By Neha Bareja, MBA Class of 2015

Being an engineer, I only had the experience of giving technical interviews before entering Smeal. They were very different from the typical behavioral or case interviews we had to prepare ourselves for. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to experience many mock interviews conducted by Smeal from the very beginning of the MBA program.  The most exciting part of the mock interviews at Smeal is that starting from second years to alumnus – all are passionate about driving this exercise to help first years be well prepared to tackle any and every kind of interview. It’s a pleasure and an honor to have the Smeal alums from different parts of the country taking out time from their busy schedule and coming to interview and give us their valuable feedback. The SIPs (Simulated interview program) is one of the most value added features of the program. It helps us not only to open up and improve on our interviewing skills, but it also gives us a feel of what the industry expects from us. It gives us a comprehensive understanding of where we stand in terms of the job fit, the culture fit and knowledge requirement of the industry. Personally, through these mock interviews at Smeal, I got a plethora of opportunities to improve on my soft skills and my confidence.