While most interview candidates only have a 20 – 30 percent chance of winning a role, thanks to the skills and experience gained this term our students should have a much higher chance! This term our 40 Year 11 Career and Enterprise General students had a fantastic opportunity to test their skills in a simulated interview with some of our most senior teaching staff, including our Principal, Mrs Donella Beare.
While the jobs were fabricated, the nerves were real!
One Year 11, Abigail, commented “I really enjoyed being interviewed by Mrs Beare, and it was a particularly interesting experience given I had not had the chance to speak with her one-on-one prior to the interview. This lack of familiarity was somewhat nerve-wracking at the beginning of the interview, but Mrs Beare was friendly and encouraging throughout the process and provided me with detailed feedback on my performance”.
Career and Enterprise teachers, Chris Bright and Christina Koutsoukos set up the interviews as part of the term’s assessment program.
Christina explained, “We focus on behavioural interviewing techniques specifically using a number of models including “Situation, action, outcome” (SAO) to prepare appropriate responses that address selection criteria so students can demonstrate their suitability for the position. As Interviews are an anxiety inducing activity at the best of times, the mock interview is good practice for students in a relatively “friendly” environment”.
Student, Matilda, gained a great deal from the experience. “We learned how to manage ourselves when prompted with additional questions outside of those prepared for prior to the interview. Being honest and truthful in our responses was also important as interviewers often ask for more detail about work experiences and training we have, which may be a requirement of the job advertised”. 
Evie also found the interviews helpful “This experience has given us the opportunity to practice being in an interview setting and using strategies to remain calm. It also highlighted the importance of thinking on your feet to generate a response quickly to any questions outside of what we may have anticipated or expected of the interviewer. Preparation completed prior to the interview helped us to better understand the kinds of questions often asked by potential employers in an interview setting”.
The time invested in preparing and conducting the interviews was clearly time well spent. Chris commented, “Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive. Many students found the interview process to be nerve-wracking but were grateful for the approach taken by staff interviewers. Students found our staff to be supportive and encouraging throughout the process, and welcomed the opportunity to meet one-on-one with staff if they hadn’t met before”. 
According to Christina, “Students found this task particularly useful given that many of them are currently in the process of seeking casual employment and work experience opportunities to accompany their senior school studies. Aside from the practical component of the interview task, students were grateful for the preparation materials provided in class and gained a better understanding of the types of questions they may be asked in an interview setting”.
The Career and Enterprise General course compliments the content and practical components in various units students complete as a part of other Certificate or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications such as the Cert II in Workplace Skills, and the Cert III and Cert IV in Business. The overall outcome is to better prepare students for the real world, especially the changing workplaces that they will find themselves in and the level of professionalism required to interact with others.