Online Students

Same jobs, same panel characters, same feedback. You pick the time.

1

Join a pod time

In Canvas, go to People → Groups and join a pod whose time you can make. Each pod holds up to 4 people.

2

Prep

Do the same before-class prep as everyone else, before your pod meets.

3

Meet for ~50 minutes

Run the activity with your pod on a video call at your pod's time.

Can’t make any of the pod times? Message your instructor by the sign-up deadline in Canvas. You’ll be placed in a pod that does the activity asynchronously by video (Option 2 below).

Step 1: Join a pod

  • In Canvas, open People → Groups, find the mock interview pods, and join one whose time you can make. The day, time, and time zone are in each pod’s name.
  • Each pod holds up to 4. If one is full, pick another.
  • Join early. The best times fill up first. After the sign-up deadline, groups are locked.

Step 2: Meet at your pod’s time

  1. Meet on Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. Anyone in the pod can post a link in your Canvas group. Allow about 50 minutes, or 60 for a pod of 5.
  2. Your number is your spot in the group roster, alphabetical by first name. The first name alphabetically is Person 1, and so on. Use it in the What’s my seat? picker.
  3. Choose a timekeeper. They open the Timer, set the pod size, click Start now, and paste the link in the call chat. Everyone opens it.
  4. Run the rounds as described on the Instructions page. Panelists open the candidate’s job page → Interview room → their own seat, and draw a new mood card each round.
  5. Cameras on, if you can. Video interviews are a normal part of hiring now.

Someone can’t make it at the last minute? Go ahead without them. A pod of 3 uses the A+B Hiring Manager seat. Your instructor will help the missing person find another pod.

This option is for students who can’t make any of the pod times. Your instructor places you in a pod. Everything happens in that pod’s Canvas group discussion, and nobody needs to be online at the same time.

Each pod member gets one thread where they’re the candidate. On every other thread, you’re on the panel. This format matches the one-way video interviews many employers use for first-round screens.

How the two weeks run

When Candidate (your own thread) Panelist (your podmates’ threads)
Days 1–3 Start your thread, titled Candidate: Your Name – Job Title. Post the job link and a 2–3 sentence “cover note” on why you’re applying. Nothing yet.
Days 3–5 Don’t read the questions until you’re ready to record. Post one question in character for each podmate. Use your assigned seat and a fresh mood card.
Days 5–9 Record one video, 8–10 minutes: your 60-second pitch, then each panelist’s question, then one question for the panel. Nothing yet.
Days 9–11 Nothing yet. Watch the video. Reply with one follow-up in your seat’s style, plus a short in-character answer to the candidate’s question.
Days 11–14 Answer each follow-up in a short reply, either a video of 2 minutes or less or about 150 words of text. Drop character and post your three debrief notes: a hired-peer moment, a hedge moment, and one thing to try.

Which seat do I play? Your number is your spot in the group roster, alphabetical by first name. Use the What’s my seat? picker. Each round corresponds to one podmate’s thread: Person 1’s thread is Round 1, and so on.

Posting your panel question

  • A 30–60 second video clip is best. Text is fine too.
  • Introduce yourself in character, for example “Hi, I’m Pat, chair of the search committee. Apologies, it’s been a morning.”
  • Open the candidate’s job page → Interview room → your seat, and pick one of that seat’s questions. Draw a mood card from the same page and let it shape how you ask.

Recording your candidate video

  • Read the questions only when you’re ready to record, and give yourself about 30 seconds to think before each answer.
  • Record in one take if you can, the way you would for a real one-way interview. One restart is fine.
  • Use Canvas’s Record/Upload Media button in the reply editor, or record a Zoom meeting with just you.

If a panelist goes quiet: don’t wait. If a podmate hasn’t posted by Day 5, pick one of their seat’s questions from your job page’s Interview room yourself, and say which seat it came from.

Video-interview tips

  • Put your camera at eye level, and look at the camera when you’re making a key point.
  • Light your face from the front with a window or lamp. Avoid light coming from behind you.
  • Notes on a sticky note next to the camera are fine. Reading a script off the screen is noticeable.
  • Live calls: unmute, pause for a beat, then answer, because lag can make people talk over each other.