Partnership helps high schoolers hone their job search skills

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Future STEM professionals enjoyed a mock interviewing workshop and talking to current college students during a special event at the College of Engineering.
A group of Columbus high school students interested in the STEM fields are getting a head start on their future career search thanks to Buckeye engineers and their partners.

The collaborative effort is part of the STEM Industry Council’s (SINC) Career Preparation Program, a partnership that helps students from participating Columbus City high schools with their professional careers and succeeding in the job search process. The program provides practical instruction and feedback on drafting an effective resume, gives students an authentic interviewing experience and connects them to paid summer STEM internship opportunities with central Ohio employers.

SINC is made up of four high school partners, Northland, West, Columbus Alternative and Whetstone, along with academic and industry partners, including The Ohio State University, Columbus State Community College, DeVry University, Honda North America, Inc., AEP and Corna Kokosing.

The program, which began 10 years ago by creating summer internship opportunities for urban students in Columbus, has evolved to meet the needs of student participants, explained Howard Greene, director of K-12 education outreach for The Ohio State University College of Engineering.

“We were getting students who wanted summer jobs, but had never been in an interview before or written a resume,” he said. “So we really needed to teach them some career skills to get them ready so they could head into the interviews with much more of a professional stance.”

Over the course of five weeks last November and December, the council sent teams of career services experts to each participating high school to conduct a 90-minute interactive session focusing on assisting students with writing a resume and personal statement as well as preparing for a job interview.

On January 28, the students were put to the test during a mock interview workshop that allowed them to practice their recently learned interviewing skills and find out how their resume stacked up against similar applicants.

Students were able to pick from four mock positions and participate in a simulation interview with career services counselors from an academic partner or human resource representatives from Honda North America, Inc. and Corna Kokosing. The mock positions were a technical writer intern, engineering CAD technician, a structural engineer assistant and an administrative assistant

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During the mock interviews, participants received feedback from Kaitlin Schafer and other career services professionals on their answers to interview questions, interview etiquette and more.

“I was very impressed by the students’ interview skills at the workshop,” said Kaitlin Schafer, a career counselor at ECS and mock interviewer at the workshop. “Overall, the event was a great opportunity for the students to become familiar with interview questions and etiquette. They gathered feedback that will help them perfect their technique for actual interviews.”

At the end of the day, each student received feedback on his or her strengths and areas for improvement. The two-hour long event also included small-group panel discussions with current college students from Ohio State and Columbus State on various career and academic pathways. 

“I enjoyed the panel. It offered a personal experience from diverse students from different backgrounds and good advice,” said one high school participant following the event.

Interested high school students were also able to provide their resumes and personal statements prior to the workshop and have them edited by career services representatives. Attendance for the interview workshop was on a first-come-first-serve basis with interested students signing up with their high school liaisons.

“It’s really rewarding because you know you are addressing kids who are interested and listening to what you are saying,” said Greene, “Helping them grow from having no familiarity with career professionalism to their first experience is really satisfying.”

Next, the high school students will apply for summer internships offered by the industry partners. The internships are open to high school students from Columbus City Schools, with preference given to students who completed the Career Preparation Program.

“We’ve got some industries that are mentoring students and paying their wages, while others are making a donation to cover wages for a student somewhere else,” said Greene.

Since the program’s beginning in 2008, SINC has placed 234 students from 10 Columbus City high schools in STEM internships at 36 different companies and organizations, including Verizon, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Corna Kokosing Construction, COSI and Port Columbus Regional Airport Authority, Greene explained.

Each year, three or four of the students spend their summer at Ohio State, working and helping with grant-funded research in the STEM field.

Greene said he hopes the program will grow in size in the coming years, possibly by getting more high schools in the area involved.

by Emily Lehmkuhl, College of Engineering student communications assistant