Local students gain job interview skills

Brigid Dullard, an interviewer from Network Insurance House, said the program was valuable for businesses as well as students.

“It gives us a chance to be involved in our local community and with the schools,” she said.

“For the kids it gives them a real-life experience of what talking to an adult that they don’t know feels like.”

For many students, the interviews were their first experience interacting with the world of work.

“Usually, you can tell when they walk up that they’re pretty anxious. But by the end of the interview they’re a lot more confident,” Ms Dullard said.

Following each interview, volunteer interviewers provided students with constructive feedback, helping them recognise their strengths and areas they could improve before applying for a real job.

“It’s nice for us to give them that chance to do it in a safe controlled environment where we can give them feedback, and they can learn and grow from the experience,” Ms Dullard said.

“And when you see students later in the year, and they tell you that they were able to get a job because of this experience, it’s really great to hear.”

The program was delivered through the Beacon Foundation and Work-Based Learning, which support students to develop skills, confidence and connections with the world beyond school.

Through the Beacon Leaders program, Year 9 students also act as ambassadors for their school and peers while contributing to the Beacon Leader committee.

Beacon Leader co-ordinator Cath Elms said students were given genuine opportunities to have their voices heard.

“It’s not tokenistic, and we really do value their input, and we do make changes based on their recommendations,” Ms Elms said.

Beacon leader Charles Fischer said the interview program gave students an opportunity to explore different industries and career pathways.

“You might not know what you would like to do yet. So it just gives you the opportunities to have a look at them,” Charles said.

Former Echuca College student and IT professional Dan Egglestone also volunteered as an interviewer, bringing his own experience of taking a different pathway after Year 12.

Mr Egglestone completed a traineeship rather than attending university and has since worked in IT for 28 years.

“I was told by my careers teacher in Year 12 if I didn’t go to university I would never amount to anything,” Mr Egglestone said.

“I got a traineeship straight out of yYear 12 and worked my way up through the ranks,” he said.

Mr Egglestone said his experience had reinforced the importance of showing students there was no single pathway into a rewarding career.

He said the interviews also gave students an opportunity to develop practical skills such as maintaining eye contact, demonstrating interest in a position and asking questions.

“They’re going to get taught some skills that they probably wouldn’t get if they just jumped straight into having a real-life interview in real life,” he said.

Mr Egglestone said the ultimate goal was for students to take the feedback from the mock interviews into their first real job applications.

“When they do go and interview in person out in the real world that they do come across as a better candidate than any other candidates that they’re up against,” he said.