Year 10 World of Work Interviews

15th - 17th March 2022

This interview process is an integral part of the students World of Work careers programme, delivered cross-curricular through Citizenship and Personal Best Time, building self-awareness and confidence for students to make informed decisions for their Post 16 pathway.

As last year, holding the interviews as a virtual opportunity ensures the process is more realistic of the workplace today, which is undergoing a digital technology revolution. Students chose a job from a selection of 12 career sectors which they felt best matched their current skills and completed an online application form. This formed the basis of their mock interview in an opportunity to best present themselves and practise their interview skills.

Feedback from employers suggests screen interviews will continue and be the first stage of all future interviews therefore valuable preparation for their future, whichever career pathway they take.  

Although many students considered this a daunting experience, we were impressed and proud of how they rose to the challenge, not to mention their smiles on leaving. Student comments;

“I’m not used to talking about me like this, but it’s helped” 

“I was really scared but I’ve done it now so I can do it next time”   

“The start was hard, then it got easier as I relaxed”

“I will prepare a question for my interviewer next time”

“Talking about my future made me realise I need a plan”

“My interviewer was really nice, I actually enjoyed that!”

We work hard developing our links with employers to have a fantastic range and depth of talent to call upon to facilitate these interviews, giving our students a very worthwhile experience. Some of the interviewer feedback is as follows;

Stuart Hyde, our volunteer Enterprise Adviser, has supported the interviews for many years:

“It was an honour and a most rewarding experience to assist with the Mock interviews. Offering time to give students as real an interview as possible in as safe an environment. People tend to be over critical of our younger folk, these interviews always end up reassuring me that the future generations have what it takes and will keep our communities on track.”             

Two companies who were new this year to our mock interviews:

Gary Hibberd, Consultants Like Us:

“Glad I could support you on this.  The students were all great, without exception. A real credit to the school and your work.”

Tom Horner, Plus Net:

"The calibre of the candidates was much higher than I expected. I was blown away by the quality of the answers and the ambition that was shown. One student stood out for additional feedback. She was superb and obviously a high achiever. Her interview quality was honestly better than some candidates I have interviewed over the last couple of years."

We would like to extend a Huge Thank You to the fantastic support and cooperation from these businesses, their involvement is greatly valued and appreciated.

Our grateful thanks go to:

Karen Mitchell | Careers Leader

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