While there has been a slight decline in the number of students working over the past few years, most college students still tend to balance work and studies regularly. Employment not only provides students with direct financial benefits, but Brigham Young University researchers found that students who worked less than 15 hours per week routinely outperformed their non-working peers, earning higher grade point averages.
To gain practical experience and on-the-job training, many students also participate in work-study and internship programs while in college. So, every college student needs to learn practical interview skills. Your students must be ready for interviews because every job they apply for will have one, so they must be well-prepared.
However, it can be challenging to teach interview skills, mainly when there aren’t many resources available for high school students. Given the many benefits that jobs can provide to students that have solid interviewing skills can be very beneficial. Here are some tips that can help you teach interview skills to your college students.
Introduce interview skills
Starting with an introductory activity is a great idea when teaching a soft skill like interviewing. By doing this, the new skill introduced interactively, and interestingly will get students thinking. You and a brave student will perform a brief scenario in front of the class during this activity. You are a potential candidate for the position, and the student will play the role of the interviewer. Give the student a list of questions that would be asked during an interview. After the scenario, invite the class to discuss their thoughts on what went well and what could have been done better. You shouldn’t expect to have a flawless interview as the interviewee. Otherwise, when the scenario is finished, your students won’t have much to criticize.
Examine What Good Job Interview Skills Look Like
Some students may be able to describe in detail what a successful interview involves. Others, however, might not be fully aware of what is involved. Start with the fundamentals in both cases. The following are some crucial points:
- proper body language and behavior
- Communication skills
- What professional attire to wear
- What to bring to an interview (resume, references, etc.)
- Questions an interviewer may ask
- Good questions to ask the interviewer
These ideas can be introduced to students in a variety of ways. Here are two concepts you might give a try:
Lecture and brainstorming
A lecture providing a summary of each of the given facts is one way to begin teaching interview skills. After that, you could give each student a task to complete an activity or worksheet that reinforces what you covered in class.
Work in Small Groups and Lecture
Another option is to divide the class into groups and assign each group one of the topics to research and produce a report on. After that, go over everyone’s comments in more detail and cover anything that might have been missed about each skill topic in a lecture.
Teach them to be professional
Teach your students to dress professionally. They should wear an outfit that would be appropriate for the workplace. Tell them that they should arrive early for the interview, and if you must postpone or reschedule due to an unexpected circumstance—such as an illness or a broken car—let the interviewer know as soon as possible. Being polite and attentive should be followed throughout their interview. Ask your students to put their phone on silent or instead turn it off. Continuous vibrating can quickly become a distraction and divert attention from the conversation.
End with a group project
The best way to conclude a lesson on interview techniques is with a group project. Your students can consider everything they have learned from lessons and activities while working on a final project. Students can divide into groups and create their interview scenarios as one project idea. A good interview and a bad interview should be created by them. They must develop several scenarios so they can demonstrate their understanding of the distinctions between excellent and poor interviews. Using a checklist of criteria that you fill out as the students perform, you can evaluate their level of proficiency.
Choose particular segments from your lessons to watch, such as:
- Body language
- Professional dress
- Communication skills
To demonstrate both the positive and negative aspects of each skill, they should take into account both the good and the bad interviews.
The Final Thought
Good interview skills will help your students get any job they want, both now and later in life. An intense interview will differentiate your students in today’s cutthroat job market, where many resumes may be similar. If you want more information on how to teach interview skills to college students, then you can get help from Classplus. While you are focused on your work, you can still enjoy all the advantages of new technologies. Therefore, do not delay in connecting with us and stay updated with the technology of Classplus. Get your own app now and start your journey with us.
