Course: CMM 128 Interviewing Practices

In-Class Activities/Interviews

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In-Class Activities/Interviews

Employment Interview
1.    Interviews should last 7 - 10 minutes.
2.    Each student will be an employer and an applicant. Once the interview for one role is completed, the participants will switch roles and conduct the other interview.
3.    Each student will prepare a job description, a resume, and a cover letter.  Two copies of each of these are needed: one for the instructor and one for your student partner, the hypothetical employer.

a.    Content of the job description is listed below. Job descriptions can be found online (e.g., Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com), in the newspaper, at the Career Planning & Placement Office (E101), or on bulletin boards. You can also use your current job description or the job that would be the next one you would be eligible for at your current place of employment. You could also combine information from these sources to make a hypothetical job as long as it is a reasonable description.

(1)    Name of the employing organization
(2)    Location of the organization
(3)    Job title
(4)    Description of qualifications required by the job (e.g., education, skills, experience)
(5)    Description of working conditions (e.g., summary statement of duties, responsibilities and working conditions. Include a list of more important tasks and operations, whom the employee reports to and whom the worker will supervise, if anyone).
(6)    Description of training, if any, that the organization will provide new employees.
(7)    Description of employee benefits (e.g., health, dental, life insurance, vacation and personal days, educational reimbursement, salary or commission structure.

b.    Content of the resume (see the textbook and Blackboard for guidelines). Templates of resumes are available online (type "Resume Templates" into a search engine) and are available in Microsoft Word.

c.    Content of cover letter (see the textbook and Blackboard for guidelines). Examples of cover letters can be found online or on Blackboard.

(1) The first paragraph of a cover letter should provide orientation and rapport. You should indicate the job you are applying for, how you found out about the job and a preview of the main areas you would like to highlight in the next paragraph.

(2) The middle paragraphs should expand on the areas you want to highlight. Examples and specific facts make the cover letter stand out.

(3) The final paragraph closes the letter by facilitating future contact and building rapport. You should thank the reader for his or her consideration. You should also provide ways for the reader to contact you (phone number and maybe an e-mail address). You might also indicate convenient times to reach you. Sometimes applicants indicate that they will contact the reader on a certain date.

(4) "Employers" will turn in their interview file following their interviews.

- See pages 2, 3 and 4 for a checklist of what goes in the file, a sample of a file, questions that might be included in the schedule, and methods of getting follow-up information.

(5) Applicants will turn in resume and cover letter on the date indicated on the syllabus

(6) Employers and applicants should dress like employers and applicants.