Plains students practice for professional world

A group of high school students are more prepared for real world employment, thanks to a two-hour exercise held last week at the school with people who are already working in the real world.

Twenty-four students from Plains High School's Jobs for Montana's Graduates class and the Business Essentials class participated in mock interviews with 24 community business men and women in the new gymnasium and art classroom last Monday.

Nicole Cockrell, who runs the JMG class, felt the students did very well and would have a great chance of getting a job. Kati Mitchell also believed the exercise helped her 11 students a great deal. Each student had to do four interviews, which took about 20 minutes apiece. The mock interviews concentrated on writing resumes and cover letters and conducting an effective interview with a potential employer. Interviewers took a few minutes after each session to provide feedback to the students.

The event was more real for Shiloh Griffin who interviewed with Sgt. Jessie Gonzales, a Marine Corps recruiter from Missoula. The 18-year-old Griffin had a real interview with Gonzales last December. He's already in the delayed enlistment program and heads to basic training in San Diego in July.

The students had the opportunity to invite one person as an interviewer, then pick three others from the group of volunteers conducting the interviews. There was an assortment of occupations at the exercise with specialties in dentistry, cosmetology, industrial, small business owners, a lineman, a veterinarian technician, an insurance agent, two retired teachers, two artists, and a game warden to name a few. The participants came from Plains, Thompson Falls, Hot Springs, and Missoula. 

It was the first time for more than half of the interviewers, including Adam Bache, a State Farm office manager, who was the other side of the table in 1996 as a JMG student. "It really helped me. It gave me more confidence when going for an interview. It helped me know what to expect and how to present myself and get my first job," said Bache, who is presently vying for a Sanders County commissioner job. 

It was the first time for Morgan Post, a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game warden responsible for Sanders County and the Flathead Indian Reservation.

JMG began at Plains High School in the 1990s to help students get realistic training when seeking employment after graduation. The class was designed to improve their employment success rate by learning such things as professionalism, on-the-job ethics, initiative, manners, and even a proper introductory handshake. 

Cockrell has been a teacher for 14 years. She taught kindergarten, second grade, and Family Consumer Science, and took over JMG five years ago. Mitchell has teamed up with Cockrell for the mock interviews since she began at Plains five years ago.

Cockrell had a unique situation for the mock interviews this year. For the first time, she has a deaf student, Tessa Williams, who used a sign person on a laptop to convey her comments.

"These mock interviews will definitely give them confidence for a real job interview," said Mitchell. Both teachers were pleased with the feedback provided by the interviewers. "I get to see huge growth during this year. I see them prepare and gain confidence. It's an amazing feeling being a part of the program," said Cockrell.

The interviewers had a two-page criteria guide with scores ranging from one to five points for delivery, presentation, appearance and poise, and their resume. Their final score ran from "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You," below 11 points, to "You're Hired" with a max score of 20 points. Most of the questions were generic and the students knew the basic types of questions they would be asked. It was the first time for interviewer Mary Halling, who was looking for a real estate salesperson in the exercise. She went beyond the standard questionnaire and had the students look at a house for sale and write an ad for the property.

"I think it's been anxiety inducing, but it's also been helpful. It gives me an idea of what to expect if I expect to go to one of these companies," said Felicia Loehner, a junior in the Business Essentials class.  Cockrell herself was a JMG student in 1998 and believes the class helped her get her teaching job. "I pulled up some of my old papers from JMG and prepped/planned using the process we learned. I was ready and the job was mine. I give JMG a lot of credit," said Cockrell. "It teaches our students how to look for job interests, obtain the job, work at the job effectively, and leave the job respectfully if and when it's time," she said.

Jolene Olsen, a 2002 Plains High School graduate, felt JMG helped her prepare for future job interviews and putting together a resume. "The interviews themselves are a great way to feel comfortable in an interview and making eye contact speaking with confidence answering questions," said Olsen. "These are all great life lessons that might seem like common sense, however, so many times something as simple as dressing nice when picking up an application," she added.

"I feel as if each student got a taste of what it is like out there after high school. This event provides a safe place to work out the nerves and learn about strengths and weaknesses before they graduate," said Cockrell.

"They did very well, we got lots of positive feedback from the businesses that came to interview them," said Mitchell. "For my business students, their strong suit was being prepared for anytime of questions that were thrown their way," she said. She added, however, that they need to improve their cover letters.

Cockrell noted that they wouldn't have had the success with the mock interviews without the volunteer help from community members who gave up their time to help. "This type of networking is how students can gain experience and some have even left with a real job," said Cockrell.

Mitchell's students reviewed their performance of the best and worst interviews in the next day's class and went over the feedback. "They liked how the people interviewing them had some great feedback for them, to prepare them for the next interview," she said." Most of the students picked a company or person in the career field they want to go into after high school, and they all said it gave them more knowledge of how to be prepared for the real world," she said.