PGSD Event Empowers Students With Soft Skills for Future Success

Five years ago, Pascagoula-Gautier College and Career Technical Institute (PGCCTI) Director Derek Read — in conjunction with other education leaders in Jackson County — began incorporating lessons in soft skills for Pascagoula-Gautier School District (PGSD) students

What began as a guide to navigating the workplace for PGCCTI students quickly grew to encompass all students in the district

Efforts to build these necessary skills begin in seventh grade, when students go through MajorClarity career alignment surveys and Franklin

Covey’s Leader in Me training during Keystone By high school, PGSD students are exposed to Bridge Academy pathways and lessons from PGSD’s own career textbook

The soft skills training culminates in a You’re Hired! event created especially for Jackson County 11th graders

“We want our students to be enrolled, employed or enlisted when they leave here,” Read said “This event gets them closer to making that happen ”

This year, PGSD is celebrating its fifth year of hosting the event, which included Gautier College and Career Readiness (CCR) students as well The event takes place at PGCCTI

Each student arrives at You’re

Hired! dressed and prepared for a job interview in their desired field Students move in groups through seminars hosted by local business and industry leaders and complete an interview with a professional aligned with the student’s area of interest

Any You’re Hired! attendee who has been to a conference — professional or otherwise — would recognize the planning and execution of the PGSD event as that of a professional development or networking conference Culinary students prepare and serve lunch to business and industry partners who have come to host seminars or interview students Classrooms are arranged to accommodate presenta- tions, and students and teachers follow a prepared schedule for the day

As the years have passed, You’re Hired! has included more seminars and speakers to encompass areas local employers have identified as needed for student success in the workplace This year the seminars covered everything from interview framing and proper interview attire to social media responsibility, background checks and breathing and relaxation techniques

Interview professionals provide feedback to students based on a rubric, scoring the students on dress attire, communication skills, eye contact and their discussion on the career they selected for the interview The students who best represent a desirable interview hire received Walmart gift cards

“This is the first time I have seen both sides of the event,” Jackson County Chamber of Commerce CEO Paige Roberts said “This year I hosted the breathing and relaxation sessions in addition to helping with the event behind the scenes ”

After acting as an interviewer at a similar event in Gulfport several years ago, Roberts brought the idea of a You’re Hired! event back to her own Jackson County With the help of Read and his team at PGCCTI, the event has grown to what it is today�

“I tell these students, ‘You’ll never have a first interview again after today,’” Roberts says “They may be nervous; they may not do well, but they’ll never have another first interview again — they’ll know what to expect They can win a gift card at the end of the day if they do well, but nothing bad happens here if they don’t do as well as the next interviewee They receive a rubric with feedback to help them in the future, but they aren’t missing out on an opportunity by not winning It’s all about getting that first experience out of the way ”

Erika Reynolds and Jana Odom, PGCCTI’s student services coordinators, do much of the logistical work behind the event and are proud and relieved when the event comes together Reynolds says You’re Hired! is by far one of her favorite activities at PGCCTI

“It’s so much better for them to go through the interview with a person they don’t know,” Reynolds said “They see me [at PGCCTI] and know me, so interviewing with me would not be as much of a challenge as a ‘real’ interview”

Indeed, the business and industry leaders invited to participate in You’re Hired! are as invested as PGSD

Lauri-Ellen Smith, a public relations practitioner who owns a consulting business and works for the Mississippi Public Service Commission-Southern District, is one such business leader Each year, Smith hosts the Elevator Pitch seminar to help students uncover their passions and talk about them in a clear, concise way that will help sell their strengths in an interview or other professional encounter�

“They are just wonderful! So full of passion and promise,” Smith said of the students� “I enjoy seeing them come alive when they talk about their dreams ”

Smith sees her participation in You’re Hired! as giving students permission to dream

“Every generation has its thing, right? For them, it’s being [stuck behind screens] during the pandemic Maybe their parents have taught them to be practical because they were hit hard during the economic downturn in 2008 I appreciate that I get to help students dream and think about avocation in addition to vocation,” Smith said

Smith moves quickly through each seminar session because she wants to hear from the students She spends most of the session giving students a chance to share their interests and providing feedback on how to turn that passion into a career� Some are too shy to share, but most relish the opportunity to share what even their peers may not know about them�

Roberts agrees with Smith that PGSD students’ faces reveal all when it comes to the You’re Hired! event’s effect on their confidence She notes that many of them remain stoic as they receive their gift card and receive recognition in front of their classmates at the closing ceremony, “but you can see in their eyes that they are proud of themselves,” she said