From “Tell me about yourself” to curveballs — Groundlings-trained Holly Mandel teaches job seekers to think on their feet and land the job.
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — iMERGENCE founder and CEO Holly Mandel was recently featured as a guest expert on The Lonely Office, the podcast from Indeed — the world’s number one job site. The episode, titled “Mastering Job Interviews with Improv,” explores how the same techniques used in professional improv training can transform the way job seekers show up, think on their feet, and connect authentically in high-stakes interviews.
Indeed is the world’s leading job matching platform, operating in over 60 countries, and connects around 350 million unique monthly visitors with nearly 4 million employers worldwide. More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else. The Lonely Office is the platform’s flagship podcast, hosted by advertising industry veteran and recruiter Leah Ova, bringing workplace expertise and career guidance directly to Indeed’s massive global audience of job seekers.
Mandel joins Ova for the show’s Ask a Recruiter series, where real questions from the Glassdoor community are brought straight to the experts who know how hiring really works. Together, they work through some of the toughest interview questions job seekers face — from the familiar “Tell me about yourself” to curveballs like “How would you sell ice cream in the Arctic?” — breaking down practical, immediately applicable tools for each.
Mandel brings a rare and distinctive perspective to the conversation. A former Main Company member and instructor at the world-renowned Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles — the institution behind generations of celebrated television and film performers — she has spent decades studying what makes human communication land, under pressure and without a script.
At iMERGENCE, the company she founded in 2011, Mandel has translated those same skills into a highly effective methodology for professionals and Fortune 500 teams. Her clients include IBM, Apple, Walt Disney Studios, Pfizer, Google, and American Express, among many others. The throughline across all of her work is the same: when people learn to listen deeply, respond authentically, and stay present in the moment, everything changes.
In the episode, Mandel introduces listeners to the power of “yes, and” thinking — the foundational improv principle of accepting what’s in front of you and building on it — and shows how it applies directly to navigating unexpected interview questions, managing nerves in a Zoom environment, pivoting mid-answer without panic, and projecting the kind of warmth and energy that gets candidates to the next round.
“The only time we are not present is when we’re up here worrying, beating ourselves up, or trying to remember the script,” Mandel explains. “If I just stay present, if I stay connected, if I trust that if I listen, I’m going to catch the pivots that need to happen.”
For the millions of job seekers navigating today’s competitive hiring landscape, the episode offers a refreshing and highly actionable reframe: the goal is not a flawless performance, but a genuine human connection. And that, it turns out, is exactly what improv teaches.
The episode is available now on The Lonely Office on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever podcasts are streamed.
Since 2011, iMERGENCE has used improv to do something most trainings can’t: actually change how people show up at work. They have proudly partnered with organizations like PwC, Pfizer, Apple, Deloitte, Google, and American Express, as well as fast-growing startups, to build cultures that are more connected, creative, and adaptable.
iMERGENCE is the only certified woman-owned and operated business of its kind, based in New York City and Los Angeles.
Liz Coin
iMergence Corporate Improv
hello@imergenceusa.com
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Indeed’s Lonely Office with Holly Mandel | Mastering Job Interviews with Improv | Ask a Recruiter
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