Practice makes perfect – Mock Interviews for Sixth Formers

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!