What Do I Need to Know to Go on an Interview?

Spring 2003Kelly M. Huff

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

The UnitThe students in my class were seeking part-time jobs, so it was important that they be coached on behavior, skills, dress on an interview

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

Questions• What is appropriate attire on an

interview?• What questions will I be asked on

an interview?• How should I act on an interview?

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

Desired Understanding

• Importance of interviews

• How to prepare for an interview – dress, manner, attitude, materials, performance

• How to have confidence during an interview

• What questions to expect on an interview

• How to present themselves positively on an interview

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

Student Characteristics• Students were northeast Ohio 10th grade

high school students ages 16-20• P-levels – the students operate on levels 5 and 6.

All can tell lengthy stories in all tenses that are easily understood, even by people who do not know them

• Literacy - the students are primarily on French’s writing levels 6-7 because attempts at pronouns and adverbs are generally successful and there is variety in their sentence patterns. According to SAT-9 and IRI evaluations, the students read on a 4th-8th grade level

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

Activity Facet EvidenceStudents would role-play interviews, taking turns acting as the interviewer and interviewee

PerspectiveEmpathy

Students would get a sense of what it is to interview someone – what questions would they ask, what would influence their decision on hiring.

A mock interview will be set up with a person that is not know to the student. The student will be expected to dress and behave as if this were a true interview. This will be videotaped so that the student can review their performance and learn from it.

Self-KnowledgeApplication

Students will gain a sense of their own strengths and weaknesses in an interview, so that their performance can improve in real situations.

Facets

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

FacetsActivity Facet Evidence

We will discuss what is appropriate dress on an interview. Students will then be provided with catalogs and magazines to find examples and non-examples, and create a posterboard that categorizes each

ExplanationInterpretation

Students will successfully categorize what is appropriate and non-appropriate attire for an interview given a broad range of options

Questions that pertained to interviewing on the Transition Competence Battery that the students had particular trouble with were developed into questions that could be used in the board game “The Ungame” posing questions “what would you do if you were on an interview, and …”

Explanation Students will answer questions regarding interview procedures, and explain why they would behave that way

Fall 2003 Transition Services Preparation & Training

Unit Results

• The students did well when asked about appropriate clothing for an interview. Overall, they dressed appropriately when interviewing for jobs. Exceptions occurred when they would dress well, then wear an inappropriate jacket or sweatshirt overtop of their dress clothes.

• Students were well prepared for the types of questions that are asked in an interview. When videotaped for the mock interview, they became nervous and did not communicate as clearly as when practiced in class. Students were reported to have performed well in their actual job-interviews, and those who obtained employment stayed employed throughout the semester.