Angela Taylor is former Director of Finance and Business Services at Teach For Australia.
A little while ago our Development team sent around an email asking for volunteers. They needed people to assist with mock interviews for Year 11s at the Pavilion School.
The Pavilion School is a secondary school in Melbourne’s inner north. They provide a high standard of education to students disengaged or excluded from mainstream education.
Melanie Henry (Cohort 2011) is a Lead Teacher at the school. She designed and implemented a program to help Year 11 students enter the workforce. The students take part in mock job interviews.
As part of the Finance and Business Services team my role at TFA is generally focussed inwards. I jumped at the opportunity to step outside of my day-to-day and be a part of our mission.
It was a Thursday afternoon and I drove out to Bundoora. The interviews were taking place there, at La Trobe University. The Pavilion School is in Preston. To make the experience more authentic the interviews were in an unfamiliar location.
As part of the program, students had selected from various job profiles. These included legal assistants, programmers, and in retail. Each student in the class then attends a “mock” interview with a volunteer, like me! We asked ten questions which most applicants would encounter in an interview situation.
I was on a panel of four volunteers from Teach For Australia. They included one of our Incoming Associates for Cohort 2019.
The volunteers were briefed on the feedback expected of us. We were to pay attention to how the “job seekers” engaged with the interviewer. This meant their initial handshake, eye contact, and the response to our questions.
The mock interviews occurred in three rounds. Each interview lasted around ten to fifteen minutes. After each interview the volunteer interviewers provided feedback to the student. We shared what we thought were strong parts of their interview. We also shared which parts needed some more work or practice.
The students came from a range of backgrounds and varying personal circumstances. Some of these students had to overcome huge internal hurdles to take part in the process. Even if you’ve participated in plenty of job interviews, they can still be a daunting experience. For many students, this was the first time they were participating in an interview. They all gave it a go, did their best to engage and embraced the feedback. Their bravery and courage humbled me.
As each round progressed, I could see the students’ confidence growing. They felt more comfortable making eye contact. Handshakes were firmer. Their responses became more and more solid.
The mock interviews were one afternoon of my time. I didn’t expect to witness such improvements first-hand. I signed up hoping to be a bit of help for a teacher running a compelling program. Even in the small engagement I had with the students I could see the positive impact the volunteers had.
Of course, the teacher had been working to prepare the students. It had been several months, and I got to witness and partake in the end of what was a long and arduous process. Teachers don’t often see such great progress within a couple of hours. Still, it was remarkable to me that even I could have a tangible impact on the students.
For the second time that day, I felt humbled – but this time by the teacher. My time with the students reinforced the positive influence teachers have on their lives. It is so important that we give our young people access to excellent teachers.
