Mock interviews help students prepare for workforce

A group of students put in some extra time in school last week that will help them with employment after graduation.

The nine girls and three boys, all seniors, were part of the Jobs For Montana Graduates "mock interviews" last Tuesday in the Plains High School gymnasium, where a dozen community members gave up their time to provide realistic job application experience. It was the first time for all but two of the volunteer business locals to participate in the annual program. Joel Collett of Studs Building & Home and Jesse Butcher of Uncommon Grounds have both participated in the program before. All the volunteers were from Plains, except for realtor Danya Cotte of Superior.

The interviews went very well and the kids were very prepared, according to Kati Mitchell, who heads JMG this year. Mitchell is no stranger to the program and the mock interviews. She previously taught the Business Essentials class, which did the mock interviews with JMG students each year. The Business Essentials class merged with JMG this year.

The students were graded on 19 topics from four main categories: resume, appearance and poise, skill presentation, and delivery and language. The scores ranged from one to five points. The interviewers also gave the students a one on one critique after each of the sessions. The students each invited one business man or woman with an occupation that was of interest to them, then picked three others from the group of volunteers conducting the interviews, said Ty Allen, who helped Mitchell with the class and also serves as the school counselor. Allen, who was a JMG student in his senior year, said that the interviews help build confidence so they will be more at ease when they do it in real life. "I think it was one of the main reasons I got this job," he said.

JMG began at Plains High School in the 1990s to help students get realistic pointers 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. Mitchell taught Business Essentials for five years before taking over JMG this year.

There was an assortment of occupations present at this year's interviews event, such as elementary teacher Michelle Greer, physical therapist Laurie Endres, hair stylist Luanda Revier, EMT Mayme Ercanbrack, and certified nurse assistant Nowelle Wierleske. There were two members of the U.S. Forest Service's Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District: Tate Cavill, a firefighter, and Derrick Olinger, a wildlife biologist, a profession of interest to senior Carlie Wagoner. Mitchell said that the success of the mock interviews is a direct reflection of the volunteer help from community members.

With an interest in the law enforcement criminal investigation profession, Destiny Cheuvront invited Plains Chief of Police Brian Josephson to the program. "I was impressed with her communication skills. She had a very good interview," said Josephson. It was the second time to volunteer as an interviewer for Butcher, owner of Uncommon Grounds for the last two and a half years. "Eye contact was a big thing for me. It shows confidence," said Butcher.

Mitchell said that the mock interviews alleviate some of the students' fears of applying for a job and it gives them confidence in doing resumes and interviews. "We've been doing cover letters and resumes since October so they should be rock stars at that," said Mitchell, who added that the students could achieve up to five points for their resumes. The maximum interview time was 30 minutes, but several students finished earlier. Ryon Noland, the high school principal, also volunteered as an interviewer.

Students with 18-20 points received a "You're Hired" stamp of approval. "We're Considering You" went to those with 15-17 points. Between 12-14 points got them a "We Might Have Hired You, But..." tag, and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" was for those with 11 points and below. The top three students were Lily MacDonald, who received a 79 out of 80 points for her four interviews, Kallen Burrows, who received 78 points, and Izzy Crabb with a score of 77. The other students included: Levi Blood, Joe Pullen, Faith McGonagle, Lillian Wells, Shylah Flynn, Aaron Pfister, and Kaedance Ciferri.

Mitchell and Allen reviewed the interviews the day after and asked the students how they thought the interviews went and what they could improve on. Mitchell said most felt they had a lot of confidence, but could work on things such as using words "like" and "um." She said the program is extremely useful and some of the past students have had the opportunity to work summer jobs based on their mock interviews.

"It has been an immense growth experience for all the students. At the start of their senior year, only two out of the 12 had ever had a real sit down interview. We had some kids that hated talking in class or during events and now they are communicating well and volunteering to lead events within the class," said Mitchell, who added that the interviews give them confidence for a real job interview. "Some of these kids might never be part of a real interview in the future, some of them will just get hired without going through a professional interview process," she added. She said she and Allen are proud of this year's JMG students and feel they are ready to enter the workforce with the process they have participated in this school year. "They still have a lot to navigate after high school, but hopefully we have given them some tools for their toolboxes."