New software gives students chance for perfect interview

The Southern University Office of Career Services recently introduced the “Perfect Interview”, a new interviewing tool intended to prepare students for future job interviews.
According to officials in career services, “Perfect Interview” is an innovative learning tool that can be used to enhance job interviewing skills and develop an edge over the competition.
The program creates a simulated interview experience, where the user is asked challenging questions as if in a real interview.
“The ‘Perfect Interview’ is available whenever, as often as the students want, to prepare for any employment interview in the career services’ office, or online,” said Al Barron, director of career services.
Barron said when using the tool, the students can select what kind of job interview they want as well as how long they want it to be. There are over fifteen hundred interview questions, responses and helpful hints included in the interviewing tool.
“I think the tool is good because the questions are questions that you will actually be asked at an interview,” said Darrius Harrison, a junior mass communication major from Houston.
The interviewing sessions can be custom tailored towards level of experience, education and qualifications, from entry-level to senior management positions.
The student can also use the tool to concentrate on specific question categories such as management skills.
“It is a very good tool,” said Wilbert Jones, assistant director of the purchasing department at Southern. “It gives questions that you would not normally think of.”
During an interview session, a professional interviewer appears on the computer screen and asks the questions, and the student must respond just as they would in a real interview.
The questions can be repeated as often as needed and the positive modeling feature shows examples of how someone else might answer.
The video capture feature allows the user to be confident in the way that they look as well as the way they sound.
With the use of a webcam, the responses can be recorded, played back or saved for future reviews.
Barron said students can also upload their resume along with their interview, create a profile and invite prospective employers and others to view their personalized career page.
“If you take it seriously, you will actually gain a lot,” Harrison said.
Students can access “Perfect Interview” at www.perfectinterview.com/subr. For more information on the interviewing tool and a step-by-step set of instructions log on to www.subr.edu/careersservices/perfectinterview.htm.