NEWS

Preparing for a Job Interview
By: Andrea F.,Grade 12, Garden Valley Collegiate, Winkler, MB


You are on your way to a job interview. What are you going to do? What are you going to say? What is the interviewer looking for anyway?

The first time around, you may ask yourself several questions. But there are no specific answers because different qualities are needed for different jobs.

The manager of Southland Cinemas in the Winkler Southland Mall is Sherry Unrau. The majority of her employees are high school students and her workers range from ages fifteen through twenty-two.

At an interview, Sherry looks for several things in the interviewee. She looks for someone who is active, not only in school, but also in other areas and activities, such as a sports team, or a church youth group. An employee should also be outgoing, not one who might be intimidated by the customers. The person should also be responsible, as well as, having a good, friendly personality.

One challenge of working with a number of high school students who are trying to balance many time commitments is making a schedule. Some employees are very busy, especially if they are involved with a sports team. Not a bad thing. "This doesn't matter," Sherry says, " the kids are worth it."

Sherry also says that the employee's social and academic life are very important to her as their employer. It shows that the employee is involved and isn't usually quiet and timid.

For some jobs, it is necessary to hire adult employees. It all depends on the amount of responsibility that the job requires. At Southland Cinemas, the projectionist carries a large amount of responsibility and consequently that position wouldn't be suitable for a teenager.

According to Sherry, there isn't much of a difference between adult and teen-aged employees. Some teens work as hard as adults. Some adult workers are just as carefree as teens. It is a matter of personality and maturity.

There is one major advantage of hiring teens. If it is their first job, they will not have previous ideas and impressions from other jobs. This makes them easily trainable. You can train them the way you need and want them to be, Sherry notes.

There may also be disadvantages to hiring teenagers for jobs. Some teenagers are not mature enough to handle a job. Younger employees are also more likely to show up late for their job shifts. Most young people are very active, and they want many weekends off so they can be with their friends and just have fun.

Several questions may be asked at an interview. Some may be difficult, some not. Often the interviewer may give you a problem situation that could happen at the work place, and they might ask you 'What would you do?'. They may ask you how you would describe yourself, or how you think your friends would describe you.

Now you have a slight knowledge of what is expected of a potential employee and what may be looked for at your interview. You can go to it with an awareness of what is expected and you can anticipate the probably questions. In just a matter of time, you may end up with a new job!

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