Peer to Peer vs Mentor-Based Mock Interviews

Interview preparation is an integral part of life.

After all, it is the deciding factor to join your dream organization.

You need to present your talents and skills, to shine in the interview. ✨

To excel in an interview, it is essential that you practice your interview skills just like any other skill.

This is when mock interviews come to your rescue.✔️

A mock interview is a simulation of an actual interview conducted by your peers or mentors.

In this blog, we will demystify its two most common types: peer to peer and mentor-based mock interviews and help you choose the right one.🎯

What is a Peer to Peer Mock Interview?

A peer to peer interview is often said to be an excellent starting point to hone your skills.

👉In a peer to peer interview setup, the interviewer is someone who is preparing for interviews or has experience in your domain.

You can organize a peer to peer interview by inviting your peers, who have experience in the field you are applying for, and get them to ask you questions to test your knowledge.

Once the interview is complete, you can ask your peer where you went wrong and improvement areas.

It is the most simple but effective type of mock interview one can opt for.

How does it work?

⭐Here is the usual process that is followed in a peer-to-peer based mock interview.

• You can check the profiles of your peers and check if they are working in your target companies or have similar work experience.
• Reach out to them and schedule a time to have the interview practice online.
• Log in on the decided time over video and connect with your partner.

👉During this type of mock interview, you can become both the interviewer and interviewee.

🌟If you play the role of a peer interviewer, here are some perks that take you a long way.

• Stepping into the shoes of a hiring manager helps you to understand the perspective of the interviewer.
• When you ask questions to your peer, you can judge the quality of the expected answer; that helps you brush up on your answers.
• You learn different approaches to the question you ask.

The Pros and Cons of Peer to Peer Mock Interviews

As already seen, a peer to peer interview is a simple but effective mock interview.

It has several pros and cons that can help you decide whether it is the right option for you or not.

✔️Pros of peer to peer mock interviews

• Peer to peer interviews are free.
• You experience a high comfort level in these sessions. You can be yourself, which will help boost your self-confidence.
• You can ask them even the simplest of questions or doubts that you might hesitate to ask a mentor.
• You can go through as many practise interviews as you want because they are free.
• Opportunity to become a peer interviewer and learn from a different perspective.

❌Cons of peer to peer mock interviews

• The feedback you receive may be inaccurate and biased.
• If the peer is not a professional in your field, the question may be common and not relevant to your needs.
• It's not the same as being interviewd by a CEO or a person with a prominent personality.
• If the peer is not knowledgeable or good at asking relevant questions, the entire process can turn counter-productive.

You will end up wasting a lot of time in finding the correct interviewer.

➡️Popular Peer to Peer Mock Interview Platforms

These are some of the popular peer to peer interview platforms:

• Pramp                 (for coding/CS & PM interviews)
• Interviewbit       (for coding/CS mock interviews)
• Stellarpeers       (for Product Management mock interviews)

What is a Mentor-Based Mock Interview?

Mentor-based mock interview is hands-down the best mock interviewing experience you can have.

In such interviews, the candidate is interviewed by a professional interviewer or a mentor who has vast experience in the field.⭐

Many agencies and organizations offer candidates various specialised mock interview services.

Mock interviews can interview can also be conducted online.

Unlike a peer to peer interview, a mentor-based interview will involve multiple levels of interviews.

👉Such as technical, general, and HR.

This is made possible as such agencies have experts from every department who can conduct a mock interview and provide personalized feedback.✔️

How does it work?

A lot of work goes into mentor assignment as compared to the random nature of peer matching.

Choosing a right mentor is vital for effective mock interviews.

Mock interview services use different mechanisms to assign a perfect mentor to the candidates.

➡️ Here's how we do it at Preplaced.

🎯We understand candidate's requirements and goals

👉 Once the registration process is completed, one of our experts gets in touch with you to understand more about your goals.

👉 Your requirements, background, and experience play a crucial role in assigning the mentor.

🎯We find a suitable mentor

We choose a mentor that would perfectly suit your needs.

👉 Dream company, years of experience, area of interest, and job role are the factors that are taken into account.

👉 We use a manual process for this step as it ensures a perfect match between candidate and the mentor.

👉 Our large mentor community helps us to make sure that you get a mentor based on the role and company of your choice. ⭐

👉 Not only are our mentors domian experts, they are also interviewers of their companies.

👉 This enables us to provide real-life interview experience and benefits of interacting with interviewers of top companies.

🎯Candidate finalises the mentor (not us)

👉 Once a suitable mentor is selected, we share the complete profile of the mentor.

We believe that knowing your mentor is of utmost importance.

It inculcates trust and belief about the guidance, you are about to receive.

👉 You can go through the profile, achievements, and journey of the mentor and even opt for a different mentor (or a mentor from a specific company) if you wish.

Not all mock interview websites provide this option of checking out the mentor profile.

Also, change of mentor is not an option.

You are stuck with the mentor assigned to you by a random software.🤷

It is extremely important to choose the right mentor.

👉 Which is why we prioritise customisation to the maximum extent.⭐

So make sure, this process is rock-solid when you opt for a mentor-based mock interview.

🎯Candidate & the mentor decide interview date

👉 Once the mentor is finalised, you along with the mentor finalise upon a date of the mock interview.

You receive a calendar invite for the mock interview session.

Check out 350+ industry experts to find the perfect mentor for your dream job interview prep. The first 1:1 session is free. :)

The Pros and Cons of Mentor-Based Mock Interviews

A mentor-based mock interview is a great way to prepare for an actual interview.

Like peer-to-peer interviews, mentor-based interviews also have their own merits and demerits.

✔️Pros of mentor-based mock interviews

• In a mentor-based mock interview, you can experience a real interview’s atmosphere.You will feel as if you are in a real-time interview.

• The interviewer is often an interviewer at one of the top companies.This helps in simulating the pressure component of a real interview.

• As an expert will be your interviewer, you will understand the exact type of questions that get asked in interviews.

• You also understand the latest industry trends that come into play.

• A detailed report of your performance can be given in a mentor-based interview.

• Mentor-based interviews are more accurate in terms of analysis and feedback.

• You will be offered basic tips on behaviour and dressing style to follow while attending interviews.

• Some organizations/agencies even offer an interview with company-specific questions, particularly about MAANG mock interviews.

• In other words, your interviews can be

❌Cons of mentor-based mock interviews

• Most mentor-based practice interviews are paid.

But it is worth the money to discuss subject-matters in detail with industry experts.

• It might sometimes be more difficult to discuss your issues with a mentor as compared to a peer. Many candidates feel scared to argue or put forward their points in front of a mentor.

But this is often a one-time problem and goes away with subsequent sessions. Almost all mentors understand this problem and are as friendly as possible.

⭐Popular Mentor-based Mock Interview Platforms

Here are some of the popular mentor based mock interview platforms -

• Preplaced (for all domains)
• Interviewbuddy                        (for coding/CS interviews)
• Interviewing.io                         (for coding/system design/CS interviews)
• Techmockinterview                 (for coding/CS interviews)

If you have any other queries about mock interviews, then you can refer Ultimate guide to mock interviews to get more insights and clarity.

Peer to Peer vs Mentor-Based Mock Interviews, Which One is For You

⚡When to Opt for a Peer to Peer Mock Interview?

• A peer to peer mock interview is ideal if you are in the initial stages of your interview preparation.

• It is also an apt choice if you have a peer who has already attended the interview from the same organization or works in the organization that you are applying for.

⚡When to Opt for a Mentor-Based Mock Interview?

• If you are in the final stages of interview preparation and wish to be 100% prepared for your interview, you should consider a mentor-based practice interview.

• It will give you real-world experience and will help you correct the mistakes you had been making.

• A mentor-based is also ideal if you are not overly concerned about the price factor. After all, you cannot put a price tag on your dream job. 🤷

• It is also ideal if time is critical and all you seek is professional and rigorous training in a short period that can help you face your dream company’s interview and crack it.

• Many websites including Preplaced provide interview preparation packages, entirely based on mentor mock interviews.

You can do your entire interview preparation using such programs if you don't want to experiment and would rather follow a tried & tested curriculum to crack your dream company.

Summary

Both peer to peer and mentor based mock interviews have their advantages.

In ideal case, it is recommended to follow up a peer to peer interview with a mentor-based interview.

Together, they will make you into a thorough professional that is ready to face any and all interview in the future.

If you are not sure, as to how to plan your interview preparation strategy or when and how many mock interviews to take, you can even have a discussion session with an experienced mentor.

Such a session will help you come up with a clear preparation and mock interview plan.

Connect with an expert in your industry for a personlised interview prep experience. The first session is free!