Job interview practice at the Work Club
Mary, aged 53, came to the Allen Park Work Club in April looking to update her CV and find work. She has been out of work for the last two years. However, previously Mary has worked as a Kitchen Assistant at three different schools.
We set up her Universal Jobmatch account and taught her how to use the system to apply for jobs. At the same time, we updated her CV and also created generic covering letters that would help her apply for relevant jobs. Mary says: “I have received a lot of help. We produce a speculative cover letter that I was able to send to employers.”
To update her skills further, Mary enrolled and attended an Emergency First Aid at Work training session run by Derby Adult Learning Service, which she feels will help her when applying for jobs.
Recently, we set up a mock interview for Mary to attend at the Work Club. The position was for Kitchen Assistant and Mary came to the “interview” as if it was an actual job she had applied for. The experience gave her valuable skills to understand how to prepare for an interview and answer questions posed by the interviewer on the day. The feedback she received was very helpful.
Mary says: “I had some interview tips the previous week and I felt the interview on the day went quite well. I could improve on a few areas such as giving more examples of what I’ve done in my previous jobs and perhaps answering the question about teamwork skills better. Overall it was good experience for me.”
Mary continues to look for work as a Kitchen Assistant or in retail. She has recently volunteered at a charity shop to gain more retail experience and continues to update her skills in order to get her next job.
