UCSB students and recent Alumni have special access to powerful self-paced tools, beyond the ones available to the public, on-demand to support your career development. You may have heard about these resources from around campus or another section of the Career Services website, and now you are ready to know more.
Use this page as your main hub to learn how to use each tool and login to your UCSB subscription.
Looking for Handshake, the premium job platform for Gauchos? Visit Handshake Help.
Ace Your Interview and Win the Job!
Let's face it: interviewing for a job can be an overwhelming experience. Whether you are going on your very first interview or you are an experienced interviewee, Big Interview is available 24/7 to provide a self-guided journey through must-know questions and 1000+ industry-specific questions.
Why Use Big Interview?
Practice Out Loud With Expert Advice
One of the best secrets to interview success is to verbalize your answers before your big day. Candidates who practice out loud are more likely to speak in a clear and coherent format when it is time to talk about your experiences, skills, knowledge, interests, and goals.
Prepare for Common Questions and Specialized Questions
Get yourself ready to answer the most commonly asked questions and the more targeted questions for interviews in a range of fields and industries.
Become Comfortable With Any Interview Format
Learn how to land the job with Big Interview’s powerful video tutorials and interview practice software for virtual, phone, and in-person interviews.
Develop Your STARS Stories
Use the virtual platform to create, enhance, and save your best career stories in Situation-Task-Action-Result-So What? format to help you provide strong examples.
Choose From Two Learning Tracks
Big Interview gives you both Fast Track and Mastery Track systems of lessons and virtual interview practice.
Big Interview Resources
How to Access
For the best experience, we recommend following the below steps to access Big Interview through the Interview Skills service with UCSB Career Services. If you prefer to skip the Interview Skills service, simply follow Step 1 to login and disregard Steps 2-5.
Step 1: Login via UCSB to Big Interview
Click the button below to register for a Big Interview account using your UCSB email address. Open your confirmation email and click Verify to begin using your account.
Step 2: Learn From Video Lessons
Interact with video curriculum at your own pace through the Learn menu. Choose your preference between the Fast Track or Mastery Track, and then view Playlist #2 in the bottom right corner for Acing Common Questions.
Step 3: Submit Practice Assignment
Go to the Assignments menu in Big Interview and choose one of the following codes to enter:
- Undergraduate Students: Industry Questions: 571152
- Undergraduate Students: Graduate School Questions: 607a1a
- Graduate Students: Industry Questions: 852c5d
Using your microphone and webcam in a well-lit room, go to Eye Tracking Calibration and respond to each question for 30-90 seconds. Click Submit when finished.
Note: If you are unable to complete the Assignment, you can alternatively submit this Written Assignment for feedback and next steps via email.
Step 4: Review Your Results
To see instant feedback on the delivery of your responses, select the AI Review tab (you can also find key suggestions in your General Action Plan under the Analytics menu). For detailed feedback on the content of your responses, check your inbox soon for an Admin Review email from a UCSB Career Services advisor (avg. response in 2 school days).
Step 5: Get Personal Feedback
We always recommend meeting with a Career Peer Advisor or Career Path Counselor to receive individualized feedback on your interviewing skills. Request an appointment for additional guidance after reviewing your Big Interview Feedback!
It's time to begin boosting your interview skills!
Learn More
Review these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help with your experience using Big Interview.
In some instances, your web browser may limit the functionality of the Assignments menu and other areas of Big Interview. For the best experience, we recommend that you download and use the Google Chrome web browser with Big Interview (issues may occur when using Safari).
For the best user experience, we also recommend using a laptop or desktop device with Big Interview, configured with only one display (devices configured with multiple displays in "split screen" format may incur issues).
Before you record videos in Big Interview, the system will prompt you to look at four corners of your screen using the Eye Tracking Calibration tool. If you encounter difficulties when using this tool, we recommend brightening the amount of light on your face, keeping your camera near eye level, or temporarily removing any eyewear.
In order for your videos to be reviewed by someone at UCSB Career Services, you must complete Steps 1-3 as described above on this page. Once you submit your Assignment, an advisor will be alerted and you will receive an email with your Admin Review (avg. response in 2 school days) along with instructions to schedule an appointment for further strategies.
You can request an appointment with a Career Peer Advisor or Career Path Counselor through the Career Center tab on Handshake. Please indicate in your appointment request if you would like to practice answering more mock interview questions during the appointment.
Absolutely! You can send an individual video or series of videos you record for an Assignment to friends, family, mentors, and other people in your personal network by clicking the Send button and inputting their email address.
Upon sending your request, each Reviewer will receive an email invitation to provide feedback on your recorded videos through Big Interview. You will get an email update once they have submitted their Review.
Check out the Student Guide for Big Interview to find out how to get the most out of the platform!
