Students are “jumping” head-first into career readiness thanks to Sophomore Jump’s annual Mock Interview Day in collaboration with the Academic Planning Center.
With business attire and resumes in hand, students engaged in practice interviews with campus professionals. “Most students understand the importance of gaining work experience, but explaining it clearly, confidently, and under pressure is a completely different skill,” said Kaitlin Janes, sophomore class dean and co-coordinator of the event alongside Academic Advisor Ricky Guerra. “Mock interviews help bridge that gap by providing the time and space to practice telling those stories out loud and refine how they communicate strengths, results, and impact in a way employers understand.”
Students engaged in interviews with resume-based, situational and behavioral and curve-ball questions in a safe and low-risk environment during the event. Biochemistry student, Liliana Scavone ‘28, was excited to practice talking about her research experience in an interview setting. “I think this helps so much because you get to connect your resume, so all of your past experience and your current experience, together in a story for the interviewer,” she said. “It definitely helps prepare for the real world.”
For Ashley Mitchell ‘28, a sophomore student pursuing a major in Biological Sciences and minor in Accounting, the experience helped turn her expectations into reality. “I was asked questions I knew were going to be asked, but actually being asked the questions, it made me blank at times,” she explained. “This was a really important event to help me get comfortable.”
Students were evaluated by each volunteer interviewer based on six categories: professional materials, appearance and first impression, content and skill presentation, communication and delivery, professionalism and maturity and curiosity and engagement. The interviewers provide both the written evaluation and verbal feedback to students at the conclusion of each interview.
“At our event, students are given the opportunity to sit for two interviews, allowing them to immediately apply feedback from the first round to the second and see their improvement in real time,” said Janes.
With the help of the mock interview experience and evaluation sheet, students identified the various skills needed for interviews, such as maintaining eye contact, avoiding filler words and simply being yourself. “Stay calm throughout the interview and just try not to overthink,” noted Francisco Martinez ‘28, a student with goals to pursue a degree in Special Education.