Illinois Tech Career Services · Interview Preparation
Interview Preparation
Practice out loud, learn the format, and walk in ready — with preparation tailored to your field.
Do These Three Things This Week
1. Write three STAR stories — with numbers in the results
2. Say one answer out loud and record it — then watch it back once, all the way through
3. Rehearse with a human who gives real feedback:
Book a Mock InterviewThe best interviews feel less like interrogations and more like conversations — ones you have prepared for. Preparation is not memorizing answers; it is having your evidence ready, knowing the format you will face, and having said the words out loud before the day arrives. Everything below is free, verified, and organized so you can find your field fast.
The One Framework to Master
STAR — Situation, Task, Action, Result
Situation: where and when, in one sentence. Task: what you were responsible for. Action: what you did — the longest part, in first person singular. Result: what changed, with a number whenever one exists.
Write six stories that cover leadership, conflict, failure, teamwork, initiative, and your proudest technical work — then reuse them all season. Nearly every behavioral question is one of those six wearing a different hat.
Prepare for your interview — select a row to open it
1Six Things to Do for Every Interview
Research, quantify, structure, ask, present, follow up▾
Research thoroughly. Know the company’s mission, culture, recent news, the role, and who you’ll meet.
Quantify your impact. Prepare examples with measurable results — numbers, percentages, outcomes.
Master the STAR method. Structure answers around Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Prepare smart questions. Ask about team, growth, challenges, and expectations.
Present professionally. Dress for the culture, arrive early, and stay engaged.
Follow up promptly. Send a personalized thank-you within 24 hours.
Do Your Homework on the Room
- Glassdoor Interview Questions — real questions candidates report from specific companies and roles; read the last twenty before you go
- CareerOneStop Interview Videos — the U.S. Department of Labor’s free video library on answering common questions
- Galvin Library databases — free company and industry research that goes deeper than a website’s About page
2Computer Science, Engineering & Technical
LeetCode, NeetCode, Tech Interview Handbook, System Design Primer, free peer mocks▾
Review data structures and core algorithms; study the company’s tech stack. In the room: think out loud, clarify first, start simple then optimize, test edge cases, and state time and space complexity.
Practice the Problems
- LeetCode — the industry standard problem set; the free tier is more than enough
- NeetCode 150 — a free curated roadmap through the patterns that actually repeat, with video walkthroughs; start here rather than grinding randomly
- HackerRank — where many employers run their screening assessments; practice in the environment you will be tested in
- Tech Interview Handbook — free, open-source, and comprehensive: study plans, algorithm cheat sheets, and behavioral prep for engineers
System Design & Live Practice
- System Design Primer — the free, open-source reference for design rounds; essential for new-grad and internship-to-full-time conversions
- Big-O Cheat Sheet — the complexity table to have memorized before you say a word about optimization
- Amazon Leadership Principles — if you are interviewing at Amazon or any company that copied its behavioral bar, map a STAR story to each principle
3MBA, Business & Consulting
Official practice cases straight from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Deloitte — all free▾
Practice case frameworks — profitability, market entry, M&A — with structured, quantitative problem-solving, and know the company’s market and challenges. Prepare leadership stories that show influence, decisions under ambiguity, and business outcomes. Skip the paid prep courses until you have worked every free case the firms publish themselves.
Cases From the Firms Themselves
- McKinsey Interviewing — four full practice cases with suggested answers, plus their Personal Experience Interview guidance
- BCG Case Interview Preparation — official practice cases and an interactive case experience
- Bain Interviewing — the firm’s own case library and what they screen for
- Deloitte Case Interview Prep — practice cases in Deloitte’s own format
Practice With Partners
- PrepLounge — free peer case practice with a large candidate community; cases are meant to be spoken, not read
- GMAT Official Starter Kit — free official practice if a graduate business program is part of your path
- Then bring one case to a coach out loud — structure reads differently when someone is listening
4Design, Architecture, Research & Health
Portfolio reviews, whiteboard challenges, teaching demos, and clinical formats▾
Design, Architecture & Creative
Curate three to five strongest projects with full case studies, before/after, and measurable outcomes. Presenting: walk through your process and decisions, explain constraints and iteration, and highlight collaboration and impact on users.
- Nielsen Norman Group articles — the most trusted free UX research library in the field; interviewers notice when you speak its language
- Interaction Design Foundation literature — free open-access design articles and encyclopedia chapters
Research, Academia & Health
- Research and lab roles: expect a chalk talk or a short presentation of your own work — prepare a five-minute and a fifteen-minute version, and practice the plain-language summary for non-specialists on the panel
- Health and clinical programs: many use the multiple mini interview (MMI) format — short ethics and scenario stations; the AAMC’s official interview guidance explains what evaluators score
- Teaching and education roles: expect a demo lesson — ask ahead for the audience, length, and topic, then rehearse it with a coach exactly as you will deliver it
5Where to Actually Practice
Coaches, peer mocks, and the Index — rehearsal beats reading, every time▾
Rehearsal Beats Reading
Reading about interviews builds knowledge. Saying your answers out loud — and hearing them back — builds performance. Do at least one of each below before any interview that matters.
With Career Services
- Mock interviews with a coach — personalized feedback on your responses, delivery, and presence; behavioral, technical, and video formats with a written report
- Ask your coach which AI tools to use — for interview practice and for the job search. The tools change constantly and what helps depends on your field and where you are in the process. Your coach can tell you what Illinois Tech supports, what is worth your time, and where using AI will work against you
- The #Interview section of our LinkedIn Index — formats, question types, and answers drawn from real coaching conversations
On Your Own, Free
- PrepLounge — the same idea for consulting cases
- Record yourself on your phone answering three questions cold, then watch it once — uncomfortable, and the fastest fix you will ever make
- The Muse: the STAR method, in depth — worked examples if your stories still feel loose
- Before you rely on any AI tool for practice or for your search, talk it through with a career coach first — a short conversation saves you from tools that sound impressive and teach you the wrong habits
Rehearse with feedback, then walk in confident — bring the job description and your three best stories, and we will run the room before they do.
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All external resources independently verified by Career Services, August 2026.
