(MARSHALL, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus hosted an interview practicum Wednesday, June 7, for TSTC students to receive practice and advice through mock job interviews.
TSTC’s Career Services department plans an interview practicum every semester for students to utilize before graduation. On Wednesday, three sessions were held and 38 students attended.
Each student was given the opportunity to go through three different 15-minute rounds of mock interviews.
Kain Wieczorek, a third-semester Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology student, commented on how having the different rounds of interviews helped him grow.
“I learned a lot about myself,” he said. “I learned that I’m well spoken, but I still had things to work on. In my first interview, I was sort of slouched and I didn’t introduce myself. Then in the following interviews, I started sitting up straight, I was more confident, more well-spoken, and I wasn’t saying ‘um.’”
At the end of each interview, the volunteers interviewing students gave feedback and advice on areas in which they could improve.
Wieczorek remembered some of the advice given to him in his last round.
“I went in thinking that that was my only option; I was all into that one job,” he said. “(In) my most recent interview, she explained to go in knowing that you have options and to think about it not like, ‘Is this job for me,’ but, ‘Am I fit for this job?’”
Jena Corley, the Career Services coordinator on TSTC’s Marshall campus, said she loved being able to watch the students’ reactions and growth throughout the three rounds of interviews.
“I’d ask them how they felt after each round in the waiting room, and almost all of them said they started off nervous or uncertain of how to answer the questions,” she said. “By the end they understood the value of being prepared for an interview and being able to talk about their skills.”
While the interview practicums are held only once per semester, students are able to schedule appointments with Career Services to practice their interviewing skills at any time during the semester.
Registration for TSTC’s fall semester is underway. For more information, visit tstc.edu.
