the customer here, so please do optimize to a format they are comfortable with :)

After the session is completed, please fill out detailed written feedback for the candidate within 24 hours. We’ll trigger payment to you as soon as we receive the feedback. Here’s a sample form for a mock interview session. You'll receive a customized link which you can access in each session's details. You'll also receive a reminder once the session is completed to fill this, but the button to this feedback form is going to be accessible in your session request link approximately 1 hour before the session starts. This written feedback is a crucial component of the mock interview experience since it contains your "hiring decision". A lot of candidates use this to determine next steps re: their upcoming interview; it's extremely common for candidates to reschedule their interview if they receive a "no-hire". Therefore, we'd reccommend being super honest with this feedback, and if you feel it's a harsh rating, please feel welcome to mention that in the notes accompanying this. Candidates start requesting refunds for sessions if they don't receive this in time; which can feel unfair after a 60 min session has always been completed. Therefore, if you feel you might struggle to fill this form out; it's always better to cancel the request in advance or manage a candidate's expectations proactively to avoid this situation. If candidates do request a refund in such a situation, we will issue it to them on your behalf if more than 48 hours have elapsed after the session time. We've seen even providing basic context to candidates humanizes the situation and helps avoid such situations (eg. I have a flight right after this session; so I will only be able to write out the feedback after 3 days. However, I'll make sure to keep a full 15-20min within the session to give you feedback so that you can use this in time for your interview prep; I'll also share my hiring rating for you within this call).