Should you rehearse for a job interview?

Although you may not need to prepare an entire script ahead of an interview, I have seen from firsthand experience how a prepared candidate has much greater impact than one who wings it during an interview.  Lack of preparation is common blunder for first interviews especially as candidates get lulled into a comfort zone.  They are focused on providing a good "first impression" or aim to "be themselves".  While there is nothing wrong with that idea inherently, I am convinced that some rehearsal time can pay big dividends before an interview.

Oftentimes I will ask questions of candidates ahead of an interview just to see how they would answer.  I am surprised at how easy it is to catch someone off guard.  Sure you could argue that they will have their "game face" ready before the actual interview, but why not be prepared before that day even comes.  There are some common questions that even if you are expecting them can be answered with more precision if you think about your answers ahead of time and literally say them out loud.  It does not have to necessarily be in front of a mirror like the picture above, but small tweaks/edits can make all the difference in making the "right" impression instead of simply a "first" impression.

I thought of how simple this can be when driving my son and his friend to a basketball tryout this past weekend.  I told them that I felt there were really two things they needed to focus on during the tryout.  Instead of telling them what they were, I asked what they thought the two ideas could be.  They came up with one right out of the gates (which was to listen to the coaches), and between the two of them provided four really solid additional answers - have fun, stay hydrated, hustle, and be a good teammate.  Once they came up with the final list, I had them repeat the five ideas.  After practice I asked them how they felt it went.  Without pause my son answered, "We had fun, and I drank lots of water!"  His friend piped up, "We also hustled and listened to the coaches!"

So will they make the travelling team simply because of these five ideas?  Likely not for those reasons alone.  But were they more prepared and able to leave the "right" impression with the coaches?  Absolutely.  Lesson here is that if it can work for eight-year old boys who can't focus on much of anything for more than five minutes that it can absolutely work for professionals looking to make a career move.

What have you done to rehearse for an interview in the past?  And was it effective?