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Good interview skills are essential for high school students. When applying for jobs or to universities for higher studies, these skills come in handy as they help students make the right impression.
Schools train their students in interviewing skills through various co-curricular activities as well through their student-friendly curriculum. Students are encouraged to participate in these activities, where they pick up some very useful communication and social skills.
These skills help them improve their vocabulary, language, and general knowledge and develop their leadership and team-building skills that give them confidence and improve their overall personalities.
Here are some ways in which private school in Kuala Lumpur help students develop their interviewing skills.
1. Introduction to Interviews
Introducing students to interviewing skills begins with explaining to them how good interviewing skills are useful. How these skills will help them ace entrance tests and interviews during admissions to universities for higher education.
And also, how good interviewing skills will help them get the job they are interested in by impressing their interviewers with their confidence and knowledge.
The teachers, by explaining these benefits of good interview skills, get the attention of their students who are keen on participating in the activities.
Discussions are a great way to introduce interviews and teachers encourage the students to share their thoughts with their classmates on topics usually discussed during interviews.
Besides discussions, debates are also a great way to encourage students to speak in front of a group and express their thoughts and opinions. Debates also help students develop the confidence to put across their thoughts and convince others about their views on the topics being debated.
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2. Exploring Good Job Interview Skills
Teachers begin with the basics of interviews, such as:
â—Ź Correct body language and manners,
â—Ź Appropriate professional attire,
â—Ź The material required for an interview, such as a resume and references,
â—Ź Discussing what questions the interviewer may ask,
â—Ź Discussing the questions that the students can ask.
Explaining these topics in detail helps the students get a clear idea about how an interview is conducted and how they need to present themselves to make a good impression on their interviewer.
Once they have discussed these topics in detail, the students are then given worksheets or activities that help them revise the discussion. This helps in better reinforcement of the topic.
Another way teachers help reinforce the above points is by conducting group activities. Here, students are divided into small groups, and every group is given a topic to research and report.
Students are given a time frame to complete their activity after which they are asked to share their views. Group discussions, such as these, help them understand their comments in context and check if they have missed out on any points.
Activities, such as debates and discussions encourage student involvement. This gives the students a chance to improve their language and vocabulary skills, research skills, and presentation skills.
Working on these skills goes a long way in building confidence and providing a solid foundation for students for their future success.
3. Role-Playing
Role-playing is an excellent way to teach students about the intricacies of good interviewing. For this, the teacher chooses a student to play the role of the interviewer, who interviews the teacher, or the interviewee.
The teacher helps the student with a list of questions that are usually asked in an interview. The student conducts the interview and the rest of the class observes the session. The students get a clear idea of the direction followed in an interview.
The teacher ensures that the interview isn’t perfect. Doing so helps the class to offer a critique, which, in turn, boosts their confidence and improves their interviewing skills as well as observational skills.
The teacher encourages the class to suggest ways in which to improve the interview or make better points while answering the questions.
Such participation and engagement activities help students develop their interviewing skills and learn how to make an impact.
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4. Group Project
A group project after the debates, discussions, and role-playing helps reinforce all that they have learned and understood.
Students are given an activity to create different interview scenarios, such as one that works out perfectly and another that fails to make an impact. This helps students understand what it takes to ace an interview, the skills required, and the appropriate manner of conducting oneself in an interview.
The teacher observes their body language, dressing sense, and communication skills and how confident the students are about themselves.
The group project can be conducted in classrooms or recorded and shared with classmates. This is a great activity to help students brush up on their knowledge and learn from their mistakes.
It gives students a chance to understand the practicalities of interviewing and prepare themselves thoroughly. These activities are fun and interesting ways to develop new skills that help students develop their personalities, too.
Co-curricular activities are not just organized to help students de-stress, but also to teach them varied skills and discover their talents. These skills and talents help them face real-life challenges and prepare themselves for their future.
Schools conduct these activities to help students develop the foundation required to succeed in their careers. Not only co-curricular activities but also the curriculum has been created in such a way that it helps students, through lessons and assessments, to develop the requisite skills for good interviews.
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Why Interview Process is so Important for Students?
There are many reasons why interview process is so important for students. Let’s look at them:
1. The interview process can help students improve their communication skills which are vital.
2. They will learn how to make good decisions when under pressure.
3. They will understand what they want from life and career.
4. The interview process helps students understand what their career goals are and how to achieve them.
5. It helps them to identify their strengths and weaknesses, which helps them focus on improving those areas.
6. It gives an opportunity to showcase their skills and expertise.
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What are the Advantages of Practicing Your Interview Skills?
There are many advantages to practicing your interview skills, below are some of the advantages:
â—Ź You’ll be more confident when talking about yourself and your qualifications.
â—Ź You’ll learn how to answer questions in a way that shows off your strengths while avoiding common pitfalls.
â—Ź You’ll prepare examples of how you’ve demonstrated the abilities and traits such as teamwork and problem solving.
â—Ź You’ll learn which questions are easy for you and which ones are hard, so when they ask something similar in an actual interview, you won’t be caught off guard.
● You’ll overcome any fears or anxieties about the interview process.
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What are the 10 Most Common Interview Questions for Students?
The best way to prepare for an interview is to do your research and be prepared. Knowing what questions might come up will help you feel more confident during the interview process.
With that in mind, here are 10 of the most common interview questions students hear:
1. How would you describe yourself?
2. Why did you choose this school/major/minor?
3. Tell me about a time when you failed. What did you learn from it? What did you do differently next time?
4. What have you done to improve your knowledge or skills in the past year?
5. What is your greatest achievement outside of school?
6. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
7. What do you know about our company?
8. Why do you want this job?
9. Where do you see yourself in five years?
10. Why should we hire you?
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Also Read: How to Apply to Study in Malaysia: Most Important Steps
Conclusion
Developing good interviewing skills is crucial for students as they are on the threshold of a new milestone in their academic journey.
Be it for admission to universities for higher studies or to gain employment, good interviewing skills help students to make the right first impression. It helps them gain admission to a university of their choice or get the job of their dreams.
It is therefore vital for schools to prepare students through an appropriate curriculum and co-curricular activities to develop the necessary skills and prepare them for a successful future.
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