On the Youth Justice Project, we hosted a mock interview session to provide participants with the opportunity to practice their interview skills and receive feedback from experienced professionals. Six young men across our youth justice, SEND, and power to change projects were in attendance. This event was supported by Jenny Hailes from Everards, Tracy Renshaw from Walker and Sons, and Danielle Young from Nelsons.
During the session, participants gathered in the main room where they received preliminary information on how to prepare for their interviews. Some participants were very nervous as some had never attended an interview. They received tips on best practices and encouragement to put in their best effort.
Participants were then allocated to different business members for their mock interviews. Business members were provided with personalised interview questions based on the preferred roles of participants in advance. For instance, if a participant preferred to work in customer services, they were asked interview questions related to their chosen area. Business members also provided written feedback at the end of each interview.
I enjoyed today's session solely because of the learning experience and gained a lot of knowledge.
Participant
I am really pleased with how today went. I learned I should just be confident in what I am saying to come across professional.
Participant
It is really great to be able to have wonderful and honest conversations with young people, whilst helping them to gain confidence and hopefully help them to achieve their dreams
Jenny Hailes- HR Assistant- Everards
When all participants had finished their mock interviews, we all sat together, and business members provided participants with insights into how they could improve their performance. Participants were encouraged to research their chosen company and practice their responses with family and friends. They were also encouraged to actively ask questions so that they could decipher whether the organization would be suitable for them.
Participants were urged to dress smartly to make a good impression during the interview process. It was also suggested that participants could decide to take notes along for their interview so that they could refer to them when necessary. They were also told that they could take a bottle of water into the interview with them so that they could drink water to calm their nerves and give themselves time to think about a response.
Participants found this event extremely useful as they felt that the session boosted their confidence and belief that they could actually do well in interviews. We are thankful to our business members for adding value to our participants and making this event a successful one.
It was my pleasure to be a part of another Youth Justice workshop recently, attending at Leicestershire Cares offices to conduct some mock interviews with participants of the group. I was greatly inspired by the two participants I interviewed, who showed great strength of character, and coped brilliantly with the experience of speaking to someone they’d never met before and selling their skills. It was clear to see just how important these sessions are to the group, who all seemed to take a lot away from the event, growing in confidence and self-belief. It was, as always, a joy to be a part of. Thanks to everyone who got involved and gave it their all, and particular thanks to Chikodi and Jennifer again for organising it. You have a group of young people here to be very proud of and they have all the tools at their disposal to create incredibly bright futures thanks to the support Leicestershire Cares provides to them.
Danielle Young- Legal Director and Solicitor-Nelsons
I enjoyed it- the feedback given helped outline my strengths and weaknesses.
Participant
It is a pleasure to be able to support the Youth Justice Protect and the work they do, these interview sessions are invaluable to the young people, giving them the opportunity to be in a real life interview scenario which will help prepare them for interviews going forward. It was great to meet the young people and hear about their life and their career aspirations.
Tracy Renshaw - Communications & Engagement Partner, Savoury Pastry- Walker and Son
If you are a business, and you would like to get involved in the work that we do by providing valuable work experience/work trials, please get in touch using the email address below.
Youth Justice Project Development Manager
Chikodi Lori
chikodi@leicestershirecares.co.uk
To read about our Power to Change approach, click on the link below:
https://www.leicestershirecares.co.uk/about-charity/our-approach/power-to-change/#:~:text=We%20believe%20our%20power%20to,city%20and%20county%20for%20all.
For more information and insight into our Youth Justice Projects click the links below:
Man Cave Participants Dive into Finance and Business Strategy | Leicestershire Cares
Man Cave Session: Business Ideas, Marketing, and Branding | Leicestershire Cares