Head to Head Practice Interview Programme Aim of the day: Where? Travel: Food/Drink: To give students a true interview experience based on their CV in order to help them apply for employment or higher education. Events are held in school, you will be provided with a map and clear directions. Volunteers are asked to make their own way to the school and back. Tea/Coffee and biscuits will be made available for the briefing session and during breaks. At lunchtime the school will provide either a buffet or school dinners! Dress Code: To bring: Preparation: Commitment: Business attire. On the morning, you will be provided with packs by Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) who organise the scheme, so apart from directions you don t need to bring anything! Not necessary you will be provided with everything that you need. Volunteer time commitment is very flexible and can be as little as a half day session, a morning or afternoon, although you can participate for a full day if you are able. A typical event timetable: 08.40 09.15 Coffee & Briefing 09.15 10.45 First 3 interviews (30 minutes each) 10.45 11.15 Tea/Coffee Break 11.15 12.45 Next 3 interviews (30 minutes each) 13.30 14.00 Coffee & Briefing for afternoon participants 14.00 15.30 Final 3 interviews (30 minutes each) How old are the students? Year 10-12 (14-17 year olds). How are they selected for the interviews? It is compulsory for the whole year group. Have the students been briefed on what to expect? Yes, they will have had a dedicated assembly, been given a leaflet and had posters in their classrooms. Where will the interviews take place? Normally in the school library or main hall.
Will I be left alone with a student? No all the interviews are conducted in the same room, with sufficient space between desks for privacy. Will there be a teacher present? Yes, though they stay in the background and don t interfere and are able to answer any specific questions regarding the school/pupils. What information will the students supply and when will I receive this? The students produce a CV or a Personal Statement that you will receive 5 minutes before each interview, covering areas such as school subjects, hobbies and interests, sports, school trips, voluntary work, work experience etc. Have the students had any work experience? Yes, they should have all been on a two week placement at some point during their secondary education. Many of the pupils will have also been involved in activities such as Take Our Children to Work (a one-day placement), Construction Challenge (two-day course, culminating in building a flat pack house) and the GETTING AHEAD Conference (a two-day course, key skills identification, completing mock application forms, interview techniques, team enterprise session etc). Will the students be in interview dress? No, normally they are in school uniform. What should I cover in my feedback? CV content, first impressions, body language, appearance, communication skills, direct evidence of key skills (i.e. getting on/working with others, leadership etc.), overall performance. How critical should I be? Obviously we want this to be a positive experience for the students. This is their chance to mess up and get away with it! Therefore, plenty of praise for things they did well, lots of constructive criticism if required and discuss with them areas for future development. Will I get any feedback on my performance? Yes, once the students finish their interviews we ask them to complete a questionnaire. This is where they talk about you!! Please don t worry they always say how helpful and nice you were. Finally, am I allowed to have fun? YES! Definitely, we want it to be an enjoyable and constructive event for everybody involved.
Head to Head A guide for a possible mock interview structure! The interviews will take place in school, perhaps the library or hall and each interview will last for approximately 30 minutes. First 5 minutes You will be given either a pupils folder or personal statement to read. Once you re happy with the information you have gathered, we ask that you come to the reception area and collect your pupil and escort them back to your table. Next 15 minutes Firstly, introduce yourself and explain what will happen. This will be a 15 minute mock interview; ultimately what we will be attempting to do in this interview is to get you talking about yourself and to get you to open up. At the end of the interview you will receive verbal feedback. Then put the pupil at ease by telling them to relax as you re here to help them and to give them some helpful tips for the future. Possible structure for the interview Tell me about yourself? Possibly starting with their school experiences. School, what subjects are they studying? What option subjects did they choose and why? Favourite subject? Least favourite subject? Predicted grades? If known! How are they preparing for their exams? Revision, study clubs etc. Hobbies, interests and activities? Both inside and outside school for example, Music, Books, Films/Cinema, TV, Computers, Travel, Football, Basketball, Swimming, Athletics, Youth Club etc. Work Experience they should be able to talk about their two-week work experience placement. If they haven t participated in the WE programme yet they should be able to talk about part-time and holiday jobs with a brief summary of what these involved. Plans after they finish school? College/University if so why? What course? What college and why? What career will this course lead too? What sort of job would they like? Dream job? At this stage of the interview it s a good time to build in a couple of basic interview questions covering the Key Skill areas possible examples: Give me an example of when you have had to work as part of a team? What was involved? What was your role? Were you successful? What type of people do you like to work with? Can you describe a situation where you needed to co-operate with others to solve a problem?
If asked what your friends and family think about you, how would they describe you as a person? What would they say? Can you give an example of something that you have had to plan towards or organise? (Exams, Work Experience, School trip, Drama production, Youth Club, Charity event etc). Tell me about something that really challenged you? What have been your major achievements in your education/life to date? Do you think your predicted grades reflect your ability? How ambitious are you and what are your ambitions? NOW FINISH THE INTERVIEW AND ASK THE PUPIL HOW THEY FELT THE INTERVIEW WENT AND HAVE THEY ANY QUESTIONS? Next 5 minutes Verbal feedback session, please cover the following areas: Personal Statement/CV Was it easy to read? Were there any spelling mistakes? Were all subjects and grades listed? Were all hobbies and interests listed? Work Experience/Part-time jobs included? First impressions Were they acting sensibly when you collected them from the reception area? Was their appearance smart, even if they re in school uniform their tie should be business like, top button done up and they shouldn t be chewing gum! Their hair should be neat and tidy and out of their face. Body Language Did they make good eye contact? Did they sit comfortably? Did they fidget or pick their nails? Was their voice calm? Outside interests and achievements Did they talk openly and enthusiastically about their hobbies and interests or did you have to drag the information out of them? Could they identify their achievements? Evidence of teamwork, leadership, getting on with other people Were they able to give an example of being a good team player? Could they identify when they had taken control of a situation? Communication skills How clearly did they speak? Were their answers interesting and did they include relevant information? Did they come across as a confident person when they spoke? Overall performance Please highlight the areas that the pupil excelled in? Please identify areas that the pupil could develop? Please remember to be constructive in all your suggestions!
Final 5 minutes Thank the pupil for their time, hand them a Pupil Feedback Form and ask them to return to the Reception Area where they will complete their form! Please back up your verbal feedback by completing the Practice Interview Proforma in your pack. Please do not give this to the pupil on the day. The pupil will get it back at a later date, so please consider this when you re completing it. END OF INTERVIEW! Once you re ready for another pupil the coordinator will hand you another folder or CV/personal statement. This document is meant as a guide only. You do not have to stick to the instructions rigidly and you probably won t cover all of the areas mentioned. There is no set way of conducting the interview as you will adopt a style that works for you!