Running Mock Interviews

Overview

Conducting mock interviews is a crucial step in the preparation process for residency candidate interview days. These simulated interviews provide a realistic practice environment, allowing you to get comfortable with the interview platform, test your hardware, and build confidence. By conducting mock interviews, you can identify any software or hardware issues, as well as reduce anxiety. 

Running a Mock Interview

Follow the steps below to conduct a mock interview in the sandbox environment. 

Step 1: Add Interviewers

Ensure your interviewers have access to the Interview Portal by adding them to the Program Portal and toggling on their access to the Interview Portal. 

Step 2: Set Up Your Mock Interview Session

Create a standard session. You can build your own configuration or use the following suggested setup:

  1. Enable the Session Visibility toggle.
  2. Session Details:
    1. Add a name that signifies this is a mock interview. 
    2. Enter any date and time. You don't need to conduct your mock interview on the specific date and time you set – once you have a session, you can join it at any time. 
    3. Enter 2 for the number of applicants. 
  3. Room Setup:  
    1. Under the Room Block for Multiple/Rotating Interviews, add 2 rooms.
    2. Enter 1 for the number of interviews each applicant must participate in. 
    3. Do not add any Additional required Rooms for All Applicants or Group Interview Rooms.   
      • Save these settings, then add your interviewers to the two rooms.
      • You'll also need to set the interview and review durations – choose whatever timeframes you want.  

Note: once the session is configured, you can also create a basic scoring form if you'd like to test this feature. 

Step 3: Add Applicants

Now it's time to add applicants to the Interview Portal, then to the mock session. 

  1. In the Program Portal, send at least two applicants to the Interview Portal.  
    • Take note of the applicant email addresses – you'll use those to log in as the applicant during the actual mock interview.
  2. In the Interview Portal, move them into the Invited & Ready for Scheduling status, then add them to the mock interview session. 

Step 4: Finalize the Schedule 

Now that you've configured the session and added applicants to it, you can finalize the interview schedule. This pairs the applicants with the interviewers. 

Step 5: Conduct the Mock Interviews

Before conducting your mock interviews: 

  1. Identify who will log in as interviewers and who will log in as applicants.
    • If you followed the session setup above, you would have 2 interviewers and 2 applicants. However, you could also add more interviewers to the interview rooms. For example, you could add 3 interviewers to each room so that 6 interviewers can log in. 
  2. Have participants review the Conducting Interviews and Scoring Applicants guide.

Then, when it's time to log in, use the following information: 

Interviewer Applicant
  1. Log in to the Program Portal and use the My Tools portal switcher to access the Interview Portal as an interviewer.
    • Note: if you are in the Program Manager/Assistant role in the Interview Portal, you can switch to the interviewer role by clicking on your profile and selecting the role from the drop-down.

      ResidencyCAS Interview Portal - Role Switcher.png
  2. Use the Test Hardware feature to check your audio and video settings. 
  3. Navigate to the mock interview date and join the interview. 
  1. Log in to the ResidencyCAS application as the test applicant. 
  2. Use the Test Hardware feature to check your audio and video settings. 
  3. Navigate to the mock interview date and join the interview.