What Is an Interview Simulator (And Why Should You Care)?

If the thought of an interview makes your stomach turn, you’re not alone. Interviews — whether they’re for jobs or for medical school — can be extremely nerve-wracking.

That’s where interview simulators come in. 

Interview simulators rely on mock interview questions to help users practice and improve. In our guide, we’ll go over what an interview simulator is, the best sites and platforms to explore, why interview simulation is important, and how you can improve your own skills (free of cost). 

Let’s dive in. 

What Is an Interview Simulator?

An interview simulator is usually a program or software that assists a user in advancing their interview skills. Interview simulation often includes things like: 

• Mock interviews
• AI feedback
• Interview simulator coaching comments

Although there are different platforms, sites, and designs to interview simulators, they all have the same goal: helping users take their interview skills to the next level. They provide a safe space for users to practice without fear of making mistakes or “messing up.”

That also means you can practice anywhere, at any time, from the local library to your front porch and even in bed, in your pajamas — it doesn’t matter. 

How Can I Practice Interviewing by Myself?

As you might’ve guessed, you can practice interviewing by yourself using an interview simulator. 

Most interview simulators have similar components to allow you to practice interviewing by yourself. Two main aspects of these platforms are sample interview questions and the ability to practice those questions in the form of an audio or video response.

This format allows users to review their responses and make improvements (ideally with some type of feedback, whether that’s through AI or live coaching).

The best thing about interview simulators is that they’re mock interviews. So if you feel unsatisfied with your response to a question, you can practice it until you feel comfortable with your answer. After all, practice makes perfect. There’s no risk to practicing in a private, safe environment like an online interview simulator.

Which Site Is Best for Mock Interviews?

There are a handful of sites used for mock interviews. These include sites like: 

• Mockmate
• SmallTalk
• bodyswaps
• Exponent
• interviewstream
• Virto

But which is best?

The best site for mock interviews — especially when considering cost and subscriptions — is Yoodli.

Yoodli: The Best Free Interview Simulator

Yoodli is an interview simulator that allows users to participate in mock interviews, completely free of charge, unlike most other top interview simulators.

This platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze your speech and speaking patterns and provide you with a range of metrics, including your:

• Pacing (how fast or slow you usually speak)
• Word choice, including weak words, top keywords, and any repetition 
• Filler word usage (like how many fillers you use, when, and how often)
• And many other insights

Although Yoodli can be used for tons of speech improvement purposes, interview preparation and practice are one of the most common uses. 

You can explore Yoodli’s huge collection of interview simulation questions. These questions are divided by industry, too. The industry-related questions are grouped into categories, such as:

• Finance
• Marketing
• Consulting
• Product marketing

However, if your industry is journalism, for example, you can input your own questions to practice with. For example, your list of curated questions for interview simulation within the journalism industry might look like this:

Of course, Yoodli also covers the most popular interview questions asked in real interviews. Some of these include questions like: 

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• Describe your leadership style.
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Describe a time when you worked with a difficult person.

Although you have complete control of which questions you’d like to respond to and in which order, you can also randomize the interview simulation questions with the “Surprise Me” function.

How Does Yoodli’s Interview Simulation Work?

Here’s how the actual interview simulation works. After you’ve selected, randomized, or inputted the questions you’d like to practice, the Yoodli platform will record your response and display a timer.  

Once you’re finished responding, you’ll receive your immediate, personalized analytics. You’ll also see suggestions and actionable feedback, including coaching comments that summarize your key points and highlight areas where you could rephrase in a better way. Yoodli can even create follow-up questions for elaboration, so you have a more competent, thorough response. 

But Yoodli wasn’t created solely for interview preparation and practice. 

What Else Can You Do with Yoodli?

Even though interview simulation is a key aspect of Yoodli, there’s a plethora of other uses, since this platform is a complete AI speech coach. You can take advantage of this platform’s capabilities by working on your: 

• Confidence
• Presentations for work or school
• Speech content 
• Everyday communication skills
• Public speaking skills

Just record (or upload an existing video) a video of yourself speaking and Yoodli does the rest.

There’s no downside to practicing with an interview simulator like Yoodli.

Why Is Interview Simulation Important? 

Interview simulation is important because it allows you to perfect your interview responses and prepare for the real thing.

Here are five ways interview simulation is important.

1. You’ll know exactly how you want to respond.

In the moment, it can be difficult to come up with a seamless response. When you’re put on the spot, like in a job interview, it’s oftentimes hard to come up with the right words. Practicing — especially with an AI communication coach like Yoodli, which gives you specific suggestions on word choice — allows you to formulate your responses in the best way possible. You can eliminate repetition, weak words, filler words, and even any non-inclusive language you might accidentally use through an interview simulator. 

2. You’ll be more comfortable selling yourself. 

Talking about yourself can be tricky. You don’t want to come off cocky or overly confident, but you also don’t want to sell yourself short. This is a common pitfall for people interviewing — they don’t want to brag. However, when you’re used to talking about yourself, you’ll automatically sound more collected, confident, and suited for the position you’re applying for. And remember, interviews are one type of situation where bragging about your accomplishments is OK, as long as you don’t go over the top. Practicing via an interview simulator can help with this. 

A little confidence goes a long way in interviews. 

3. You won’t be caught off guard.

If you take advantage of interview simulation, you’re less likely to get stumped by a challenging or unexpected question. That’s because interview simulators provide you with all the most common (and difficult) interview questions to practice. One of the most difficult questions to answer, for example, is “What are your weaknesses?” Check out this expert’s take on how to successfully answer that tough question: 

4. You will already have an idea of the main points to cover. 

When you’re practicing responding to interview questions over and over again, you’ll start to hone in on your main points. Because of this, you’ll seem not only more confident, but eloquent as well. For example, through practice, you might identify your three main talking points: your history of impressive academic work; the start-up you created as a hobby that’s starting to take off; and your experience in the technology industry.

In fact, once you recognize what your key points are, you can write down a list of the most important things to bring up. Chances are, with practice, you’ll commit this list to memory, even if it’s inadvertent. Still, it’s important to remember not to force anything. You still want your answers to sound natural and not monotonic. Sometimes, the best place to lay out these key points is at the end of the interview, so you can sum up what you’d like to say. Whatever your main points are, you’ll be able to target them through interview simulation. 

5. You’ll impress interviewers with your relaxed, confident manner of interviewing.

Interviewers are used to awkward, even uncomfortable interviews due to the interviewees’ nerves. Luckily, participating in interview simulation can completely transform the way you interview and respond to questions. 

You’ll have better control of your filler word usage, word choice, and even improved body language, thanks to AI analysis technology. 

Whether you feel 100% confident in interviews or not, everyone could stand a little interview practice. 

The Takeaway

Interview simulators are so helpful in interview practice and preparation. You won’t ever regret practicing for an interview, especially with a cost-free interview simulator like Yoodli. 

With this type of practice, you’ll become more confident, a more eloquent speaker, and will be able to make sure you cover your key points during interviews. There’s truly no downside or risk to improving your speaking skills, especially in the light of an upcoming interview.

Even though interview anxiety and glossophobia is completely normal and common, don’t let interviewing scare or overwhelm you. With a bit of dedication and motivation, you’ll feel comfortable and confident selling yourself to an employer or another interviewee.