AVID Career Research

To Assist Students in the Interviewing Process

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  Use the resources you have available in your community. I asked fellow staff members if their spouses in other career fields would be a willing contact, if members of church congregations would accept a phone call, and I made great use of my Facebook network of family & friends. With today's technology, you can even have kids do interviews through Skype!


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  Use a "fishbowl activity" in the class to set up a mock interview so students can see a properly modelled face-to-face interview.


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  Use a doc cam to show kids how to listen, show interest, and still take notes during an interview. Model how to write in short hand and abbreviations and explain why it is so important to go back over your notes for accuracy.


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  Get parent permission from students if they plan to meet someone face-to-face. (They should meet in a public place, accompanied by an adult.) This is a great opportunity to teach etiquette & personal safety.


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  If you would rather avoid the above situation, take a survey of your students... If several are interested in being a vet, ask one to come into class as a guest speaker. Many local community animal shelters are more than willing to come and talk about their job; while not quite a vet, their jobs are similar, and you might even get permission for them to bring some puppies and kittens along!


• Call your local TV affiliate. I've gotten some local TV personalities to come to the school and bring a cameraman to talk about media, journalism, and photography.


• Encourage students to be proactive. In my class, many students want to be nurses and we have a nearby Children's Hospital. This assignment allowed them the opportunity to go pick up applications for the junior volunteer program--getting a foot in the door!


• Our school requires that all graduating seniors develop a resume, cover letter, and pass a mock interview. It's a big deal on campus. Students must dress up for the ocassion and local community members interview and score each student's portfolio. A great follow-up activity to this assignment is to get your 9th-10th graders ready for such an event! Some of our kids are promised a job or internship after they graduate based on how well they perform on these days!


• A great follow-up activity? See if the kids can get permission over the summer to job shadow for one day.

As a part of California's AVID Region 7, I would love to hear from others who found this Webquest helpful or who want to share resources. Let's not reinvent the wheel. Send me what you've done this year!
You can reach me at [email protected]. Thanks!