Grade Level:  9, 10, 11, 12

Subject:  Vocational/Technical Skills, Language Arts, Social Studies

Learner Outcome: Students complete an interview with a professional.

Duration of Lesson:  Three 50 minute class periods.  (This may take more time, depending on the amount of time it takes for everyone to schedule and complete an interview.)

Materials:

Interview checklist
Interview rubric
interview questions
word search
Interviewing PowerPoint presentation

Technology Tools/Courseware:

Presentation device (LCD panel, TView, or multimedia projector), computers with internet access, and PowerPoint software or overhead projector.

Teacher Notes:

• Teacher may choose to use the PowerPoint slides or to print the slides out and make an overhead for viewing.
  
• Transition for the PowerPoint presentation will be on mouse click to allow teacher discussion.
  
• Be familiar with the presentation before showing it.
  
• Teacher may have to adapt the interviewing discussion to the level/age of students.
  
• An interviewing video may be obtained from a library. It is very useful for students to view others correctly answering interview questions.
  
• Interviewers can be obtained from the community, your school, or a college or university.  The personnel director for hospitals, larger companies, or business partners are usually happy to help. Additionally, principals, counselors, or students at local colleges are good resources.
  
• Additionally, students can be reminded that jobs are not the only place where they may be interviewed; for example, entry into a college program, scholarship applications, or internships.
  
• Be sure to take digital pictures of the interviewing process for lesson five!

Procedure:

Day 1

1. Bring up the PowerPoint presentation Interviewing.
2. Discuss each slide with students. As teacher is presenting the power point, have the students copy the words indicated below from each slide as listed:
   
   • Slide 1 - interviewing, presenting
   • Slide 2 - practice, prepare
   • Slide 3 - dress, grooming, act, evaluating
   • Slide 4 - successful, eye, handshake, posture
   • Slide 5 - flexible, initiative, organized, learn
   • Slide 6 - skills, worker
   • Slide 7 - experience, dedicated, cooperative, honest
   • Slide 8 - weakness
   • Slide 9 - thank
3. Once the power point is complete and students have copied the words, distribute word search for students to work.
4. f an interviewing video is available, teacher should show and discuss this.
5. Tell students they will be doing mock interview tomorrow. Teacher can distribute lists of interview questions for students to take home and prepare responses.

Day 2

1. Distribute interview checklists and discuss the areas in which students will be rated.
2. Next, either distribute interview questions or have students get questions out. Go over/review the questions (depending on whether a video was viewed) and give/review acceptable responses to each.
3. Partners can be assigned or chosen. Have students discuss the job for which they will be interviewing.  They can make this up, or teacher can assign specific jobs for which students can apply.
4. Conduct mock interviews by having pairs of students take turns interviewing each other and filling out the checklist according to how they think their partner did. One person should be the interviewer, and the other should be the person being interviewed. Start from the beginning when they first walk through the door, stand and greet the person, shake hands, and offer a seat. The list of interview questions should be used.
5. Continue until the interviewer has asked at least 10 questions. The interviewer should immediately fill out the checklist on the person being interviewed. Be sure to have them list at least one strength at the bottom and at least one weakness.
6. Roles should then be switched. If the class is small enough, other students can be seated off to one side to watch. However, they must remain quite. Feel free to stop a mock interview to point out good responses as well as weak responses.

Day 3

1. This is the day for the guest interviewer to conduct interviews.
   
   • The guest interviewer should have experience in conducting interviews.
   • Usually an interviewer will prefer to have a resume and/or an application for each student to be interviewed in advance of the actual interview.
   • Additionally, the interviewer should be provided with a checklist for each student to be filled out after the interview.
2. It is important to have a schedule to follow. Have the students arrive before their scheduled time, and if possible, check in with the school secretary, then wait for the interviewer to get them for their interview.
3. Before and after the students leave the classroom, class discussions can occur as to how they are feeling - nervous, scared, bored, etc. -  and how the interview went. They can give advice and discuss what they would do differently at a real interview. Use the checklists as guides.

• For special needs students, all material can be read orally.
• The PowerPoint presentation can be printed for near point copying.
• Be sure to point out to the students that they can follow teacher's oral directions by watching the overhead projector or screen.
• Go slow!  Power point can be paused to ensure words are copied.
• Applications can be filled out to go with the jobs for which the students are applying.
• If answers to the mock interview are lacking, teacher can have students do journal entries to answer questions. This will allow teacher to respond to questions with suggestions.
• Students can be paired or utilize peer tutoring.
• Students could have fewer items on their checklist.
• Students can answer fewer questions.
• If students can not get out of the building to do an interview, interviews can be done with professionals from the community coming into the school building.

• Students can create a poster of the steps involved in interviewing.
• A digital or polaroid camera could be used to display appropriate dress versus inappropriate dress. This could also be made into a poster.
• Students can interview a personnel director in charge of hiring. (A cassette recorder could be used for modifications or for additional support.) The interview should center around advice the personnel director would give on the interviewing process.
• Students can use a video camcorder to produce an amateur production of a mock interview.
• On the internet site Bridges, students can access many helpful articles pertaining to the interviewing process.  Go to bridges, sign in under "WV" or "American," then student. Select search. Type the word interviews and select skills.

The interview checklist,  and the word search can be used as an evaluation/assessment. Additionally, a rubric has been constructed for interview.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Process/Workplace Objective: PW.45, PW.46.
English Language Arts Objectives: 9.15, 9.16, 9.19, 9.25, 10.15, 10.24, 10.31, 10.81, 11.25, 11.26, 11.82, 12.15, 12.24.
Social Studies: 11.57

National Standards:

Life Work Standards:

• Uses various information sources, including those of a technical nature, to accomplish specific tasks.
• Pursues specific jobs.
• Makes general preparation for entering the work force.

Language Arts:

• Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.

Geography:

• Understands the concept of regions.

References:

Teach-nology.com.Rubric
http://careerplanning.about.com
Jobsearch
Quintessential Careers
Bridges

Vickie Cutright                                     Rhonda Bolyard                                 Jerry Parsons