As you may have guessed by now, this blog post is an account of how we went about with the mock interview, but as you will read, you will infer that it was indeed much more than just a mock interview.
It was... an experience
an epiphany
a revelation
a moment of realization.
Of late, I had been talking a lot about how I want my mentorship to have some substantial achievement.
Now, it so happened, that as we had planned, we met on 21st April, the main agenda of our meeting being conducting a mock interview.
So, I showed her around my campus, and then we settled in a classroom, where after creating a formal ambiance, we conducted an interview. Now, this is the thing about conducting such a formal activity: It gave her practical and first-hand insights into how an interview is actually conducted. While the questions i threw up on her were the usual ones, the conventional:
Tell me something about yourself
Why should I hire you for this position?
Enlist your strengths and weaknesses.
What are your views on the current situation of fashion industry?
then, we proceeded with situational questions:
Suppose you had a low budget and you had to make a choice between the low-quality cheap fabric on one hand and expensive fabric which you were paid for, on the other, what would you do?
How would you deal with a last minute crisis such as duplication or/and copying of your designs by other designers?
And with each responses she gave and I recorded, we got a lot to discuss.
The interview was followed by a kind of feedback session, whereby I pointed out to her ow she needs to be focused on giving relevant answers and retaining her confidence simultaneously.
It was only in our meeting after this one, that Neha told me how she was feeling nervous with the kind of questions she was supposed to answer and how she feels better equipped with answers now that she has an idea about how and what type of details are scrutinized.
This was followed by a group discussion, for which it was essential to have another member in our discussion. So, I called up my friend and We randomly chose the topic "Social networking sites: Bane or boon (good or bad, for simplicity)". we launched into a heavy discussion for some 20 minutes, post which it was realised that current affairs and reading through issues of general concern are other areas we can work upon.
Our next meeting was on 23rd May, almost a month later (owing to my examinations although we did keep in decent touch/contact over the phone what with the marriage arrangements being done at her house).
We planned to meet at CP, and I told her I would take her to Oxford bookstore. Her late arrival by an hour gave us fodder for our discussion: the issue of punctuality. But before I plunge deeper into the details of what all our discussions entailed, let me tell you how she had felt there.
It was great to see her browsing through books, and she Even pinpointed to me a book Named "Reading Lolita in Tehran". The book's theme well blended with our motive. :-)
This, and then I asked her to place the order.
All in all, we carried forward our discussion about interview etiquette and professionalism.
I do hope this has made some difference, even if minuscule.
It was... an experience
an epiphany
a revelation
a moment of realization.
Of late, I had been talking a lot about how I want my mentorship to have some substantial achievement.
Now, it so happened, that as we had planned, we met on 21st April, the main agenda of our meeting being conducting a mock interview.
So, I showed her around my campus, and then we settled in a classroom, where after creating a formal ambiance, we conducted an interview. Now, this is the thing about conducting such a formal activity: It gave her practical and first-hand insights into how an interview is actually conducted. While the questions i threw up on her were the usual ones, the conventional:
Tell me something about yourself
Why should I hire you for this position?
Enlist your strengths and weaknesses.
What are your views on the current situation of fashion industry?
then, we proceeded with situational questions:
Suppose you had a low budget and you had to make a choice between the low-quality cheap fabric on one hand and expensive fabric which you were paid for, on the other, what would you do?
How would you deal with a last minute crisis such as duplication or/and copying of your designs by other designers?
And with each responses she gave and I recorded, we got a lot to discuss.
The interview was followed by a kind of feedback session, whereby I pointed out to her ow she needs to be focused on giving relevant answers and retaining her confidence simultaneously.
It was only in our meeting after this one, that Neha told me how she was feeling nervous with the kind of questions she was supposed to answer and how she feels better equipped with answers now that she has an idea about how and what type of details are scrutinized.
This was followed by a group discussion, for which it was essential to have another member in our discussion. So, I called up my friend and We randomly chose the topic "Social networking sites: Bane or boon (good or bad, for simplicity)". we launched into a heavy discussion for some 20 minutes, post which it was realised that current affairs and reading through issues of general concern are other areas we can work upon.
Our next meeting was on 23rd May, almost a month later (owing to my examinations although we did keep in decent touch/contact over the phone what with the marriage arrangements being done at her house).
We planned to meet at CP, and I told her I would take her to Oxford bookstore. Her late arrival by an hour gave us fodder for our discussion: the issue of punctuality. But before I plunge deeper into the details of what all our discussions entailed, let me tell you how she had felt there.
It was great to see her browsing through books, and she Even pinpointed to me a book Named "Reading Lolita in Tehran". The book's theme well blended with our motive. :-)
This, and then I asked her to place the order.
All in all, we carried forward our discussion about interview etiquette and professionalism.
I do hope this has made some difference, even if minuscule.
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