In this activity, students will work together in groups of three to explore a professional scenario. They will practice preparing for an interview and have three resources to work with: a job description, a company description, and a list of common interviewing questions.
The activity is designed as a jigsaw, which is interactive and holds students accountable for contributing to the work equally. At the end of the activity, the class will work together to develop a checklist for interview preparation.
Share with students that one of the most important things they need to do for a successful interview is to prepare and that they are going to do an activity where they practice preparation.
Framing tip:
Remind your students of the importance of going into interviews prepared. Reassure them that even though some of these practice exercises might feel awkward at first, everyone is here to help each other out. And that this kind of practice will lead them to greater self-awareness. Remind them that these activities are all about helping their future selves feel confident and ready for job interviews when the time comes.
Split students into groups of three.
Give each student a scenario. The scenarios will include:
Common interview questions:
Explain the jigsaw instructions. Each student is responsible for reading and thinking about one of the documents (job description, company description, and interview questions). Note: If you are teaching online, put each group in a different breakout room so they can work together. Students can use a Google Doc to collaborate.
Students work independently for five minutes to familiarize themselves with the information on their documents.
When five minutes are up, each person summarizes what they read and what it made them think about with the rest of the group.
The group works together to come up with answers to the interview questions.
Bring the class back together, and pose the question: what do we need to do to prepare for interviews?
Work together to draft an interview preparation checklist. Here are some ideas for what the checklist might look like once you’ve co-created it together.
Interview preparation checklist:
Self-assessment: Give students the opportunity to reflect on this activity and set goals.
If you want to dig deeper into teaching interviewing skills and give your students more practice, check out
Open P-TECH’s self-paced student courses.
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