CTC to host Mock Interview Week

From Monday, March 4, through Friday, March 8, Cape Girardeau Career and Technical Center will host its annual Mock Interview Week where students have the opportunity to sit down for a practice interview with professionals in their prospective career field.

Juniors and seniors at CTC begin preparing for Mock Interview Week at the beginning of the school year, and some of the interviews actually result in the students receiving a job offer.

“They will interview with industry experts from their field, and they will go through what we call a mock interview, but it’s really like a real-life interview,” said CTC embedded English language arts (ELA) instructor Emily Elliott, who oversees Mock Interview Week. “Several of our kids each year get hired from our mock interview events.”

Students entering their senior year are required to take Elliott’s class, which revolves around preparing for their mock interviews. She only sees each student in class a couple of times every month, which gives them ample time to complete their assignments.

“We start right away when our school year begins,” Elliott said. “How my class works is, I communicate with all of our programs here on campus, and once or twice a month I will go into their programs and we will discuss what the assignments and things we’re doing for that month are. My class is kind of unique in the sense that I’m physically located here on campus and I do see them once or twice a month in their class, but they do all their work online.”

Elliott has been in contact with several area employers and expects roughly 10 per day to conduct interviews at the school with the number increasing to around 20 on Thursday and Friday. The mock interviews help students become comfortable with the process of getting a job in their preferred career field and understand how to put together a resume and portfolio for employers to review. Some of the employers attending next week are Saint Francis Healthcare System, Mercy Hospital Southeast, Cape Girardeau Airport, Cape Girardeau Police Department and Fire Department, Port Cape restaurant and Gibson Center.

“It’s good for (students) to have that experience walking in, and then being able to prove in that 20 minutes, ’This is why I’m great and this is why you should hire me,’” Elliott said.

To nail an interview, Elliott said the most important thing a person can do is make a good first impression.

“First impressions matter, and that is what’s going to stick between what’s going to make or break an interview,” Elliott said. “The caveat with that would be dressing appropriately, introducing yourself right off the bat, having a nice firm handshake, maintaining good eye contact and speaking clearly, accurately and fully.

“Part two to that would be to have everything prepared. Before you come into the interview, research your employer, research what the company is about and know why you want to be in the interview in the first place.”