By: Veronica Pettyjohn, co-editor ’18

Lebanon Valley College’s Center for Career Development hosted its third Mock Interview Mania during the week of March 19.

Mock Interview Mania gave students the chance to meet with employers from local businesses and stage practice interviews to help students prepare for the real deal.

The Center for Career Development offers a variety of resources for students to use both during their time on campus and after graduation to help them transition from the academic to professional environment. Brynn Mason, assistant director of career development, and Sarah Bartz, associate director of career development, believed that a mock interview session would help with that process.

“A lot of campuses offer a mock interview program for their students to practice and develop their interview skills,” Mason said. “When we were brainstorming new programming ideas two years ago, we decided that creating a mock interview program would greatly benefit the students, engage local human resource professionals and add value to the programmatic offerings from career development.”

Since its initial start in spring 2016, Mock Interview Mania week has grown and student feedback has remained positive. Along with returning students, new students are also eager to take part in the mock interviews. Paige Bryson, a sophomore English major, thoroughly enjoyed her experience.

“The experience is invaluable,” Bryson said. “I learned about what to do in real-life job situations, like how to answer a question you don’t really have an answer for and negotiating a salary once you have a job. I also received feedback on questions I had prepared as if it was a real-job interview and was even given additional questions to ask.”

The experience parallels that of a real interview and allows for students to engage in a professional setting. However, it also allows for students to get rid of their pre-interview jitters and build confidence in their answers and interviewing skills.

“I think everyone should do this,” Bryson said. “The stakes are slim-to-none, and the feedback and practice is something college students can’t get enough of.”

The Center for Career Development encourages students to sign up for Mock Interview Mania Week in the fall.

“We advertise through Handshake emails, flyers, social media posts, faculty promoting the events in class and by word of mouth,” Mason said.

For further information, contact the Center for Career Development at careerdevelopment@lvc.edu