You just got an interview notice—and you’ve barely prepared. Don’t panic.

The most heart-racing moment of summer break? Not seeing someone else’s offer announcement. Not the fall recruiting countdown. It’s the phone buzz and email notification: “Congratulations, you’ve passed resume screening. Please attend your interview in 3 days…”

Three methods, one summer—which should you pick?

With six weeks of summer remaining, you’ve finally committed to serious interview preparation. But the immediate question: how to practice?

Three mainstream approaches dominate student forums and job-search communities: scheduling online peer practice with classmates, talking to yourself in front of a mirror or recorder, and using AI mock interview tools. Each has advocates and critics. For students spending summer alone at home, which approach actually delivers?

“I know the answers—I just can’t say them”

If you can chat effortlessly with friends but go blank, sweaty-palmed, and tongue-tied the moment you sit across from an interviewer—you’re far from alone. This phenomenon, known in psychology as social evaluation anxiety, is especially prevalent among students. One university survey found over 60% of respondents rated “job interviews” as one of their most feared social situations.

“I’m working hard—I practice with classmates every week!”

This is the most common self-reassurance in summer job prep. Every weekend, you hop on a video call with a classmate for an hour of interview practice, taking turns as interviewer and candidate. You feel like you’re “consistently practicing,” your classmate’s feedback is “overall good, just slow down a bit”—and you end the week satisfied with your “interview preparation.”

Same word—“interview”—completely different game across majors

“Help me practice interviews” means entirely different things coming from different students.

For a computer science major, “interview” means system design, algorithm problems, and technical deep-dives. For a finance major, it means industry analysis, valuation modeling, and behavioral interviews. For a humanities major, it means structured thinking, case analysis, and communication skills. For a design major, it means portfolio walkthroughs, design rationale, and aesthetic judgment.