IStructE · Resources
Mock interview
A sixty-minute run covering all ten objectives, drawn fresh each time — answered aloud, ideally to somebody else.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage ·Mentors
One opening question, one for each Core Objective, one to close — on a clock, with the guidance hidden until you stop.
Why the shape matters
A real interview runs sixty to ninety minutes and has to reach all ten objectives. That arithmetic is worth feeling: roughly five minutes per objective, including the presentation and the reviewers' own conversation.
Candidates who have not rehearsed against a clock consistently spend nine minutes on their favourite project and then find four objectives have not come up. Since it is your responsibility to demonstrate all ten, that is not the reviewers' problem — it is yours.
Do it with someone
The single most valuable version of this is a colleague reading the questions out and refusing to help. A mentor is better still, because they can tell you when an answer described the project instead of you.
Failing that, record yourself and listen back. It is uncomfortable and it works: you will hear the "we", the drift, and the ninety seconds spent on context before the answer starts.
Afterwards
Go back through with the guidance visible. For each question ask three things:
- 01Did I say what I did, in the first person?
- 02Did I answer at the level the objective is set at?
- 03Did I name a judgement, or only an output?
Then note which objectives you had nothing ready for. That is your gap analysis, produced live.
Mock interview
One opening question, one for each of the ten Core Objectives, and a closing question — on a sixty-minute clock. Answer aloud, ideally to someone else.
Changes which questions are drawn where the two grades differ.
A real interview runs 60 to 90 minutes and covers all ten objectives. This draws a fresh set each time — start it, then answer out loud without stopping.
A mock here is practice, nothing more. It is not a Professional Review Interview, no result follows from it, and it tells you nothing about how a real one will go.
Everything here is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is analysed, and clearing your browser data will delete it — so export anything you want to keep.
Getting value from a mock
Worth doing
- Answer out loud, in full sentences, at interview length
- Have someone else ask the questions if you possibly can
- Keep your portfolio open and refer to page numbers as you would on the day
- Note the objectives you had nothing ready for
- Repeat it a fortnight later with a fresh draw
Avoid
- Read the questions and think the answers
- Stop when a question is hard — that is the one to work on
- Look at the guidance before answering
- Treat the result as any indication of a real outcome
Review each answer against these
Did I say what I did, in the first person?
Reviewers are interested only in what you personally undertook. Answering as 'we' removes you from your own evidence.
Did I answer at the level the objective is set at?
Describing supervised work against an objective set at Ability is, in the Institution's own vocabulary, saying you have not met the standard.
Did I name a judgement, or only an output?
Outputs show that work happened; judgements show the responsibility you carried, which is what the three standards distinguish.
Which objectives did I have nothing ready for?
That is a gap analysis produced live, and it is the most useful thing a mock gives you.
Related pages and tools
- Question bankPractice questions across all ten Core Objectives, filtered by grade, by the standard they are pitched at, and by depth.
- The interviewHow the questioning works, how to answer at the level the standard asks for, and what to do when you do not know.
- PresentationTen minutes, ten slides maximum, compulsory — and not giving one fails Core Objective 2 outright.
- Gap analysisWhat to do about an objective you cannot evidence — and how long each kind of gap actually takes to close.