Mock Interview Day will give students the opportunity to get some of the nervousness out of the way in a setting with no risk.

The event will be happening all day Nov. 9 in the Memorial Union.

“Practice is always good. Professional performers and athletes still practice,” said Kent McAnally, Director of Washburn University Career Services. Anyone is welcome, as long as they make an appointment at www.washburn.edu/career-services and look for the BodJobs link. Interview sign-ups are going to close on Nov. 6 at midnight.

If you are unable to make it to Mock Interview Day, WU Career Services is always taking appointments for mock interviews. It’s free and it only takes an hour to get feedback. To make an appointment call (785) 670-1450.

“It’s also ridiculous to think that every interview is the same or that you’re in a job or even with an employer where you will spend the rest of your life,” said McAnally. After the mock interviews, the employers, which include local businesses, will give feedback. Unlike the typical mock interviews conducted at WU Career Services located in Morgan 105, the interviews on Mock Interview Day will be around 30 minutes.

“Nervousness comes across in both verbal and non-verbal communication,” McAnally said. McAnally goes on to explain how what you say is just as important as how one presents themselves. If someone shows up to an interview in an ill-fitting suit, then they are giving off an already unprofessional impression.

McAnally indicated that something students often overlook is their shoes. It is important to remember shoes should be clean and match the interview suit. “We all feel different in dress clothes than everyday wear,” McAnally said.

Mock Interview Day and mock interviews in general are a risk-free way to practice questions interviewers often ask, while obtaining feedback that isn’t available in a typical interview. A mock interview is a way experts can give advice on what a good way to answer any of the common interview questions is, because they regularly conduct interviews in the professional world. They can also offer answers to questions regarding non-verbal communication for example how to hold yourself in an interview situation and what would be appropriate attire.

“Interviewees should leave with added confidence but knowledge of strengths and weakness of their interview performance and strategies for improvement,” Anally said. Even if you feel as though you are in the job that you will be in for the rest of your life, McAnally indicates that job markets are always changing. It’s hard to know what opportunities will be presented in the future.

According to McAnally, the scope of an internship interview or a part-time job interview is limited in comparison to a professional interview for a career. Typically, there isn’t the same sense of competition in the job market outside of professional careers. It is important to remember that, even if you hold a professional job, the market is constantly shifting.