Mock Interview Scorecard

Score each category from 1 to 5.

1. Clarity

1: hard to follow
3: understandable but uneven
5: clean structure, direct answer, easy to follow

2. Technical Correctness

1: major errors
3: mostly right with gaps
5: technically solid and defensible

3. Assumptions

1: hidden assumptions
3: some assumptions stated
5: assumptions explicit and well-managed

4. Depth

1: superficial
3: adequate
5: can handle follow-ups with substance

5. Tradeoff Reasoning

1: ignores trade-offs
3: mentions some
5: explains trade-offs clearly and concretely

6. Communication Under Pressure

1: loses structure under interruption
3: somewhat stable
5: stays composed and adapts cleanly

Overall Rule

If you score below 4 in more than two categories, repeat the loop until the answer becomes automatic.

Saying it out loud. Self-scoring only works if you score the recording, not the memory — record yourself, wait an hour, and mark it as if it were someone else, because the version in your head is always cleaner than the one that came out of your mouth. Two concrete tests keep you honest. Did you state the punchline in the first sentence, or did you narrate your way toward it? And did you name a real tradeoff, a failure mode, or a number, or did you just describe the concept? If the answer would sound the same read off a page as spoken, it isn’t a 5 on clarity no matter how correct it was. The failure mode to watch for is grading technical correctness high and letting it carry the rest — most rejections come from communication scores, not from being wrong.