2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
