How do you prepare for job interviews?

We're building HireMate, an interview practice product for freshers and early-career people. Before building it, we want to understand how people actually prepare.

5 minutes · anonymous · no sign-up

Are you a student, a fresher, or someone with less than 3 years of work experience who is looking for a job now or in the next 6 months? *

Yes No

Please choose one option.

About you

A few basics about where you are in your career.

1. What best describes you right now? *

Final-year student Graduated, looking for my first job Working, less than 1 year of experience Working, 1–3 years of experience

2. Which roles are you applying for, or planning to apply for? *

Choose all that apply.

Data Analyst / MIS / Business Analyst Credit Analyst / Credit Officer Field Sales / Relationship Executive (bank, NBFC, insurance) Collections / Recovery Officer Other

3. Where do you live? *

Metro city (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata) Tier-2 city Smaller town / rural area

4. In which language are you most comfortable answering interview questions? *

English Hindi Mix of English and Hindi Another regional language

Please answer all the questions marked *.

Your recent interviews

Think about the last interview you attended.

5. How many job interviews have you attended in the last 6 months? *

0 1–2 3–5 6 or more

6. How many of those turned into a job offer?

None 1 2 or more Still waiting for results

7. How did you prepare for your most recent interview? *

Choose all that apply.

Didn't prepare much YouTube videos / online articles Practised with friends, seniors or family College placement cell / training ChatGPT or another AI chatbot An AI mock-interview app (name it below) Paid coaching or paid mock interview Other

8. In that interview, what was the hardest part? *

Technical / subject questions (Excel, SQL, finance, credit) Explaining my background and experience Nervousness / confidence Speaking fluently in the interview language Sales pitch / role-play / handling a customer situation Salary discussion Not sure: I don't know where I went wrong

9. When you weren't selected, did anyone tell you why? *

Yes, I got clear feedback I got a vague answer ("we'll get back to you", "not a fit") No feedback at all I haven't been rejected yet

Please answer all the questions marked *.

Spending and preparation

How you prepare, and what you've spent on your job search.

10. In the last 12 months, roughly how much have you spent on your job search? *

Resume writing, Naukri or LinkedIn paid plans, courses, coaching, mock interviews.

₹0 Under ₹500 ₹500 – ₹2,000 ₹2,000 – ₹5,000 More than ₹5,000

11. Has anyone ever asked you to pay money in exchange for getting you a job? *

Yes, and I paid Yes, but I refused No

12. Before an interview, how confident do you usually feel? *

Very nervousFully confident

13. If you could practise a real interview for your target role and get feedback, which would you most likely choose? *

Only if it's free Pay per practice session (around ₹99) A pack of sessions, cheaper per session (around ₹499 for 10) A monthly plan with unlimited practice I wouldn't use it

14. Describe one interview question you struggled with recently, or one thing you wish you had done differently.

Please answer all the questions marked *.

One last thing (optional)

We're speaking to a few people for 20 minutes to understand their experience in more detail.

15. Happy to have a short chat? Leave your name and phone number or email.

Used only to schedule that one call. Never shared, never used for marketing. Leave it blank if you'd rather not.

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This survey is now closed

Responses closed on 30 September 2026. Thank you to everyone who took part: the findings are going into what we build next.

Thank you!

Your answers help us understand how people really prepare for interviews. If you left your number, we'll reach out for a short chat.