Huntley High School students from the district’s Cooperative Education program hosted its annual mock interviews this week at the Huntley 158 district office. Members of the community and district employees at Huntley 158 interviewed several students for 4 rounds of interviews.
Interviewers included representatives from McHenry County College, a recruiter from the Illinois National Guard, Algonquin Bank & Trust, Edward Jones, Eric J. Fernandez & Co, About Your Home Inspection, and the Huntley Park District. The Mock Interviews were also supported by Huntley District 158 including Superintendent Dr. Scott Rowe and members of the Board of Education.
“It makes me feel a lot better about future interviews because I feel like I would be a lot less nervous now that I know what I would say and do,” said Sydney Wenckaitis, a junior at Huntley High School.
President of the Board of Education, Tony Quagliano, who regularly participates in the district’s annual mock interview event, is confident these students will leave Huntley High School with an outstanding work ethic and drive for success.
“I’ve been doing this well over ten years and I’m always amazed at how well all of the students do. They’re all imminently hirable as-is and they’re not even out of high school yet.”
Students were able to experience multiple conversations with various interviewers to gain insight on different perspectives within interview scenarios. According to Cooperative Education teacher Page Schaschwary, “We focus on the complete interview process including: dressing for success, the elevator speech, behavior-based interviewing techniques, body language, and how to send a thank-you letter. The students also prepare a resume, references, and an ePortfolio to bring to the interview.”
“After each interview, I had more confidence in myself and I was definitely more passionate about what I was saying,” said Mitchell Flanagan, a senior at Huntley High School.
Cooperative Education is a senior elective at Huntley High School which offers students credit for both classwork in post high school life skills and for on-the-job training.
“This class has taught me all the skills and what I need to know going into an interview so that I am fully prepared and am ready for the interview,” said Griffin Klusek, a senior at Huntley High School.
