Nodaway Valley seniors undergo mock job interviews

Nodaway Valley High School seniors surveyed after they participated in mock job interviews last Tuesday said they were a beneficial experience.

NVHS has conducted mock interviews for three years now.

Individuals from local businesses and organizations, including two from the Adair County Free Press, were brought in to conduct the interviews. They evaluated each of the seniors on their readiness, poise, and other aspects of interview skills.

"I understand that curriculum is important and everything we do everyday, but then you take a day like today. I think that what I am most proud about is that these kids really shined," said NVHS Principal Lanny Kliefoth. "Even though they do get nervous, I get so many positive comments from the community. I also think it's great that we bring in businesses. It's great [public relations] work, too. It's just a great day for us."

Though the job interviews aren't mandatory for seniors, a large portion of the approximately 45 seniors at NV participated, said Kliefoth. Those conducting the interviews asked questions provided for them as well as any others they prepared.

"First of all, in general, these kids are learning about different businesses [through this process]. They're probably interviewing with people who they have no idea what they do, so they're learning that, which I think is great," Kliefoth said. "Also, just the actual practice of meeting someone you don't know and being able to talk about yourself, the comments I've heard so far is that the kids did so much better in their second, third and fourth interviews because they were taking the feedback they were getting and were starting to apply it in their later interviews. A lot of them learned a lot more about themselves. I heard a lot of the kids say that this was fun and they're glad we did this. That's what it's all about."

NV senior Kiera Jackson wants to pursue a career in music education. With that in mind, she felt the interview processes she went through in a mock setting were a benefit.

"It gave us a lot of practice for the future," Jackson said. "All the people thought I answered their questions pretty well."

Braydon Holder described the mock interview process as being "very beneficial" because of how long it had been since he had been in a job interview setting.

"I was nervous at first because it's been awhile since I've done an interview, but I think for later in life, when I go to a different job, today will have helped a lot more," Holder said.