Practice doesn’t make perfect—it makes permanent.

If you’re practicing the wrong way, every repetition only solidifies your mistakes.

The key to interview success isn’t just more practice—it’s the right feedback.

I would know because as a senior Engineering Leader at Amazon, I have coached and mentored 1000+ people in the last decade at Amazon and beyond.

1. Is Practice Making Your Mistakes Permanent?

Repetition without reflection can solidify errors. Are you practicing, or just perfecting bad habits?

Imagine you’re rehearsing for an interview, answering common questions repeatedly. You feel prepared because you’ve memorized your responses. But in reality, no one has told you that your answers lack depth, fail to showcase your achievements, or meander off-topic.

Practice alone reinforces bad habits: If you consistently structure your answers poorly, repetition will only make those mistakes permanent.

Blind spots remain hidden: Without a fresh perspective, you won’t know if your tone sounds arrogant, your examples lack relevance, or your storytelling fails to connect with the interviewer.

A case in point: A candidate once spent hours rehearsing responses for behavioral questions. They practiced alone, confident in their ability to explain past successes. But in the actual interview, they realized too late that their responses came across as rehearsed and insincere. Practice had ingrained, not improved, their approach.

2. Why Feedback is Your Secret Weapon

Feedback uncovers blind spots and shows you where to focus. Are you practicing with a purpose or in the dark?

Now picture a different scenario. After your first mock interview, a coach points out that your responses are vague. They suggest specific examples, help you structure answers using the STAR method, and advise you to focus on impact rather than process. You rework your answers, practice again, and this time, they shine.

Feedback identifies blind spots: A mentor or peer can tell you where your responses lack clarity or confidence.

It sharpens focus: Constructive criticism helps you prioritize what matters most to interviewers—outcomes and ownership.

Consider this: Feedback from a single mock interview helped one candidate pivot from general anecdotes to targeted stories showcasing leadership. The difference? They landed the job, and their interviewer later cited their clarity and confidence as standout traits.

3. Mock Interviews: Your Best Training Ground

Want to prepare for the real thing? Mock interviews expose weaknesses and build resilience under pressure.

Think about the nerves that creep up before an interview. Mock interviews are the rehearsal space where those jitters are tamed, and mistakes are caught before they matter most.

Simulate real pressure: A mock interview replicates the actual setting, preparing you for the stress of the moment.

Reveal weaknesses: In one session, you might realize you freeze on technical questions or struggle with behavioral ones. Better here than in the real deal.

Consider this: A student once practiced solo for weeks but couldn’t handle live follow-ups in their first mock session. With feedback, they adapted, building the composure to think on their feet—a skill that clinched their next interview.

4. Always Ask: What Did I Do Wrong?

Don’t leave an interview without learning something. Feedback after failure is the fastest path to success.

Interviews aren’t a one-and-done event. Each one is an opportunity to grow, but only if you’re open to learning from it.

Post-interview feedback matters: Even if you don’t get the job, ask for feedback. What went well? What didn’t?

Create a feedback loop: Continuously improve with every attempt.

Consider this: A candidate who consistently requested feedback after interviews improved their STAR responses over time. What began as rambling answers transformed into concise narratives, each iteration inching closer to perfection.

5. Practice Without Feedback? Stop Wasting Your Time

Practice only works when paired with direction. Are you improving—or just spinning your wheels?

Repetition is only valuable if it’s paired with reflection. Feedback doesn’t just tweak your approach—it overhauls it when necessary.

Practice without direction is wasted effort: Spending hours on ineffective answers just reinforces bad habits.

Feedback accelerates improvement: A 10-minute critique can highlight what hours of practice miss.

Consider this: One engineering candidate discovered through feedback that their technical explanations were overly detailed. After adjusting, their responses became precise, impressing the panel with clarity rather than complexity.

6. Learn from the Best: Feedback is Essential

The world’s top performers, from Bill Gates to Elon Musk, credit feedback as their key to growth. Are you taking their advice?

Bill Gates said it best: "We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve." Leaders across industries agree that feedback is the foundation of success.

Ken Blanchard calls feedback 'the breakfast of champions.'

Elon Musk emphasizes its necessity for innovation: "A feedback loop is critical to think about how you can improve."

If the world’s most successful people rely on feedback to refine their approaches, why would interviews be any different?

7. Combine Feedback with Practice for Results

It’s not one or the other. Feedback shapes your practice; practice locks in your improvements. Are you balancing both?

It’s not an either-or scenario. The real magic happens when feedback and practice work together.

Feedback refines your approach: It tells you what to focus on.

Practice solidifies improvements: It ensures you’re ready when it matters.

Consider this: A software engineer preparing for a big tech interview used feedback from mock sessions to tailor their preparation. They practiced hard, but only on the areas identified as weaknesses. The result? They breezed through technical and behavioral rounds, securing a dream offer.

Always Remember: Feedback transforms practice from a shot in the dark to a targeted journey toward excellence. It sharpens, directs, and accelerates growth, making it the single most critical factor in interview preparation success.

What are you waiting for? Take action. Now.

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