Preparation, preparation, preparation – always time well spent!
22nd October 2024 22:33
Now in our industry, we’re no strangers to conducting interviews. We also know that the key to developing any new skill is practice.
Armed with this knowledge, and memories of their own first-interviews firmly front of mind, a group of DJS Partners were excited to join Bramhall High School’s Year 11 interview skills day.
The day was designed to develop and practice core life skills. It began with a presentation on interview ‘tips and tricks’ delivered by a number of guest speakers from local Further Education institutions and our very own Rebecca Green. Rebecca talked about the importance of preparation as well as reassuring students about a few things in interviews that it’s ‘OK to do’ (in fact more than OK to do!); to pause before you answer and to ask for clarification. Things you might wish you’d been told yourself back in the day.
Next our team conducted short face to face interviews with students who found the experience as invaluable and invigorating as the Year 11s they spoke to. They were hugely impressed by the maturity of the students who gave real thought to the questions they were asked, and answered in such detail. Staff at Bramhall High School said how meaningful all the students found the experience.
Our Training Lead Sarah Smith explains why she’s so passionate about initiatives like these. She believes they help bridge the gap between the ‘worlds’ of education and the workplace – making the latter more accessible for young people across society. This is why she found the interview skills day at Bramhall High School so rewarding…
“I feel very passionate about helping young people try and understand that there is a much bigger world out there than where they currently find themselves, and that there are so many different ways in which they can use their unique gifts, skills, and talents to make a difference in it. I believe in the correlation between education and social mobility, but sometimes I think there’s a missing link between education and the world of work for young people (particularly those with additional challenges), which is where events like this, play a key role. I loved learning about the pupils' aspirations for their future and helping provide advice and direction for them. At the end of one of my interviews, a pupil said, with a big smile on their face, that they “felt really inspired” after our conversation, I found that so rewarding!”
Bramhall High School have also shared some fantastic student feedback from the interview skills event and there’s one comment which really stands out to us;
“I felt nervous at first and came out feeling confident.” Year 11 student.
This tangible impact, in a nutshell, sums up why taking part in events likes these is so incredibly important. It is definitely time well spent – and something we’d whole heartedly encourage anyone within the industry to do.
Speaking of her experience presenting to Bramhall High's Year 11 students, Rebecca Green also shared her thoughts on why support from industry is so important; "Running sessions like this is a great way for us as professionals to give something back, to share our experience and to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need. Seeing them arrive nervous and unsure and leave brimming with confidence is a wonderfully uplifting and satisfying experience".
The close link we have formed with Bramhall High School has been forged by our Social Values lead DJS Partner Vicky Mullis in her voluntary role as a Specialist Enterprise Advisor for the Greater Manchester Enterprise Advisor Network. To find out more about how we support this school and ways in which you can get involved please contact Vicky at vmullis@djsresearch.com. You can also read about the experiences of our Creative Team who went to speak to the students of Bramhall High School earlier this year, as part of their careers encounters event, here https://gmacs.co.uk/blog/hear-from-djs-research-on-why-attending-careers-events-are-so-important/.