About the event
Twice a year Career Services fills the second floor of Commerce Hall with people who interview for a living. This fall that is 34 volunteers from 22 employers, including manufacturers, two hospital systems, a packaging company, three software shops and the Porter Falls Area School District, plus a dozen alumni who now do the hiring. Each one runs a 20-minute interview from a real job posting in your field and spends ten minutes telling you what they would have written down.
The timing is deliberate. Spring co-op interviews start in November, and most students who walk into one cold have not done a practice interview since high school. Volunteers are asked to be as honest as they would be in a hiring debrief, and politer.
Schedule
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 4:30 p.m. | Check-in opens; Career Closet pop-up rack | Commerce Hall, second-floor lobby |
| 5:00–8:00 p.m. | Interviews in 30-minute slots (20 minutes of interview, 10 of feedback) | Second-floor classrooms |
| 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. | 15-minute “tell me about yourself” clinic for anyone waiting | Commerce Hall 210 |
Location and access
Commerce Hall is step-free from the quad entrance, and the elevator is just inside. Wear what you would wear to the real interview. If you do not own that yet, the Career Closet rack at check-in has blazers, shirts and shoes to keep, and fitting appointments are open all week. Accommodations for the interview itself, such as extra time or a written version of the questions, can be requested when you book.
Registration
Book a slot in PorterCareers. Choose your field, upload a résumé and paste in the posting you want to practice for. There are 180 slots, and last spring they were gone in four days. If you miss out, Career Services runs individual mock interviews by appointment all term.
Contact and related events
Before you come, read preparing for interviews. The next night brings the Graduate & Professional School Fair, also in Commerce Hall.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This event, its employers, volunteers and slot counts are invented, and no recruiter will be waiting in Commerce Hall. Practice anyway; it helps.