Sometimes, even though I’m remotely young, I get the “kids these days” feeling.
At times it’s because of pure disbelief — students who play three sports, volunteer regularly and maintain a 4.0 GPA. Kids like that truly amaze me.
Other times it’s the crabby, experienced person in me. How could a young kid show up to an interview unprepared?
That's why I was thrilled to learn about the new opportunity for Newton High School seniors to do mock interviews with local employers thanks to a new initiative by the Goodwill Career Center.
These experiences are so valuable.
Perhaps some of the best time spent in college was during a career preparedness course. We were required to write résumés, make portfolios, learn best practices for applying for jobs and the big finale when we were all required to do mock interviews.
It was an experience that stuck with me. As a manager, I use some of the things I learned in that required course to this day — especially scrutiny for recent college grads.
There are some hard and fast rules when it comes to applying for a job.
For example, I’ve received résumés, for a newspaper reporter position, that are not spell checked. Are you kidding me?
I’ve also received résumés so colorful, bold and inappropriate, it’s hard to consider the credentials. In résumé development, simple is best.
I’ve had applicants call me — repeatedly — even though the advertisement asked for résumés to be submitted via email.
However, what really gets me is being prepared for the interview. If I’m going to spend an hour, or more with a job candidate, it sure would be nice if she was armed with some facts about the company or the community the job is in.
I’m not big into hand holding. I expect the folks who work for me to be independent and function without constant supervision. Don’t get me wrong, I want my input to be realized, however, being your own person and having your own ideas is something I look for from day one.
I can remember some of my first job interviews and how I prepared. I developed several questions about the position and what my responsibilities would be. I researched the communities, recent news articles and sometimes the interviewer himself. The more knowledge I had coming to the table, the better.
And here is where I get my “kids these days” moments. In some recent interviews I’ve had applicants who simply have no clue what job they are applying for, and further have no questions prepared.
It’s probably best I don’t get started on how to dress for a job interview. I bought my first business suit in college for the mock interview that capitalized on what we’d learned in the course.
I’m glad the high school and career center are partnering to introduce these concepts for graduating seniors. Who knows, I could wind up interviewing one of them some day.
Contact Abigail Pelzer
at 641-792-1912 ext. 6530
or apelzer@newtondailynews.com