Every Winter Quarter the 1st Year OLS Bellevue College students participate in a Mock Interviews. For this activity members from local businesses are recruited to serve as the interviewers.
Students prepare by first identifying their dream job, something for which they have a strong interest or passion. In class, students are introduced to what the “elevator pitch” (also called a “60 second sell”) and create one to use during their Mock Interview when the interviewer prompts them to “Tell me about yourself.”
Students also prepare a STAR (Situation/Task/Actions/Result) answer to this prompt: Describe a stressful situation you were involved in and how you handled it. STAR is commonly used to answer behavioral questions asked by an interviewer.
This year, 24 1st year students arrived at North Campus by 8am March 4 and went through last minute preparations for their Mock Interviews. They gathered in one of two classrooms reserved as waiting areas for students where they saw the interview schedule for the first time and learned with whom they’d be interviewing.
One-by-one students went off at their appointed times to meet with their interviewer. The interviews typically lasted 15-20 minutes. At the end of each interview students received a few minutes of immediate feedback from the interviewer. Later, after all of the interviews were completed, students met in small groups with interviewers for 15 minutes to receive tips and advice.
During the next class session students had the opportunity to reflect on the experience and receive a copy of their interviewer’s written feedback. They discussed what they learned from the experience and what they would like to improve on before their next Mock Interview during their 3rd year at OLS.
“I learned what stuff I need to fix for the future when I have interviews to know what to say. For example, like elaborating more on my answers would help benefit me for next time.” -Nadine
“I learned that I have more confidence than I think I have.” -Matthew
“I have learned that I do much better speaking from my heart vs reading my notes cards. I don’t struggle if I speak from my heart. I am more confident when I speak from my heart.” -Allison
One thing I learned about myself after participating in the Mock Interview was being able to maintain eye contact and not be too nervous while interviewing with the interviewer. -Panida
“I learned about how important body language is and being aware of it.” -Franky
“One thing I learned about myself is that I have a good speaking voice that can be understood well.” -Joe
“From the experiences I learned some new things and tips that help me like, I should bring a notebook that has my interview questions. Practice the question the day before the interview day like I was told to practice talking to myself to the mirror to practice. He also told me to use a notebook the back pages to like doodle like draw something to make sure I don’t feel too nervous.” -Ky
“One thing I’ve learned about myself after the mock interview is to next time to have good eye contact, and that it was better than I thought.” -Nia
Workplace Readiness is one of the many courses OLS Bellevue College students can take to obtain their associate degree from OLS. More information about our curriculum is available on our website. To learn more about our program register for an Information Session.
[ssba-buttons]Last Updated July 16, 2020