Careers support with CV and interview workshops

A morning of looking to the future took place for Y12 students at TBS as they worked with employers on their CV writing skills and interview technique.

Laura Fewell, Ben Palmer, Michelle Harvey and Josie Hughes from recruitment company Data X Connect and Sadie James from Ark Data Centres led small groups of students in a two-hour workshop, starting with looking at terrible CVs. Students learnt to double check spelling, make sure layout is clear and uncluttered, make the most of any experience and to pick a professional sounding email (rubberducky@yahoo isn’t going to cut it…)

They then examined some of the things they can use in their own CVs – how their hobbies can show they have good teamwork skills, or their waitressing job shows they can spin plates (not literally of course) by dealing with lots of requests at once.

A quiz led to many eyes opened – only 2% get interviews for jobs they apply for, for instance.

Then it was on to interview skills.

Students were asked to identify how to prepare for interview by researching the company history and culture; preparing well for all kinds of questions and having good questions ready to ask the interviewer. They looked at the STAR technique – Situation, Task, Action, Result – for answering questions fully and professionally.

Presenting yourself well and using correct body language was discussed – with a practical lesson in firm handshakes! The importance of making eye contact and not fidgeting led to an interesting question – what about those who are neurodivergent who find that challenging?

Josie Hughes answered the key is in communicating this to the interviewer at the start of the interview – the interviewer will appreciate your confidence and honesty.

A few practice interviews later and the students were done. Feedback showed they enjoyed they session and found is useful:

Jess: “It’s been good, especially around what questions you should ask in an interview.”

Emma: “I didn’t really know what was involved in an interview before so it makes me feel more prepared.”

Judit: “I don’t have a CV yet so I got lots of ideas on what to put in one and how to lay it out.”

Maja: “Very useful information on how to structure a CV – and how to prepare for an interview and behave in it. It definitely makes me feel more confident.”

Days like these help prepare our students for the world of work as well as underpin our attributes: Resilience, Professional, Aware, Enterprising and Confident.