To help them successfully navigate the selection processes that will unlock future study and employment opportunities, Year 11 students have recently benefitted from a series of events designed to develop the skills and techniques required to thrive in an interview situation.

An application support day held last month brought together representatives from post-16 college and apprenticeship providers to help students understand the importance of personal statements.

These essential summaries not only allow students to convey their reasons for wanting to apply for a particular college course, apprenticeship vacancy or employment opportunity, they also form the crucial first impressions of the applicant in the eyes of the organisation.  

During the application event, the school’s Careers Leader, Viki Foster, delivered a presentation on the writing of successful personal statements, including the dos and don’ts of effective statement writing. This was followed by an introduction to Log on Move on – an impartial careers service whose website contains helpful hints and tips for creating CVs and writing personal statements. 

Students received a guided demonstration of the platform, which is used by students around Hull and East Yorkshire to apply for college places or apprenticeship vacancies. The one-time set up of a personal profile within Log on Move on enables details to be stored for applications to multiple destinations, helping to streamline and simplify the application process for the site’s users. 

Using the advice shared with them, students were then given four weeks to draft and refine their statements in preparation for a mock interview scenario. Prior to this, they enjoyed an interview skills day delivered by members of the Humber Outreach Programme who, as part of the government-funded Uni Connect initiative, deliver impartial advice and guidance about higher and further education in schools and colleges across the Humber region.

This workshop inspired students to explore useful tips and techniques, with a focus on how they should successfully prepare for an interview. The session also explored the different types of interviews that they are likely to experience, from face-to-face encounters and telephone calls, to online meetings and full-panel scenarios.  

To help illustrate the many and varied additional elements that factor into creating a successful candidate, students explored the qualities that could shape the judgement of prospective employers. These included the importance of positive body language - with eye contact, straight posture and confident handshakes being highlighted as good examples.

Last week, students were finally given the chance to put their new-found skills to the test during a structured mock interview day. This event saw every Year 11 student given the opportunity to be interviewed one-on-one by a visiting employer or a representative from a further education provider.

The mock interview scenario helped to evaluate how well students are prepared for the pressures of a real interview situation, and also created the perfect platform for feedback on their recently completed personal statements.

To make the experience as authentic as possible, sealed written feedback was given to students at the end of the day to help guide them with their strengths and highlight the areas that require improvement. This valuable advice will help prepare them for their interviews to access post-16 providers, as well as the world of successful employment beyond

Over 25 representatives from local employers and education providers took part in the event, helping to interview over 140 students throughout the course of the day. Each interviewer was allocated a group of students, with every student being asked five individually selected questions.

The event was a resounding success, generating positive feedback from visitors and students alike. Commenting on its impact, Careers Leader, Viki Foster, said: “The main purpose of this month-long set of activities was to show the students how much work goes into preparing for an interview and that it’s not all about the interview day itself. I was incredibly impressed with the students personal statements and how they conducted themselves in the interview skills session, but I was even more proud of them when I saw them step out of their comfort zones and apply everything they had learnt in their mock interviews.

The students showed themselves to be confident individuals who were willing to overcome their own nerves to impress our visitors. There was a real buzz around the school as the students took their interviews seriously and worked hard to show themselves at their best. They were a credit to themselves and to the school.

I would also like to thank all of the employers and education providers who supported our mock interview day. We know events such as these take up a lot of time, and their commitment to helping our students achieve their best is highly appreciated and valued by all concerned.”

Commenting on the event from a visitor’s perspective, Penny Hart from Shores Homecare Ltd said: “We really enjoyed sharing advice with students around working life and their futures beyond school. It was great to meet so many ambitious individuals with clear goals.”

Michaela Maunders, Customer Lead at Balfour Beatty, added: “The students put in a lot of work and it was nice to see the confidence that came across. Good luck to all of them in their future careers.”

Meanwhile, commenting from a students’ perspective, Summer Grant said: “What I found most useful about the experience was discovering how easy it was to talk to people and to hear the types of questions that I could be asked in interviews. I was really pleased with the feedback I was given, as it made me more relaxed and confident for future interviews. It was a fabulous day and a great real-world experience.”

The month-long focus and preparation for successful interviews culminated in the start of formal college interviews this week, with many students having already met with representatives from local providers to put their learning in to practise in order to help secure their destinations of choice.

Interviews will continue into the new year and will take various forms including face-to-face meetings, telephone calls and, in some cases, will include online psychometric tests for access to apprenticeship and employment opportunities.

 

ABOVE: Ellie Walkington, Project Officer with the Education Skills Partnership at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, guided students through the Log on Move on platform and the start of their personal statements as part of the application support day. 

ABOVE:  Students James Clay and Lucy Atkinson perfect their handshaking technique as part of a focussed look at body language during the interview skills day. 

ABOVE: Student Henry Watkinson was interviewed by Holly Pratt, Marketing Co-ordinator at Hull College, on the recent mock interview day.