As part of Harrow College’s commitment to the Prepare for Work programme, students from the college have taken part in mock interviews with respected industry employers.
The interviews took place at the college’s Harrow on the Hill campus on Tuesday 17 March.
Attending the event were employers from British Airways, CapGemini, Lenovo, B&Q, IBM, Write Stuff, Cognizant Technology and TFL.
The aim of the interviews was to give students an opportunity to experience a formal work-related interview, to build on their confidence and communication skills and to help them understand what employers expect from applicants.
The interviews allowed students to hone their interviewing skills and appreciate what employers are looking for in potential candidates.
Mark Bowen, IT project manager at British Airways, said that mock interviews were a great way to encourage students to understand the recruitment process
"This is the second time I have assisted Harrow College with their mock interviews," said Bowen. "I genuinely enjoy listening to young people talk about their aspirations and also give them constructive feedback on things that they can improve on. Overall, the students were of a high standard verbally and were fluent and confident. The majority of the students I interviewed had a can do attitude, a willingness to learn, good manners and people skills. Those soft skills are every bit as important as the technical skills."
Peter Ranayotou, senior consultant at The Write Stuff, added: "I thought the quality of the candidates was very high. I was really impressed by the level of questions they asked. I also felt that they prepared very well and they took it all very seriously."
Richard Simon, cloud computing and systems management consultant at Lenovo, said that students should not only look to what they are good at but what they enjoy when embarking on their career path.
"These students certainly researched their interviews and prepared well," said Simon. "Some of them came across as very confident, which was good. The advice I would give to any students applying for a role within Lenovo, is that with any career you want to go into, follow your passion. That's what I did when I started and now I get paid for doing my hobby, which is great."
Prepare for Work helps students to develop the skills and knowledge needed to successfully navigate the recruitment processes as well as touching on the financial aspects of self-employment.
Harrow College is working with Barclays and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services to deliver the employability programme Prepare for Work.