Interview and Employability Skills Workshop

Date: 14 December 2021

John Ruskin College welcomed the chance to hold an Interview and Employability Skills Workshop for our Art and Design Level 3 students.

Melinda Ashford, Partnerships and Program Manager at Croydon Commitment, coordinated the event and invited along management from a variety of sectors which included construction management, IT, and pension protection fund management.

This was a great way for the students to get an insight into interview techniques and learn how they can utilize their CVs during an interview as well. This was a fantastic way to connect business and education and gave our students their first taste of a working environment.

Each interviewer had their own interview style which they used on the students. Louise Smith from Cinco Amor Ltd used scenario-based questions, saying “I will ask, what would you do in this situation, how would you deal with this?”

Barry Ryan from Sir Robert McAlpine, a construction and engineering company, commented;

“We normally ask candidates to run through their CVs, tell us their background and then ask competency questions to get an insight on their skills and suitability to the job role.”

The interviewers gave our students some simple yet effective tips. Karthi Velayutham from Pension Protection Fund, advised the students to “Show evidence of your past experience, do your company research and know the key skills you will bring to the company.”

Natalie McCourty from Chromalox advised our students to “ask questions during the interview and be confident in who you are.”

The feedback from the interviewers was very positive and they were very impressed by our students’ enthusiasm and professionalism.

Our students found the workshop very helpful in preparing them for this stage of their professional lives. Art and Design student Cintia said, “the workshop was very helpful and gave me useful advice not only for future interviews but also for my daily life.”

Thank you to Croydon Commitment and all the interviewers for facilitating the workshop for our students.

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