Practice Interview Program
UChicago Career Advancement supports your preparation for success whether interviewing for an internship, a post-graduation job, or admission to graduate school. College students have access to virtual mock interviews available by appointment and 24-hour web-based practice interviews available through Big Interview.
General Interview Advice
Schedule an "Interview Preparation Appointment" on UChicago Handshake to meet with an adviser and discuss general interview strategies and best practices. To schedule a formal practice interview, see the section below.
Practice Interviews with MBA Students and Alumni
The Practice Interview Program provides remote mock interviews for undergraduate students who seek interview preparation for internships, full-time positions, and selective enrollment programs. Designed to feel like a real interview, practice interviews are scheduled for 1 hour and will be conducted by trained MBA students and alumni with professional industry experience, who will assess the effectiveness of responses and provide valuable and objective feedback on interview skills.
Students can schedule a behavioral interview or industry-specific interview in Handshake.
How to Schedule a Practice Interview
Log into Handshake.
Select the "Career Center" tab, "Schedule a New Appointment", and "Practice Interview".
You will have the option to select one of the following:
Behavioral Practice Interview
Case Consulting Practice Interview
Investment Banking Practice Interview
Select a timeslot and click the REQUEST button.
Email your resume, cover letter, and job description (if applicable) to the Practice Interviewer at least 24 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment (email is listed in profile in Handshake).
All practice interviews are held virtually, and the Practice Interviewer will coordinate the Zoom meeting information directly with the student.
Case Interview Practice Clusters
Case Interview Practice Clusters, known as “Case Clusters”, are groups of 4-5 students who will meet regularly as peers to practice case interviews together and improve their casing skills.
Spring is the perfect time to begin working with a group to practice and perfect your case interviewing skills for summer and fall interviews. Check back on March 1 to sign up for spring case clusters.
Finance Technical Interview Clusters
Career Advancement has launched a new resource for students preparing for finance technical interviews.
Finance Technical Clusters, are groups of 4-5 students who will meet regularly as peers who will meet regularly to practice their finance technical interviews to improve their interviewing skills.
Sign up here to be placed in a finance technical practice group.
Digital Interview Practice with Big Interview
Big Interview is an online interview practice platform that allows you to respond to interview questions through video recordings to help you improve your recorded interview skills. Many companies use digital tools such as HireVue to screen and assess candidates – and they are often the first interview in the hiring process.
With Big Interview, you can practice, review your responses, and even observe your speech patterns, eye contact, response time, and confidence level in a safe environment before you interview with companies. Log in at https://uchicago.biginterview.com/ with your @uchicago.edu email address to get started!
How to Prepare for a Practice Interview
Students should treat the practice interview like a real interview and Career Advancement recommends utilizing the following resources to prepare:
Late Cancellation and No Show Policy
Late cancellations or No Shows for a virtual practice interview may result in deactivation from Handshake. If you need to cancel, please do so within 24 hours of your scheduled appointment in Handshake and/or alert your practice interviewer via email.