Prototype & TestCOURSES FOR JOB INTERVIEWS

Courses for Job Interviews

The two prototypes for this assignment will be for the idea of having courses for job interviews in order to help undergraduate students to feel more comfortable when they’re in an interview and gain confidence.

Here’s the idea I described in the previous assignment: Courses for job interviews: I've seen a lot of people frequently

worried about interviews, they are difficult and scary. And sometimes is the main thing interfering between them and what might be a good opportunity. Students need to experiment with interviews to feel comfortable with doing one.

Interview Tips Conference

The idea is for schools to hire a lecturer that could help students with several ideas:

Interactive situations with the public.

Corporal language tips.

General interview tips.

Exercise interviews in groups.

Interview Simulation

The idea is for schools to make a stand where a person could interview you as if you were applying to a position in a company. He could help in these ways:

Give personal feedback after the interview.

Give tips for interviews.

Ask personal fears and help you practice them in a comfortable situation.

Explain Dos & Don’ts for interviews.

Testing the Prototypes

In order to test both of the prototypes, I interviewed again my stakeholder. Here’s what we do:

1. I explained about my prototypes and how they would work.

2. I asked about what he expected and his opinion.

3. We role played with both of the prototypes.

4. Once again I asked his opinion in order to see if it was changed.

5. We compared the difference between the opinions before and after the role playing.

6. He explained what made him change his mind.

7. I asked for suggestions and capture the final feedback.

Feedback Grid: Interview Tips Conference

What Worked:

People can get ideas about how interviews are and what to expect.

Students can receive useful tips.

Students can work in groups and share experiences.

Experiencing the same with several students could help you feel you’re not in such an uncommon situation.

What Could be Improved:

It wasn’t a really original idea.

It was too interactive, he would feel really uncomfortable in a situation like that.

Interactive but not personal.

Feedback Grid: Interview Tips Conference

Questions:

How would shy students, who are really the ones that feel more uncomfortable with interviews, might feel with a conference as interactive as this?

Isn’t it possible to receive the tips or information you would receive in the conference from somewhere else where you don’t have to feel as exposed? Like the internet.

Ideas:

Get several lectures to help with the groups instead of only one.

Make an advice room instead of a conference, to make a more comfortable environment.

Feedback Grid: Interview Simulation

What Worked:

People can get ideas about how interviews are and what to expect.

Students receive feedback so they can improve themselves.

Students can feel more comfortable since no one else but the interviewer will be there.

Working with their fears will help them conquer them in a real interview.

What Could be Improved:

The space for the interview should be a more private one.

Incentive students the shyest students to try it out.

Feedback Grid: Interview Tips Conference

Questions:

Wouldn’t it make things too easy for students?

Isn’t sharing personal fears too deep for a simple interview practice? Is it really necessary?

Ideas:

Get supervised by the interviewer while two students interview each other.

Have a personality test to understand each one’s personal way to get through an interview without feeling as lying or faking being someone else.

Reflection

By testing the projects I learned that the solutions might sound simpler than they really are and every tiny detail should be taken in mind. Every person is different so what might be a great solution for some isn’t a solution at all for others. It is important to focus what kind of persons are the ones you’re trying to help the most to make your models more fitting and attractive to them.

If I continue working on this project, I would focus in the opinion of shy persons since they’re the ones that consider interviews something really difficult. I would discuss the idea with more students and principals in schools to take the idea as an option.