Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

202 Students Participate in 2023 Mock Interview Days

Tag: AspHIRE

202 Students Participate in 2023 Mock Interview Days

202 Students Participate in 2023 Mock Interview Days

IALR, Longwood University and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) collaborated to offer AspHIRE Mock Interview Day 2023 to 202 high school students this Spring. Tenth through 12th graders from six school systems participated in this event to hone their interview and employability skills with local professionals. Students came from Danville City, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Lunenburg, Nottoway Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward Counties.  

“The AspHIRE mock interview day provides valuable experience to high school students across Southern Virginia, exposing them to important workplace skills and allowing them to experience an authentic interview process,” said Jessie Vernon, IALR Advanced Learning Program Manager.  

The event was organized by IALR and held on April 7 and 26 at IALR, on March 29 at SVHEC, and on April 25 at Longwood University. Local employers led work-readiness sessions and served as mock interviewers. To make this event possible, 66 volunteers provided their time, serving as interviewers and providing employability skill sessions.  

“The trip to Asphire was both informative and fun. It helped me widen my horizon about the working field and opened my eyes to new possibilities.” – King Catubig, Lunenburg County

“Something that was beneficial for me was learning to ask questions at the end of my interview.” – Chasity Robertson, Nottoway County. 

AspHIRE Mock Interview Day is designed to give students an opportunity to build their skills through a practice interview with a local professional and several employability skill sessions. Students are given a “conference” style experience, networking with peers and professionals at a professional lunch and attending breakout sessions. The latter included topics on Benefits and HR Basics, LinkedIn and Indeed, Personal Brand and Presentation, Professionalism and Communication, Teamwork and Problem Solving, and Time Management and Work-Life Balance. 

The first event was held at IALR in 2019 for students in Danville and Pittsylvania County and was expanded to include additional partners in the years since then.  

AspHIRE Mock Interview Day a Success

AspHIRE Mock Interview Day a Success

Adah Haley with American National Bank interviews a student at the AspHIRE Mock Interview event at IALR.

IALR, New College Institute (NCI) and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) collaborated to offer AspHIRE Mock Interview Day 2022 to 200 high school students. Tenth through 12th graders from six school systems, ranging from Henry County to Charlotte County, participated in this event to hone their interview and employability skills with local professionals.

“I truly enjoyed the opportunity to learn about real-life interactions and situations I will encounter in the future,” said Layton Wilson, Pittsylvania Career and Technical Center Precision Machining Senior at Gretna High School. “Being there was a great experience, because I now feel a lot more confident going into the workforce.”

IALR, NCI and SVHEC each hosted the event at their respective locations. IALR welcomed students of Danville and Pittsylvania County on April 27-28; SVHEC served Halifax and Charlotte County students on April 27; and NCI hosted Martinsville and Henry County students on May 5. Local employers led work-readiness sessions and served as mock interviewers, and some even held real interviews to fill open positions within their company.

In addition to a 20-minute mock interview, students participated in a professional networking luncheon as well as work-readiness sessions. The latter included topics on Benefits and HR Basics, LinkedIn, Personal Brand and Presentation, Professionalism and Communication, Teamwork and Problem Solving, and Time Management and Work-Life Balance.

The first event was held at IALR in 2019 for students in Danville and Pittsylvania County and was expanded this year to include SVHEC and NCI.

Mock Interviewers & Summer Internship Hosts Needed

Mock Interviewers & Summer Internship Hosts Needed

IALR is facilitating summer internships as well as springtime mock interview events for high school students. Participating employers are being actively recruited for these opportunities with funding available to support intern stipends. The events are part of IALR’s new system framework, known as ExperienceWorks and supported by GO Virginia.

Mock interviewers, committing just 1.5 hours of time or more, are needed for three AspHIRE Mock Interview Day events on April 27-28 in Danville and South Boston, and May 4-5 in Martinsville. Graduating seniors and select juniors are provided an opportunity to hone their interview skills and take part in a formal business lunch and six work-readiness sessions. Interested businesses should contact jessie.vernon@ialr.org by April 13.

IALR is also seeking businesses to host paid internships starting in June 2022. Highly successful last summer, the programs in Danville and Pittsylvania County are expanding, along with internship opportunities throughout GO Virginia Region 3.

The City of Danville and Pittsylvania County are seeking businesses to host summer youth interns like Blake Bowen and Emma Mayhew who earned skills and a stipend last year.

“It helps you learn people skills and what you want to do in the future,” said Nevea Russell, a Galileo Magnet High School student, of her internship last summer with Danville’s Parks and Recreation department. Other employers last year included other local government offices, the Animal Medical Center of Danville and the Danville Science Center among others.

Interns will work for six to eight weeks at 32-40 hours per week. Businesses have the ability to customize the internship to fit their needs. Interested companies and organizations should contact dana.wilson@ialr.org as soon as possible.