Recovering Careers: WellPower participates in mock interviews with 3T Systems

Recovering Careers

The WellPower’s NextChapter in Employment program helps recovering individuals return to the workforce by identifying their strengths while preparing them with skills that are in demand by Denver employers. Recently, several job seekers from the NextChapter program participated in mock interviews to help them practice their interviewing skills with professionals. The NextChapter Employment program partnered with local IT company 3T Systems to provide this valuable learning opportunity.  3T Systems Executive Management team conducted the interviews as a part of an employee volunteer outreach program.

I recently sat down with Laurie, a participant in the NextChapter in Employment program and the mock interview day, to learn more about her experience and how she felt it prepared her to enter the workforce. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

Q: Did it feel like a live interview?

Laurie: Yes and no—he interjected a lot between the questions as to what I could do or what I was doing well, or how I could improve as we were going along. He gave me feedback throughout the interview.

Q: What kind of questions did he ask of you?

Laurie: He asked questions pertaining to what I did as opposed to experiences or skills—he wanted to know more about what I would do in this situation, or show how I would handle different kinds of situations.  He really forced me to be specific about things like this. I wasn’t prepared to go into detail about my strengths, but my interviewer helped me by directing me that way.

Q: Can you give an example?

Laurie: Sure–I told him my greatest strength is that I am both creative and organized. He pushed me to give a practical example of this—to go deeper in my explanation. I gave him the example of how once I worked for a company that had a lot of different departments looking at the same document. This was back when computers first came into offices. I suggested that they get a share drive. This was my way of being efficient, creative, and organized at the same time.

Q: What was the most important thing that you took away from the experience?

Laurie: I’ve been doing secretarial work for a long time just to pay the bills-but I want to do something more. He really grabbed hold of my creativity, telling me not to discount my the skills I learned {as a secretary}, but told me that he thought that I had more skills and experience that I wasn’t marketing that would help me get a job that’s more than a secretary. This is what I’ve been focusing on—to do something that’s more than just shuffling papers. He really confirmed what I’d been feeling about doing more, and it was very encouraging. He felt more like a comrade-in-arms than an interviewer. It was such a positive experience. 

Q: Do you feel more prepared after the mock interview to start interviewing and ultimately to enter the workforce?

Laurie: Absolutely. I feel more confident, and I am ready! 

 

Thank you to 3T Systems for providing this opportunity for our consumers. Read more about the mock interviews from 3T’s perspective on their blog using the link below.

http://www.3tsystems.com/BlogNewsPressReleasesFeed/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/93/Being-Free-What-You-Can-Learn-From-WellPower.aspx>

Learn more about the WellPower’s NextChapter program by visiting our website at www.www.wellpower.org/2succeed.