Mock interviews

Every Monday for the past four weeks, we've held a workshop on the job search process. Students have been writing their resumes, filling out job applications, and learning about interview skills. Yesterday, we had the culminating workshop, and it was a great experience for all.

The intention of the workshop was to have students practice the skills they've learned in a simulated job interview and receive feedback. Amanda and Michelle came down from the office to conduct the interviews, while Amy coordinate students. Students were asked questions about their goals, experiences, strengths, and weaknesses and were then critiqued on their performance.

This was not the first time we've held this workshop. Last spring, we held a career exploration series with a group of students. One benefit of part of an outside organization is that our colleagues there can lend us their expertise. Students had the opportunity to practice with someone they did not know well, which probably made the mock interviews more realistic.

One difference we observed in the workshops we held in the spring and this month: last time, we had about half a dozen students, all of whom were girls from one country. This time, we had about the same number of students, but they came from five other countries and three continents, and most of them were boys. This goes to show how universal the need for these skills are; after all, all of these students will eventually be in an interview situation, if they haven't already.

This workshop concluded our fall job skills series. We'll continue to help students with finding and getting jobs as they come to us.