For high schoolers, mock interviews are important step in career preparedness
MFL MarMac juniors participated in mock interviews with area business professionals on Dec. 3, as part of their required high school employability skills class. Here, Steve Hanson, director of business development at Northeast Iowa Telephone Company, meets with student Blake Lamborn. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
At the end of the day, all juniors gathered in the auditorium for an employer panel. Many of the business professionals involved in the mock interviews answered student-posed questions related to the interview process.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
MFL MarMac juniors participated in mock interviews with area business professionals on Dec. 3, as part of their required high school employability skills class.
The class is an NICC course, providing students with dual credit, said teacher Tamara Butikofer. It’s become an important tool for career preparedness.
“I have them do career searches and interest inventories, like what they might be interested in and what their personality might fit. They also do cover letters, resumes and references, and they are supposed to bring their resume to this and it’s part of their grade,” said Butikofer. “They do job shadowing to see if that’s what they really want to do or not. It gets them out there and exposed to some different things.”
In addition, the class discusses soft skills, networking and other related topics.
“A lot of them have high school jobs, but it’s not necessarily the same thing as what they would do for a professional career,” Butikofer added.
The mock interviews are held in the high school gym. Tables and chairs are scattered around the space, putting students face-to-face with an interviewer.
Butikofer said each student completes two interviews, and is paired with business professionals from career fields similar to what the student is interested in.
“We try to get a variety of people,” she noted.
Students start the process by walking into the gym and stating their names.
“Then whoever has that person will come up to them, shake hands, go to their table and do the interview. When they’re done, they fill out a rubric to grade themselves, because I want them to compare how they graded themselves to how they really got graded,” Butikofer said.
At the end of the day, all the juniors gathered in the auditorium for an employer panel. Many of the business professionals involved in the mock interviews answered student-posed questions related to the interview process. They provided insight into topics ranging from dress code and appearance to battling nerves.
Butikofer said the day will prove valuable to students down the road.
“The more experience they get, the more they do this, it gets a little easier and they get more confidence,” she explained. “A lot of them probably have had interviews for a high school job, but this is way different.”
