GIVING STUDENTS EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW PRACTICE IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER

Within one campus of the University of Ulster in UK, there are almost 300 students studying Computing related degrees. Each of these courses require their students to work for one year in the IT industry after completing 2 years of full time study but before enrolling for their final year. A Professional Development module is taken by all these students during their second year. This module covers a range of topics relevant to the Employment market but the first part is concerned with familiarisation with the available employment opportunities, completion of CV and Employer Application forms, handling questions at interview, assessment centre activities and practice aptitude tests. Interview practice is critical to their success. This paper will discuss previous interview practice models used before going on to describe the model used in the academic year 2015/16. Comparisons will be made between male and female students as well as students who joined the second year directly from another course completed in an affiliated college. Additional benefits have accrued to the students including observing an interview and being an interviewer. Quantitative and qualitative data extracted from student questionnaires will be presented before outlining changes to be made for 2016/17 session.