Local businesses joined our Sixth Form for a series of mock interviews to build their confidence and develop communication skills

As part of our Sixth Form Careers Programme, a number of key employers came into school to “speed-interview” our Year 12s. Pupils prepared their CVs and researched some of the businesses attending and had at least two interviews, each with different employers. The employers who kindly gave up their time were: Roche, Tesco, Computacenter, Morgan Sindall, Crane and Staples Solicitors and some of our governors attended as well. Year 12 were therefore put through their paces by a range of different organisation.

“Confidence has a lot to do with interviews – that and timing!” so said Michael Parkinson – for those of us who can remember him – and we had plenty of confidence according to our visiting interviewers. The interviewers were looking for a warm introduction, strong and positive body language and a confident closure. The content of the interview was general – but the pupils were showcasing their skills from their studies, part-time work and their extra-curriculum activities.

Overall the morning was a success with half of the Year 12s being interviewed and finding it a valuable experience. The feedback from the businesses involved was all positive – confidence, good explanation of skills and polite attitudes. Each pupil got the chance for direct and instant feedback which they could use to improve on their second interviews. Any collective improvement ideas will be collated and fed back into our Careers Programme for a session later this term.

The Mock Interviews will carry on next week as more of our local business community gets the chance to meet our bright and engaged Year 12s for a second round!

Bishop’s Hatfield Year 11 open and attend a careers conference showcasing the breadth of Hertfordshire’s local business and careers opportunities

The Welwyn and Hatfield area were treated to our first post-16 Careers Conference with the Generation Welwyn and Hatfield Conference, opened by our local MP for Welwyn Hatfield, the Rt. Hon Grant Shapps, MP on Friday 24th February at the Fielder Centre in Hatfield. BHGS pupils were chosen to help open proceedings as seen in the Welwyn and Hatfield Times! (Hatfield: Students network at careers fair opened by Grant Shapps | Welwyn Hatfield Times (whtimes.co.uk)

The conference was run by the Local Hertfordshire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with leads on career path options, apprenticeships and career skills development support for local schools and opened to 1000 students from Welwyn Hatfield. A group of our Year 11s were invited to the conference which showcased numerous local and regional businesses and opportunities for the future. It was in the format of a Careers Fair and allowed our pupils to discuss options and network opportunities direct. Business attendees ranged from public services such as the Police to corporates such as Barclays and PayPoint to small businesses such as the solicitors Cranes & Staples and apprenticeship providers through to colleges such as Oaklands College and Beauty and Sports specialists.

Our Year 11s joined all the local schools in the area who went to find out what Hertfordshire has to offer. Year 11 behaved brilliantly engaging with all the employers and colleges by asking thoughtful and useful questions and returning with a wealth of information and the usual conference goodie bag!

Carol Jager of PayPoint said of our pupils “Bishop’s students were focused and interested” and Oaklands College represented by Sarah Wigmore commented “All Bishop’s attendees showed maturity and focus when talking to our team”.

The Year 11s had an enjoyable and insightful morning and it showed them the big world of opportunities waiting for them after June this year.