Volunteer 101 Chicago

Jobs for Youth’s Mock Interviews is another volunteer opportunity I found by following Emily Drake (@EmKDee), Jobs for Youth’s Volunteer Manager and Jobs for Youth (@JobsForYouth) on Twitter. Jobs For Youth Chicago helps young men and women from low-income families become a part of the economic mainstream. In the process, it provides the business community with motivated job-ready workers. Jobs For Youth is a free program for teens and young adults ages 17 to 24. I was thrilled to sign up for Jobs for Youth’s Mock Interviews. Emily invited me to the office early to learn more about the mock interview process and my role interviewing two of JFY’s clients. Emily briefed me on what to expect and how to evaluate each client in the interview proves.

I must admit, it was interesting to be on the other side of the table—for the last few months I have been the one applying and interviewing for jobs. Would I be able to handle the other side? I gathered the resumes and interview materials and headed to my office for the afternoon, which just so happened to be the office of the President of the Board. It was exciting to sit in that office for the interviews.

I walked to the waiting room to get my first interviewee, a young woman interested in being a bank teller. Her resume was impressive—with clear and concise points describing her experience, skills and achievements. Even more interesting, she discussed independently worked her way through her GED. She had the enthusiasm and confidence to truly rock an interview for a bank teller position. Of course, I noticed things in her interview that I, too, struggle with during interviews and life in general—excessively talking with my hands! That is one thing I learned to control, so I offered her some tips. Simply cross your hands in your lap or on the table. She shared that her weakness is typing, but she is taking advantage of free Internet courses that test typing skills–an impressive response to that often intimidating question..  I encouraged her to practice answering interview questions in a natural way, by taking a breath before answering each question. She seemed to have many of the standard questions and answers memorized. When I asked her if she had any questions after the interview portion, she asked, “Would you hire me?” If I needed a bank teller, I would.

I returned to the waiting room for the next interviewee, a young woman with aspirations to be a teacher’s aid while she completes her degree in early childhood education. Her resume was more challenging to put into sequence. It was a question I had for her, and the answer was clear—she decided to be a teacher, which required changing schools and saving more money. For this young woman, I so desperately wanted to stop during the interview and tell her, “You are going to be okay!” as she seemed to lack confidence in herself, her responses, and whey she was right for this position. She had years of experience in childcare and coursework completed at two universities in early childhood education. Yet, when I asked her to explain her experience in childcare, she discounted the fact that she cares for the young children in her immediate and extended family. I encouraged her to highlight any experience as a positive, and to perhaps have an informational interview with a teacher or teacher’s aid to discuss what skills are most important in the job that she can highlight in her interview and in the application process. I think after a few more practice rounds, she will be ready for a formal interview.

After the interviews I took extra time to fill out the evaluation form and provide honest advice for each interviewee. It was definitely challenging to evaluate each young woman after such a short interview and determine if they were ready for a formal interview. I can imagine the human resources professionals and hiring managers in the real world may struggle with the same questions—but I had to give them feedback that they would receive that afternoon. I decided they both could benefit from more practice interviews and confidence in their strengths and skills. On the same coin, I decided I needed to be more confident in my strengths and skills. In fact, I had a final interview for a job the following day. The two young women I interviewed reminded me that confidence is essential in the job searching process.

For volunteer opportunities with Jobs For Youth, check out the Volunteer Calendar!

Volunteer 101 Chicago: Tips for Working With Youth in Mock Interviews

1. Start with the positives! What did they do well? Be candid.
2. Take notes. Just like a normal interviewer may do, take notes to provide better feedback and a more detailed evaluation.
3. If there are aspects needing improvement, provide recommendations. For example, one of the interviewees was dressed too casual for a formal interview. I recommend she look into the Jobs For Youth career closet where they have a selection of business attire for interviews. Be constructive.
4. Ask questions from your own interview experience. Though there was a list of questions in the volunteer packet, I added questions from my own interviewing experience.
5. Share your struggles. I explained to both young women that I was also in the process of interviewing for jobs. I shared things that worked well for me—including doing vigorous research on each organization, networking, asking appropriate questions, and following up with a thank you note or email.
6. Play the role. Before each interview, I asked whether I should pretend to be a certain organization or hiring manager, which helped me get into character by adapting questions to relate to each field.