Tell Me a Little About Yourself

The Annual Junior Interview Series Introduces Students to the Interview Process

Photo by Christina on Unsplash

The Jeffrey Alan Gabor Junior Interview Series at Maclay School gives juniors a taste of the future and teaches them what to expect in a formal interview. From resumes to thank you cards, the Junior Interview Series introduces students to each key component of the interview process.

“[Interview preparation] is one of life skills that is not an integral part of any curriculum, so it is an added-on element to the high school experience,” Dean of Upper School Student Affairs Heather Bas said.

The process began at the end of February when juniors participated in two workshops: resume writing and interview best practices. The resume writing workshop introduced students to the “how” and “why” of resumes and gave them the opportunity to begin work on their own. For interview best practices, guest professionals spoke to the juniors about what to expect during the interview and the best methods of preparation. Specifically, they reviewed the STARS (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method in answering questions.

“Through those two workshops, [juniors] have all the information to help them be successful,” Bas said.

Once students received contact information, they were required to set up the meeting’s date and platform with their interviewer. This taught them how to communicate effectively by email and allowed them to demonstrate  a sense of initiative. 

“I reached out to my interviewer and made sure I had picked the time when the rest of the day wasn't super stressful,” junior Alexandra Holland said. 

While each interviewer approaches the task differently, the meetings follow a general structure: resume review, exchange of questions and then general feedback. While the interview is low stakes, interviewers know that students will inevitably be nervous, especially if they have no prior interview experience.

“You're going to be nervous before this interview, you're gonna be nervous before your next interview and the one after that,” interviewer Micheal Samaan said. “ So, my biggest advice, my best advice, is just to be prepared and to be on time.”

Finally, students write a thank you card to their interviewers. This acknowledges to the interviewers that the students learned valuable skills from their experience. It also allows them to stay in contact with their interviewer and foster connections that have already been forged. 

“There's some extremely impressive kids that I've talked to,” Samaan said. “I mean, I could hire them tomorrow and be totally fine.”

Ultimately, the Junior Interview Series aims to teach integral skills in communication and make Maclay students stand out in the workforce. It’s clear to the interviewer when one contender in a sea of applicants is well prepared. 

“I see time and time again people not doing something correctly, and it's because they were never taught,” Samaan said.  “It's not usually things that are written in a book. It's more the practical application that you see every day.”