Preparing to enter the world of work for the first time can feel like stepping into the unknown, so when Year 11 and Sixth Form students had the chance to experience interviews with business leaders and local employers, they were excited by the opportunity.

Run by Essex Work Skills, whose purpose is to provide young people with the skills and qualities required to succeed in the world of work, the aim of the day was to guide students through the whole process of applying for their first jobs.  Every student received support in order to complete their CVs ahead of the mock interviews, which gave them the chance to identify and present their own skills and qualities in the best way.  

Following on from this, the students were then interviewed by a range of experts including business owners, employers, voluntary groups and business leaders from across the county.  With interviews lasting half an hour each, the students gained the unique opportunity of interaction with independent industry professionals who were real leaders in their fields, and had the chance to talk about their own hopes and plans for the future.

At the end of their interviews, each student received immediate feedback and had the chance to ask questions. They also received a booklet with invaluable tips, useful tricks and inspirational quotes to get them started on the path to applying for jobs in the future and hopefully give them the edge! Kamila.A from Year 11 found this “very useful... They helped give me the tools I need in a real interview and to prepare for the world of work.”

Other students thoroughly agreed on how helpful the event had been; Jazmin.A in Year 12 said: “I would recommend people attend mock interviews as they explain the process of how to apply for jobs and improve your CV”, and Anthonia.F, also in Year 12 agreed: “it taught me lots of things about applying for jobs that I didn’t know.”