You’re hired! Students prepare for employment

Blackfriars Year 10 students have been given a taste of real-life job interview pressures – without leaving the school grounds.

As part of their compulsory Personal Learning Plan (PLP) SACE subject, the boys had to prepare a resume, identifying their most-employable skills, and write a cover letter applying for an entry-level job in retail or a non-for-profit organisation.

The boys then had to front up for a “job” interview with one of three staff members – EAL Coordinator Linda Harvey, Learning Engagement and Pathways Coordinator Carl Todman or Teacher/Librarian Jacquie McEvoy.

As with any job interview, they were expected to be dressed appropriately, neatly groomed and well prepared.

The school’s Curriculum Leader: Learning Enrichment Coordinator, Dina Hasaneen, said the PLP subject focused on career exploration and identifying workplace requirements.

“As well as soft skills, which have become more of the dominant success factor in contemporary workplaces, such as teamwork, effective communication, time management, problem solving and self-evaluation,” Ms Hasaneen said.

“The boys appreciated the opportunity.

“While it is mock interviews, the opportunity to go through such experience is more valuable than any written material the boys are exposed to, as it pushes them out of their comfort zone.”

After his interview, student Darcy Swan said: “I thought that went quite well. I was very calm, collected. I think I learnt a lot about actual job interviews and it gave me experience of what’s to come in the future.”

Classmate Max Sullivan agreed: “It was a good experience.  It prepared me for the future and what I could experience in interviews.”

Ms Hasaneen paid tribute to Year 12 student Trung Nguyen, who worked with the Year 10s in the lead up to the interviews and was “very professional in his feedback and support”.