"To help prepare our Year 10's for their mock interviews, I arranged for the Skills Service to deliver a 'First Impressions workshop'.
Students were given a short introductory presentation by a member of The Skills Service. to set the scene for the workshop and explain the importance of giving a good impression to potential employers, and that all the tips and advice the students received today would help them with their mock interviews due to take place the following week.
Students then took part in two interactive sessions - one where they formally introduced themselves to their neighbour and learnt how to shake hands properly (many didn't know how to do it!), the second we mixed the group up and they had to 'meet' someone they didn't know particularly well, shake hands and ask questions about each other.
The idea was to get the students out of their comfort zone. After some initial embarrassment and awkwardness (and persuasive cajoling from the presenters) the students became fully engaged in the activity and their barriers came down.
This was the first time we had run this workshop in the school, and I would certainly recommend it as part of the mock interview process. The Skills Service were excellent in getting students to understand the importance of a positive introduction to an interview. The feedback from interviewers after the mock interviews was that the majority of students gave a firm handshake and had good eye contact upon meeting, which was the effectively the planned outcome of the workshop."
- Nick Oakhill (Careers Manager) at Soham Village College
