Plains seniors get real-life training

Students at Plains High School became more ready for the outside world of employment last week after completing an evening of practice interviews with more than a dozen business men and women.

Nine seniors took part in the annual Jobs for Montana's Graduates (JMG) Mock Interview at the school with 14 people from Plains and Amy Laws, a teacher at Thompson Falls Elementary School.

"They did very well. It was highly successful and good for them," said Nicole Cockrell, who took over as the JMG teacher this school year. Cockrell said it's good to get the community involved in JMG and the students' futures.

JMG was established to give high school seniors help in seeking employment and a meaningful career after graduation. The specialty class is designed to improve their employment success rate with an assortment of instruction during their senior year. Cockrell said they learn professionalism, ethics on the job, how to show initiative on the job, how to leave a job respectively, proper employment apparel, manners, and even a proper handshake. The program began at Plains High School in the mid 1990s. Thirty-two high schools in Montana participate in the JMG program, including Thompson Falls and Hot Springs. The Mock Interview is one of two major events the school conducts for the students each year. In April, the class will travel to Missoula for the Dress For Success assignment.

Mock Interview night concentrated on the proper way to write a cover letter and a resume and how to effectively conduct an interview with a potential employer. The three girls and six boys selected the types of jobs that interested them and had to go out and invite those community members doing the interviews. They also had to send a cover letter and resume to the prospective employer they chose. The participants came up with their own questions for the interviews.

Each student had to do a minimum of three interviews, but received extra credit if they did more, up to a maximum of five, said Cockrell. Each interview was 15 minutes long – 10 minutes for the interview and five minutes of feedback.

"This gives them real interview experience and it gives them time to think about questions that can come up in a real job situation," said Cockrell, who was a JMG student in 1998. The interviewers varied in occupations. Four were educators at Plains School and five were Plains business owners. Sanders County Deputy Eric Elliott and Plains Officer Ethan Harvey participated.

This was the first time for the school's information technology specialist Casey Thompson to take part in the interviews. Thompson said they did great in the interviews, but one of them had several mistakes in his resume. Plains School Superintendent Thom Chisholm, who's participated in the Mock Interviews eight times, had two students that did very well in the interviews, although one gave him the wrong resume.

Most of the interviewers had fewer than 10 questions for the students. Batt Lulack, owner of Block Mountain Stone, had eight questions that he said were more abstract, but revealed their personality, such as what kind of dog would you be, what do you want to be when you grow up, are you a hunter or a gatherer, and what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "rock?"

This was Lulack's second time to take part in the Mock Interview, but he noted that he had more fun this time around. He said he knew four out of the five students he interviewed and they all did a great job. "I think the kids were more involved and open with their answers, too," said Lulack, who interviewed five students.

Though Cockrell said some of the students needed to work on improving the quality of their resumes and cover letters, overall they did a good job. She noted that some of the students were able to quickly think outside the box when answering "quirky questions."

"If they were to stay in this community, they're the ones who would be working in the community," said Cockrell. "It was a good way for them to experience real life interviewing." She said the feedback from the interviewers was very good. She said she wouldn't be surprised if some of the students would be working for them someday.