Practice makes perfect. Everyone has probably heard this numerous times and finds it cliché.

But it’s also true; practicing helps you learn from your mistakes and improve until you are the best you can be.

So why shouldn’t this apply to interviewing? Most college students do not think about interviewing for jobs and future careers until at least senior year. Sometimes it is not even until spring semester of senior year or the summer after graduation. Procrastination at its finest.

It’s scary to face the fact that college is over and you must leave the university. After four years of being in the university bubble, sticking to a routine, and knowing your friends are always near, leaving can seem terrifying.

Leaving is only half of the battle. Finding a job, somewhere to live, and a way to pay for everything is too much to think about in that last year or semester.

There has to be a better option, instead of panicking last minute about how college is over and you need to find something to do with your life.

So, shouldn’t the “practice makes perfect” cliché apply to interviewing? Going to interviews during senior year can be very beneficial.

First of all, going to interviews can teach you what type of questions they will ask you. By the time you go to an interview, you’ll have rehearsed each answer so many times that you don’t even have to think about them.

Also, you’ll get asked more in depth and interesting questions. Knowing how to formulate a good response quickly is crucial for interviews.

You’ll be forced to practice that if you interview early.

Another thing is that you’ll learn how to dress so that you are comfortable, but professional looking. Seeing what each interviewer wears will give you a better idea of what you need to wear.

Interviewing early will also help you figure out exactly what you want to do. If you interview with a variety of companies, then you can make informed decisions about which ones you like.

Are the people nicer at one company? Is another in a good location? Do you like the mission at one place more than another?

All of these advantages are minor compared to the fact that you will be ahead of the game. Probably the most important advantage is that you will have more experience than other college graduates when you finally interview for jobs that you want.

To be fair, interviewing early does take time and effort. It may seem like a waste to interview for jobs that you don’t want or aren’t prepared to take.

The preparation will be helpful in the long run and you’ll be glad you made the effort to start early.

When graduation comes, panicking is no longer necessary. You’ve spent a while going to interviews and learning exactly what you should say and do.
You are ready for the real thing because practice makes perfect, right?

Mariah Pulver is a sophomore journalism and political science double major from Tucson, Ariz.