Growing Our Future: Texas Agricultural Science Education Magazine

IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW SKILLS FOR ALL STUDENTS

BY: MICHELLE SAMMON DAWSON HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURE SCIENCE TEACHER

Teaching students how to complete job applications and perform job interviews is one lesson no one could possibly argue the practicality. We, as ag teachers, work every day to prepare kids for the next step. We are not teaching to an end-of-the-course exam; we teach them skills they can use after all the exams have ended. When I began teaching, I took for granted that “someone else” was teaching students the basic lessons of writing resumes and cover letters, filling out job applications, and interviewing for a job. I quickly realized that, as a vocational instructor, that person should be me.

I begin the lesson by teaching students how to write a proper cover letter and resume and the dos and don’ts of completing a job application. I spend a little bit of time explaining the different styles of resumes and in which situations each may be more appropriate. Once they have the paperwork done, we begin discussing interviews. First, we talk about interview preparation, including ensuring you know where the interview will take place and how long it will take you to get there so as not to be late. It is also important to do a little research into the company, the position, and the interviewer in order to be prepared for questions. This will also allow the student to consider questions they may have for the interviewer. I show pictures of people in different outfits, and we talk about what is ok and what is definitely not appropriate to wear to an interview. We discuss how this may differ depending on the type of job for which one is interviewing.

WE ARE NOT TEACHING TO AN END-OF-THE-COURSE EXAM; WE TEACH THEM SKILLS THEY CAN USE AFTER ALL THE EXAMS HAVE ENDED.

Students are then ready to start interviewing. To begin, I put students into pairs and give each team an interviewing scenario (i.e., “a new restaurant is opening in town, and they are hiring wait staff,” “the lead singer of your band needs to be replaced,” or “our high school needs a new teacher,” etc.). One student is the interviewer, the other the interviewee. They must work together to prepare a skit in which they ask and answer a minimum number of questions, and the interviewee must have questions prepared for the interviewer. They perform these skits in front of the class and, when done, we discuss as a class what each person did right and wrong during the interview. This could include good or poor posture, response to questions, eye contact, handshake, etc. As the class goes on, they tend to (and should) start to improve.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH, HOWEVER, THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING THIS SKILL TO ALL OF YOUR STUDENTS.

The next step is a one-on-one interview with me to finish the interview process. I do not generally think my students are scared of me, but putting them in a situation where they have to shake my hand, look me in the eye, and answer questions seems to unnerve most of them. This is why I feel this lesson is so important. In my eyes, it is so much better for them to have this “unnerving” moment for the first time in my classroom where the only thing at stake is their grade than in an actual job interview situation with their future employment at risk. I tell students I will only be “hiring” one student for “the job” before we begin. The competitive students will take it very seriously and try their hardest. Some will try to make it a joke regardless of their grade. I take notes on their responses, posture, eye contact, etc. For fun, I always have a random bonus. For example, I may lay something down by their chair or drop something in front of them to see if they take the initiative to pick it up. I ask eight questions, for which I score their responses 1-10, and for the remaining 20 points, I score their posture and the questions they have prepared for me as the interviewer. When done, I tell the class who “got the job,” and we go over the highs and lows of the interviews. Without saying names, I talk about some of the good and bad moments so they understand what not to do when it is time for an actual interview. We finish by discussing proper interview follow-up procedures.

DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT 'SOMEONE ELSE' IS TEACHING THEM THESE LESSONS, AS IT IS A SKILL STUDENTS WILL NEED REGARDLESS OF WHAT PATH THEY TAKE BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL.

This is certainly not a novel idea, and I am not doing anything special that most other CTE teachers are not doing; in fact, others probably have even better methods of doing so. I cannot stress enough, however, the importance of teaching this skill to ALL of your students if you are not doing so already. I have had the most unlikely of students come back to me months, even years, after taking my class asking for help filling out job applications or polishing their resumes. Do not take for granted that “someone else” is teaching them these lessons, as it is a skill students will need regardless of what path they take beyond high school, even if they do not take it seriously at the moment.