Winning on a Budget: Interview
Interview is probably the hardest part of the competition to prepare for because you never really know what is going to happen. For the modeling portion, the contestants learn the walking pattern beforehand & are able to practice exactly what it will be like on the final night of judging. For interview however, the preparation is a little bit different.
Many contestants decide to enlist the help of a pageant coach for interview preparation. Coaches can help with anything from practicing questions, to pointing out bad habits you need to break, to helping pick out your interview outfit. However, all that professional help obviously comes with a price. So now, you have a few options…
You can, of course, go for the full-blown interview coach to help you with everything under the sun that has to do with your pageant interview. I’m guessing you will go greet those judges feeling completely prepared, which is always a good thing!
Some coaches, offer interview coaching over the phone, which can be less expensive but still effective! This could be a great option for someone who cannot get to the area to meet her coach in person, but still feels that she needs advice.
But, if you are trying to Win on a Budget – have no fear! In my 20 years of competing in pageants I have never used an interview coach, & I do just fine! Of course that is somewhat due to the fact that I have 20 years of experience, so I know the ins & outs of pageant interviewing. When you are not working with a coach, you still need practice. Practice, practice, practice!!! Ask yourself questions or have someone else ask you questions, & practice answering them in about 30 seconds or so. Most questions can be answered in that amount of time, & if you go over you’re probably rambling! If you’re doing this yourself, record yourself (using something like Photobooth on your MAC) so you can see how you will come across to the judges.
There are certain things that you should KNOW before you go into the interview: know your platform sheet, know yourself, & know why you are there. Seems simple, right? Try & form answers to questions around these topics, and you will feel confident with the interview process.
Another great idea if you are new to the interview process is to have a friend of your parents interview you like it was the real thing. Practice sitting the chair, remaining composed, & answering questions from your platform sheet & about yourself. Also, to make this mock interview even more authentic, there are many, many examples of pageant questions to practice, you just have to look for them! One website is: http://www.texaspageantscene.com/samplejudgesquestions.html
There’s nothing like the real thing to give you a sense of what it will be like!!
And, in closing, my best advice is to just BE YOURSELF! I’ll post later on how to choose the right outfit, hope this helps!
Ashley Smith
Many contestants decide to enlist the help of a pageant coach for interview preparation. Coaches can help with anything from practicing questions, to pointing out bad habits you need to break, to helping pick out your interview outfit. However, all that professional help obviously comes with a price. So now, you have a few options…
You can, of course, go for the full-blown interview coach to help you with everything under the sun that has to do with your pageant interview. I’m guessing you will go greet those judges feeling completely prepared, which is always a good thing!
Some coaches, offer interview coaching over the phone, which can be less expensive but still effective! This could be a great option for someone who cannot get to the area to meet her coach in person, but still feels that she needs advice.
But, if you are trying to Win on a Budget – have no fear! In my 20 years of competing in pageants I have never used an interview coach, & I do just fine! Of course that is somewhat due to the fact that I have 20 years of experience, so I know the ins & outs of pageant interviewing. When you are not working with a coach, you still need practice. Practice, practice, practice!!! Ask yourself questions or have someone else ask you questions, & practice answering them in about 30 seconds or so. Most questions can be answered in that amount of time, & if you go over you’re probably rambling! If you’re doing this yourself, record yourself (using something like Photobooth on your MAC) so you can see how you will come across to the judges.
There are certain things that you should KNOW before you go into the interview: know your platform sheet, know yourself, & know why you are there. Seems simple, right? Try & form answers to questions around these topics, and you will feel confident with the interview process.
Another great idea if you are new to the interview process is to have a friend of your parents interview you like it was the real thing. Practice sitting the chair, remaining composed, & answering questions from your platform sheet & about yourself. Also, to make this mock interview even more authentic, there are many, many examples of pageant questions to practice, you just have to look for them! One website is: http://www.texaspageantscene.com/samplejudgesquestions.html
There’s nothing like the real thing to give you a sense of what it will be like!!
And, in closing, my best advice is to just BE YOURSELF! I’ll post later on how to choose the right outfit, hope this helps!
Ashley Smith
Comments
Post a Comment