Students Vie For Fictitious Job in Mock Interview
Junior and senior high school students from North Cook Young Adult Academy (NYCAA) in Des Plaines created resumes, wrote cover letters, and participated in mock job interviews with North Cook Regional Office of Education Superintendent Dr. Kevin Jauch for a fictitious office assistant job.
The exercise was part of their Career and Technical Education (CTE) class taught by teacher Carl Hill in order to prepare them as future job seekers. Language Arts teacher Jackie Jamieson assisted with resume and cover letter writing.
When asked what they would do differently in an actual interview, one student said he would ask more questions about the job and position when interviewing to show more interest. Another mentioned preparing a better cover letter and updating his resume, as well as applying himself more to the situation to be better prepared for a real job interview. A third interviewee said he would wear better clothing to look more professional.
Students were also asked how the experience changed or affected their comfort level with interviewing.
One student said he learned in class about common questions in job interviews and how to answer them. He admitted having no clue how to write an effective resume initially. In the process, he also learned how to interview other people and what to look for in hiring good people from Dr. Jauch. As an entrepreneur of a business, S.B.A. "Success Before Anything" Clothing, he discovered the mock interview was a great tool to find good people to help him with his own business.
As a result of this exercise, another CTE student said he feels more comfortable writing a cover letter and being a part of an interview because of the extensive preparation received beforehand. In addition, he learned that he can be very assertive during an interview, but come off as willing to work, which is a useful skill.
In-person examples and direct instruction certainly helped another student, who also mentioned that before the interview process, a resume was something he was somewhat anxious about, but now it seems less of a big deal.
While preparing for an actual job interview can be "a big deal", this group of 16 and 17 year olds all feel more confident in their ability to be successful in the future.
About North Cook ISC
There are a total of 39 school districts within the North Cook region, 32 elementary and seven high school districts, as well as two special education co-operatives. It serves more than 900 public school administrators, almost 11,000 teachers, and 147,000 students. For more information, see www.ncisc.org.