Mock Job Interviews
Mrs. A. Papakonstantinou
Academic Director of Undergraduate Studies
(BAED)
City College, An International Faculty of the UoS
6th Annual
Learning & Teaching Conference
Business Administration and Economics Department
Business Communication
A skills-based unit for:
1st level
1st semester
Business students
Business Communication
Skills
To learn how to communicate
To learn how to write more effectively
To learn how to listen
To learn how to work in teams
To learn how to make presentations
yes….still
Business Communication
How can we achieve these?
• Theory?
• In-class exercises?
• Assignments?
• Real life projects?
Business Communication
A combination when possible
Theory
In-class
Exercises/
games
Assignments/
Reports
Real life
experiences
Business Communication
First day in class:
• “I am not going to teach anything new…I am going to
make you conscious of what you are doing and of what
you are not doing while you are communicating”
Business Communication
How?
• Through experiencing real circumstances
The need for job interviews
• The business environment is changing dramatically
• Employers are not looking only for a good degree from a
top University
The need for job interviews
Employers are also seeking for:
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Interpersonal skills
Leadership
Oral and written communication
Teamwork
Problem-solving
Listening
Creative thinking
Mock job interviews: the
process
3 stages:
1. Before the interview
2. During the interview
3. After the interview
Before the interview
•
They are asked to fill in their preferences (marketing;
management; finance)
•
They are asked to submit by e-mail their CVs
Before the interview
•
Evidences from the Career Director that students do not
know how to write properly their CV
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Starting from 2006 a full session is dedicated to CV
writing in Business Communication
During the “Career Week” more tips and hints are
provided by employers to them through seminars
•
Before the interview
CV preparation
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A 3-hours session takes place in the labs
-1 hour of theory
-2 hours of start preparing their
CV in the labs
They are given three choices:
-Regular CV
-Visual CV
-European CV
Before the interview
Before the interview-CV preparation
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The CV counts for 15% -Pass/Fail
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Specific criteria are described in the coursework
handout (CV appearance: layout, English, clarity, logical order, impact;
CV content: qualifications, skills, experience, strengths, aims, interests, personality; You
are allowed for ONE spelling mistake)
Before the interview
I divide students into two groups:
• Panel (3 students)
• Interviewees (3 students for 1 panel)
Before the interview
2 sessions are dedicated to job interviews:
• 3 hours: “Being an interviewer”
• 3 hours: “Being an interviewee”
Before the interview
Panels:
• Are given a job notice
Name/Surname
Before the interview
Panels:
• Are given a job notice
• They have to make a full job description and person
specification
Before the interview
Panels:
• Are given a job notice
• They have to make a full job description and person
specification
• They send to me the job description and I am
sending it to their interviewees so to prepare
themselves
Before the interview
Interviewees:
• Send their CVs to me
• I send to them the job description on behalf of their
panel. Job descriptions are based on their
preferences (i.e. marketing or management…)
• I send to the panel the CVs so to prepare their
questions
Before the interview
Schedule:
• I am sending to them their schedule (e.g. Panel 1,
Angelovski Nikola, 10:00) two days before the actual
interviews
• Interviewees know only the number of the panel
• The panel now knows the interviewees
During the interview
• Takes place in a Conference Room, during the
Consolidation week
• Each interview lasts for 15 to 20 minutes
• A video camera is present
• Depending on the size of the cohort, the interviews
last from 7 to 10 hours
After the interview
• DVDs are available in the library
• Students are asked to watch them and write an
observational report (15%)
• Interviewers have to evaluate their individual and
team performance and provide arguments for the
selected person
• Interviewees have to evaluate the panel (organisation;
types of questions, etc) and evaluate their own
performance
After the interview
• Feedback is given to the students within 2
weeks time (30%)
Skills learned
Students learn to:
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Work in teams
Listen
Communicate in a controlled and formal environment
Present themselves
Improve oral and written skills
Increase their confidence
Critically evaluate themselves
Feedback from Students
“Experience of a real interview; Gain communication
skills; motivation so to prepare for a job interview”
“This was a very good experience and very good practice
for a real interview”
“We had fun”
“ I got the opportunity to understand all the preparation
an interviewer has to do before the interview. Also
preparing the questions helped me to comprehend
what employers are looking for”
Feedback from Students
“I wanted to be an interviewer and not an interviewee;
may be you could find out a way to switch roles”
“Students should experience both sides”
“I didn’t like the camera”
What the academics comment
“Studies have shown the importance of employment
interview preparation in boosting the confidence and
performance of students and jobseekers when they
interview” (Hansen, K. et al, 2009)
“The use of experiential methods enhances students’
understanding of the subject matter (Camp, 2000) and their
confidence in applying it (Joshi, Davis, Kathuria & Weidner,
2005)”
What the practitioners
comment
“Most job seekers have no idea what recruiters are
actually looking for”
“Students are not prepared for an interview”
“Job seekers haven’t made their homework on the
company they had applied for”
Feedback from the lecturer
• It is a time consuming process
• Requires lots of time to organise the interviews
• Requires approximately 7-10 hours in the interviews
Feedback from the lecturer
• It worth the effort…especially when you meet your
graduates some years later telling you how useful the
whole experience was for them