Havant & South Downs College business students impress at Portsmouth University mock interviews
Vocational Business students from Havant & South Downs College (HSDC) impressed with their interview skills at a recruitment assessment day at the University of Portsmouth.
Second year Level 3 Extended Diploma students took part in the mock interviews as part of their course. Rather than being held in the classroom, HSDC Business lecturers and Recruitment and Outreach Officer from the university, Sue Curtis, organised the day to be held on a ‘bigger and more enriching’ scale.
Through HE links to the University of Portsmouth and project work with the Southern Universities Network (SUN), a full assessment day was planned, including four assessment group activities and an afternoon of one-to-one interviews.
Speaking about the day, Business lecturer Laura North said: “The students were highly engaged, and all looked the part. They had carried out a lot of preparation for the day including producing professional documentation and practise interview questions.
“The day was a resounding success giving the students a taste of the university setting, experience of an assessment day and a chance to develop their employability skills outside of the College environment. The day was so successful, we will be doing it again next year.”
The students also impressed staff at the university. Becky Quew-Jones, Degree Apprenticeship Course Manager, said: “It was a great event to introduce students to different pathways of education including Apprenticeships.”
Sue Curtis added: “It was a pleasure to have HSDC Business students on campus. University staff and current Business students worked with them all day and found them extremely professional, on task and focused in all the activities.
“The students I had the pleasure to ‘interview’ should be so proud of themselves – prepared, confident and mature with their answers. I hope that the day really helps them with their course and future plans.”
Students also said how much they enjoyed the day, stating: “I enjoyed gaining experience of an assessment day, which will help when applying for jobs and Apprenticeships”, and “I learnt how the interview process works and how to answer interview questions”.
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