The Table: interview coaching

Facilitator mode: every answer's feedback is open for group discussion. Switch to practice mode

Pick your situation. Build your answer in your own words, then practice it choice by choice. Every option tells you how it usually lands and why, with the research behind it. Everything you write stays in this browser.

Which one is yours?

The practice room

Every scenario from the candidate's chair, in one place.

Returning from incarceration (3)

Phone screen Tell me about yourself An open door you can walk through, or fall through. The application The box Before the talk, there is a checkbox. Here is how to think about it. In-person interview The silence after You said it. The room went quiet. The next ten seconds are the whole ballgame.

In recovery (2)

In-person interview The season you got well You do not owe anyone your health history. You do owe yourself a plan for the gap question. Phone screen Why did you leave your last job? The truth, at the right altitude.

Veterans and military families (2)

In-person interview Translating the uniform You led people through things this interviewer cannot picture. Say it in their words. Phone screen Why are you getting out? A civilian question with a civilian answer.

People with disabilities (2)

Before the interview Do I say anything? Telling them is a tool, not a duty. Here is how to decide when it works for you. After the offer Making the ask You got the offer. Now set yourself up to keep the job on your terms.

First work placement (4)

First meeting with your workplace mentor "So, tell me about yourself" The question that assumes you have a career to describe. Asking a business to host you Making the ask Most places say no because they do not know what yes involves. You got something wrong on site When you break something The moment that decides what the rest of the placement is like. Presenting your capstone to people who do the job Presenting to the room that knows They are not there to catch you out. Most of them are nervous too.

Every lane (3)

Job fair Ninety seconds at the table A job fair conversation is not a small interview. It is its own thing, and it is winnable. Final interview The money question Gratitude is not a wage rate. Know your number before they ask. After the interview After the no A no is data with bad manners. Here is how to collect it and keep moving.

People to talk to, free

Talk to a person, free

• WorkOne centers (career coaching, resume help, veteran priority of service) Find your nearest center through the state locator.
• Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Employment services for people with disabilities.
• HIRE (Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry) State employment program for justice-involved Hoosiers.

Legal help, free or low cost

• Indiana Legal Services Expungement help. Indiana allows one petition in a lifetime, so talk to a lawyer before filing anything.
• Job Accommodation Network Free, expert, confidential accommodation guidance for workers and employers.

Crisis and recovery support

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988, any hour. Veterans: press 1.
• Crisis Text Line Text HOME to 741741.
• Indiana DMHA recovery organizations Recovery community organizations across the state.
• Wellness Council of Indiana Indiana's Recovery Friendly Workplace designation.

For employers

• Federal Bonding Program Free fidelity bond covering the first six months of a hire.
• EEOC arrest and conviction guidance The individualized assessment framework (2012).
• Second Chance Business Coalition Fifty-plus major employers hiring from this population, publicly.

Know your worth

• Career Pathway Report Prices your experience against real regional wage data. Free, no account needed.

Hiring, and want to prepare from the other chair? The Table in Alex for Business has the employer side: the legal rails, your own fears answered, and an interview builder.

Running a group? Facilitator mode opens every answer's feedback for discussion. Getting people ready for a hiring fair? Fair prep mode starts with the ninety-second conversation. Any page prints as a paper practice card.

Practicing for a particular job rather than a particular conversation? Get interview-ready drills the questions that role actually gets.

The Table gives general information and coaching support. It is not legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. It never screens, assesses or treats anything. For your own situation, including expungement, licensing or what you must disclose in a regulated field, talk to a licensed attorney. Free and low-cost help: Indiana Legal Services, the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, and your local public defender's reentry program. In danger now: 988, 911, or the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. Facts current as of October 2026.