March 28, 2025 • 24 mins
What happens when high school students face their first real job interview without ever having practiced? For thousands of young people, walking into that first interview means stumbling through an experience they've never been prepared for. That's the problem Mark is solving through his remarkably successful mock interview program.
During this eye-opening conversation, Mark shares how a Rotary concept he encountered 35 years ago evolved into a comprehensive program that's changed countless young lives. "Every high school student should really have an opportunity to learn how to interview for a job," he explains, detailing the carefully structured two-hour workshops where students rotate through four different interviewers. Each eight-minute interview is followed by written and oral evaluations that provide immediate, actionable feedback.
What makes this program truly stand out is its real-world impact. Employers have called Mark specifically to learn his secrets after interviewing his students: "That student was the only one who came in dressed professionally, with a confident handshake and strong eye contact." Even more impressive, some students have received job offers directly from impressed workshop participants.
The genius of Mark's approach lies in how thoroughly it's integrated into the curriculum. These aren't casual role-playing exercises—they're graded activities with the weight of final exams. Students learn everything from proper introduction techniques (first name, pause, last name) to maintaining "calm hands, calm feet" during the interview. They receive feedback on their resumes, portfolios, and even the thank-you notes they're required to write afterward.
For Rotarians and educators looking to implement similar programs, Mark offers a complete roadmap, including timelines, recruitment emails, evaluation forms, and practical guidance. His advice? "Start small. Start with one group, see how it works, then expand." The program's remarkable adoption rate speaks to its value—teachers eagerly share it with colleagues because they immediately recognize its life-changing potential.
Ready to help prepare the next generation for career success? Subscribe to Community Heroes of Hope for more inspiring stories of Rotarians making a difference, and consider bringing mock interviews to a school in your community.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Community.
Heroes of Hope, a podcast wherewe shine a light on the
remarkable individuals andprojects in Rotary District 5330
that bring hope and change toour local and global communities
.
I am Judy Zelfikar, yourco-host and the current District
Governor of Rotary District5330.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And I'm Niren McLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect, and I'm NirenMcLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect.
Together, we're diving deepinto the heart of the community
service, showcasing the impactof dedication and collaboration
in addressing some of the mostpressing challenges our
communities face.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Each episode, we'll tell stories of incredible
people making a difference,innovating solutions and
inspiring others to take action.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
We'll also be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at
the projects that aretransforming their lives, and
we'll discuss how you, too, canget involved, contribute and be
part of the positive change.
Whether you're a seasonedRotarian or just looking to give
back, this podcast is for you.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So join us as we explore the journeys, challenges
and successes of people likeyou who have stepped up to make
a difference.
Let's celebrate the spirit ofcommunity and the power of hope
together.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Don't forget to subscribe to the Community
Heroes of Hope on your favoritepodcast platform.
Stay with us on this journey ofinspiration and let's spread
the message of hope further thanever.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for tuning in.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, good morning, Mark, and we're very, very happy
to have you here with us on thepodcast for District 50 through
30, and we're here with ourgovernor, Judy Zulfikar, and I
will be here.
I will be following her andthis is exciting, and for me
it's very exciting because Markinterviews were something that
(01:51):
were done way back in my dayback in school and they seem to
have fallen off.
So I'm really, really excitedto see that you guys are really
stepping out to help the youngpeople with the interview
process, so that's exciting.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So, Mark, why don't you introduce yourself and tell
us a little bit about the mockinterview program that you have
there at the La Quinta HighSchool?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Okay, well, that's great.
Well, we've been doing the mockinterviews at La Quinta High
School now for several years,interrupted for a couple of
years by COVID, which seemed tointerrupt a lot of things, but
primarily we're working with theacademies at La Quinta High
School.
My background is in careercounseling.
(02:36):
I was an instructor, I was ateacher, I was a counselor and
ran a career center for manyyears in Salinas, california,
where we started this program.
But it was based on a Rotaryconcept that I saw at a
conference way back when,probably 35 years ago, and the
idea was that every high schoolstudent should really have an
(02:59):
opportunity to learn how tointerview for a job and should
have a portfolio or a resume ofsome sort to present to a
community member like a Rotarian.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yeah it really gets them prepped for getting out
into the real world right.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
That's right and unfortunately the schools
weren't doing it.
And in fact, one of thequestions I like to ask my
interviewers was how many of youhave ever had mock interview
practice and an evaluation ofhow you did in that interview
when you were in high school?
And I get maybe zero hands in agroup of, say, 30 people and
(03:41):
maybe I might get one or twodepending on the workshop, but
very few people have had thatexperience.
So that's one of the reasonsthat we started it.
We started it with one class ina government class in high
school.
That teacher really liked theexperience.
Then it grew to every teacherin the school, then it grew to
the other high schools, then itwent around the state, and so
(04:04):
we've been doing this nowprobably for thousands of kids,
literally over many, many years.
We wound up with every senior,went through the experience, and
so what we're doing now at LaQuinta High School because I
really wanted to carry this onafter my retirement.
I really wanted to see thisgrow, because I knew the value
of it.
I knew how our interviewersfelt about meeting with our
(04:28):
young people and forming arelationship, a one-on-one with
them and being able to help themwith one of the most important
skills they could ever learn,which was how to interview for a
job.
So that's how it all started,and I can tell you a little bit
about the process, if you'd liketo know it all started and I
can tell you a little bit aboutthe process if you'd like to
know Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
That's what my next question was going to be.
So you have to train theinterviewers as well as then,
obviously, going through theprocess.
So tell us how that works.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Okay, so typically we schedule these workshops for a
two-hour time frame.
We need two hours because wewant to do four interview rounds
.
An interview round consists ofan eight-minute interview using
commonly asked interviewquestions or other questions
that interviewers would like toask, followed by a five-minute
(05:17):
written and oral evaluation on aform that I've developed, which
I'm willing to share withanyone who'd like to have it, as
well as any of the otherdocuments I use, and then the
students reflect back after thefive-minute evaluation.
The students actually reflectback what they learned from
their evaluation and have to dothat so that they internalize
(05:41):
what they've learned.
And then we go ahead and weinterview another student, so we
do four students, and in mostof our workshops we try to
recruit enough interviewers sothat we have one interviewer for
every two students and that wayevery student gets at least two
interviews and two evaluationsin the session.
The reason we do it that way isso that the students can apply
(06:05):
what they learned from the firstsession to the second one in
the same workshop.
Okay, then they take thoseevaluations with them back to
class, they debrief those inclass over the next couple of
classes and then includingsending a thank you card
oftentimes, or a thank youletter to our interviewers, that
(06:26):
students develop those letters.
So we go through the wholeprocess.
Regarding the interviewersthemselves, I recruit those
interviewers from Rotary memberswhen I can, and if I don't have
enough then of course I have toturn to community members,
which most of our community isvery anxious to participate in
these workshops.
They really get a kick out ofthem.
They really like being able tocoach kids and help them with
(06:49):
something that they knowthemselves is such an important
skill.
The interviewers don't have tobe experts or HR people or even
subject matter experts, any ofthat.
All they have to do is bewilling to spend a little time
with some kids, and so I trainthe interviewers right before
(07:10):
our workshop, where we give themthe materials, I talk to them,
answer their questions and talkto them about the timing,
because the interview workshopsare very structured.
So I keep time with all of thedifferent stages the interview
eight minutes, the evaluationfive minutes, the talk back to
(07:31):
the interviewer in terms ofreflecting back another two
minutes, and so forth, so thateveryone stays together.
And then the tricky part is Iwanted the students to have a
different experience with eachof the four different interviews
during the two-hour session.
So what I do then is I move theinterviewers from one table to
the next, and so every interviewis with a different interviewer
(07:55):
.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
They get a different feel for the different types of
the ways people interview.
Even if it's the same questions, they kind of approach it
differently, right?
Different tone, yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Yeah, and because we have the, we use the 18 commonly
asked questions as kind of abase, then you're you're only
able to ask about six or seven.
So there's plenty of questionsto give a different experience
each time which the kids really,really benefit from.
And the other thing is thatwe've learned over time that we
need to keep the other studentat the table or sometimes
(08:30):
there's two other students atthe table busy during the
interview.
So we talk about well, you'renot going to fall asleep at this
interview, you're going toreflect back and you're going to
help with the evaluation of thestudent who's been interviewed.
And I work with the interviewerto ask the other students at
the table what did they thinkabout?
An area like what about eyecontact?
(08:52):
What about the introduction?
What about the handshake?
Did you notice?
What did you think about theanswer to that particular
question, and so forth.
So the other stage, before theworkshop starts, of course, and
after I've worked on recruitingwho I'm going to recruit, and so
forth, but about a week orsometimes two weeks ahead of the
interview workshop, I go intothe class and I bring the
(09:16):
materials with me and theteachers have had these
materials also in advance, but Igo over especially the
evaluation form with thestudents point by point, getting
a lot of input from thestudents as I go so that I
demonstrate things and I givethem a role model and I give
them examples of how they might,how they sit and how they shake
(09:38):
hands and how they say theirname first name, pause, last
name, because so many kids saytheir name really quickly.
We talk about volume of speechbeing important, we talk about a
body language and maintainingcalm hands, calm feet, leaning
forward, eye contact, all ofthose things and we get all the
(10:00):
way down to the.
We examine the resume and theportfolio the kids have prepared
and that's part of theirevaluation process too.
And if I coach the interviewersI say to them if you see words
misspelled or anything wrong onthat resume, please point it out
and let the student know youwon't interview anyone with
errors on their resume, thattype of thing, because those are
(10:22):
the kinds of things we want ourkids to walk away from knowing
that just doing well enough,like some of them may do on a
math test or whatever, isn'tgood enough.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
So, mark, you've been doing this for many years.
Have you had students come backafter they've gone through this
process and gone into you knowthe work, into you know finding
a job and giving you anyfeedback on what this impact of
this program was on them?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I have had some Students generally don't come
back after their senior year,but I have had a few over the
years.
But more than that, I've hademployers call me.
I've had employers call me andsaid how did you do with that
student?
That student was the only oneto come in who was dressed in a
(11:17):
business-like way.
The student approached me veryconfidently, with a great
handshake and eye contact wasn'tshy like we see so many kids
who just don't really know whatthey're doing.
I just want to know what didyou do?
And so I explained what I did.
And then now employers wereputting job offers into our
(11:39):
career center and we had anumber of kids who were hired in
these interview workshopsbecause the employers were so
impressed and if they happenedto need someone at the time,
they actually hired kids out ofour workshops.
That's awesome which was aterrific advantage for the
students and for the employers.
It's a win-win all the wayaround.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Are you finding that same type of interactivity in La
Quinta in this program thatyou've been working there?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, I have.
At first it was a littledifficult to break in because I
was hoping to work with seniors,the same as I did in Salinas.
But I had an in there, since Iwas on campus and people knew me
I'm a Rotarian and that helpedopen some doors.
But what really worked for mewas when I targeted the academy
classes, the CaliforniaPartnership Academies, which we
(12:25):
had in Salinas as well, butthey're career-oriented
academies, like the MedicalHealth Academy, like the
Technology Academy, culinaryArts and Public Services Academy
there are four, I believe, atLa Quinta High School and so we
were concentrating on those andthose teachers were really happy
to have our services, becausethis is exactly the type of
(12:49):
program that works with whatthey're doing.
They have mentorships, they haveinternships, they have content
oriented towards their careerarea, they take lots of job
shadowing, types of field tripsand placements for students and
so forth.
So this worked very, very wellwith them.
They part of the CaliforniaPartnership Academy is to
(13:11):
develop more career orientedactivities and also connections
with the community, and so I wasproviding that service through
Rotary for them and they werevery pleased to have it, and so
they're anxious every year toget started.
In fact, this year we've addedanother academy, the last
academy at the high school thatwe haven't been working with,
and we're going to be workingwith that academy as well.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Mark, that's pretty excellent.
I have a couple of follow-upquestions.
One is going back to the actualinterview.
The workshop, I imagine, isdone in a classroom-like setting
the actual interviews whenyou're working with the students
.
Is that done in a more intimatetwo-on-one type of thing, or is
(13:56):
it done at a big table andwe're sitting here and then the
next student and intervieweesare sitting a few feet away and
then etc.
How is that operating?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Good question, and so the orientation and the setup
of the room is very importantalso, and so what we have is we
do the interviews well, we dothem in a couple of different
locations, and I'll tell youabout both.
One is we use one of the smallgyms at La Quinta High School
(14:28):
and I set up a map for thecustodial staff and the
administration to set up thatgym with six-foot tables.
They're rectangular tables, sixfoot tables.
They're rectangular tables andthey're set up a little space
apart from each other, quite alittle ways apart, so that
there's not interference fromnoise or conversations from
another table people can hear,and I set up two or three chairs
(14:51):
on one side of the table andone chair on the opposite side
for the interviewer, so they'refacing each other, and so we'll
have maybe 20 or 22 tables setup that way in lines, and that
way I can easily move theinterviewers from one table to
the next after each round.
So it's a large room but itallows us the space to move
(15:15):
people around and have enoughquiet between tables or have
enough separation between tablesso that the noise isn't
distracting from one table tothe next, and that seems to work
pretty well.
The other place that we do it inthe culinary academy.
They have such an amazing shopthere at La Quinta High School.
It's a full industrial kind ofkitchen and operation and plus a
(15:40):
classroom connected to it.
It is amazing.
It's more like a college levelprogram or a professional
culinary school program.
It's very much like that.
So I thought it would beimportant to bring our
interviewers into the shop andgive them a tour of the shop so
they could see what the culinaryprogram and the equipment and
(16:01):
so forth.
And I asked the teacher toprovide student greeters.
Students come in, they meetpeople in the parking lot, they
bring them to the office tocheck in and then the students
escort them out to the shop.
And we even have golf carts forsome that can't walk that far
out to the shop, and we evenhave golf carts for some that
can't walk that far out to theshop.
And then the students take themthrough the shop to show them
(16:25):
and explain the equipment and alittle bit about what they do in
the culinary program.
And then we have the workshopin the classroom setting, again
with the same set of tables likeI described for the gym.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
So it really is focusing on all of the soft
skills that you don't normallyget in your classroom setting
and allowing those students topractice those soft skills
within the construct of theirclasses, and learn those skills.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
The real goal of the workshop is teaching them those
skills and having them practicethose skills a lot, because they
do it in class, they do it whenI'm there.
They also do it when I'm notthere for a week or two before
the interview workshops actuallystart, because we want the kids
to be tuned up.
One of the other things that isvery important is this is not
(17:20):
seen by the students as just anordinary extra, extra activity,
and this is so important.
It is part of the curriculum.
It is a graded activity.
It receives a heavy gradeequivalent to a final exam,
(17:40):
equivalent to a final exam.
The original Rotarian that Ilearned this from when I went to
that vocational workshop back35 years ago.
He was superintendent of hishigh school and also president
of his Rotary Club and he madethe program such that seniors
would have to have a passinggrade given by a Rotarian and it
(18:01):
would have to pass.
Their portfolio resume wouldhave to pass and also their
performance in the interviewworkshop.
He required it.
Now I'm not a superintendent,I'm an outsider from Rotary
going into the school.
So that's why I work with ateacher to make an important
part of their grade, becausesome kids will recognize the
importance of this, but whenthey're a teenager, sometimes
(18:23):
it's just another thing.
But when you say, hey, this ispart of your grade and we're
having people from the outside,you want representing your
school I'm saying this in frontof the instructor too You're
representing your school, yourprogram, this academy and
yourself.
So you need to be as wellprepared as you possibly can be,
(18:43):
and I'll tell you what all ofthose things kind of tune the
students up to be a little bitmore serious than they might
otherwise be, and they come indressed, and so forth.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
We have members of school boards and probably
superintendents that arepossibly listening to this
podcast, and we definitely haveRotarians and other clubs around
our district listening to thispodcast.
How could they implement thisin their district or their
schools in the region that theyreside?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I'd be happy to work with any of them in terms of the
materials and the setup and bemore of a guide for them and so
forth.
I won't do the workshops forthem or anything like that I'm
kind of busy myself but I'd behappy to help them if they want
to set something like this up,with what you need to do to set
it up.
I have a timeline, for example.
(19:37):
I have a written timeline withall of the required activities
to make this work, and then Ihave the recruitment emails that
I've developed.
I have all of the forms and allof the activities and what
teachers are expected to do andso forth.
And so, yes, I'd be happy tohelp anyone who wants to start
something like this, and I thinkthe advice that I would give
(19:59):
them is start small.
Start with one group, just doone group that's how I started
and see how it goes.
One group just do one groupthat's how I started and see how
it goes.
And if that works, then move onto more of the kids, rather
than try to take something onthat's too large at one time.
No need to do that.
Just start small and then workup from there.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So, Mark, let me ask you a couple of questions.
One is does the La Quinta HighSchool have a sponsor, an
advocate on campus outside ofyou?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
For the workshops.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
For the workshops or the program in general?
Is there somebody driving itbesides you and you're just kind
of the consultant that iscoming in and saying turn left,
turn right and making sureeverybody's doing what they
should be doing?
And saying turn left, turnright and making sure
everybody's doing what theyshould be doing?
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Once I introduced this workshop to teachers okay,
who are responsible for theirclasses, they become my
advocates.
The reason it spread in thefirst place was one teacher had
it.
That's why I say start small.
He talked to the other peoplein the department and within one
(21:08):
year the very next yeareverybody wanted a workshop.
And the same way I started withone academy at La Quinta High
School.
One class well, basically twoclasses, because they have two
per academy with one teacher,and the other teacher also
helped.
And so the idea was that thatwent reasonably well.
And then another academyteacher said, hey, I'd like to.
Was that that went reasonablywell?
And then another academyteacher said, hey, I'd like to
(21:29):
do that for my academy too.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So the teachers are the advocates on the campus, see
, that adoption rate I think isquite remarkable because I know
talking with Rotarians lookingfor pride in Ryla, trying to
find sponsors or keep sponsorsfor some of the programs that
they have ongoing, has posed achallenge.
So the fact that you're able tolight a fire in one part of the
(21:54):
campus and it goes sweepingacross the entire campus is
truly, in my mind, quite aremarkable thing and talks about
the, I guess, you as a leader,as well as the program itself.
So kudos to you.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Sounds like District Governor-elect.
You might have a new programthat you can send out to your
president-elect and maybesomething that could be talked
about at District TrainingAssembly.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Well, unfortunately for us, the District Training
Assembly schedule is set up, butI tell you what I would like to
do.
I'm going to have a thirdThursday Mark, where I'm going
to be bringing mypresident-elect to talk about
certain things, and I wouldcertainly like your program to
be one of those first things wecome out of the gate because,
you know, education iseverything and I'm thinking in
(22:41):
particular about the young kidwho you know he's not coming.
He or she are not coming fromthe right side of the trucks,
right, they may be the first intheir family to graduate high
school and don't trulyunderstand the importance of
speech patterns and lookingsomebody in the eyes and a
(23:01):
straight handshake and thequality of your resume and all
that sort of thing.
So what you're doing really islife-changing and that's part of
really what we do in Rotary andchange in the arc of your
resume and all that sort ofthing.
So what you're doing really islife-changing and it's part of
really what we do in Rotary andchange in the arc of a young
kid's life.
So I think that's so phenomenaland I would definitely like you
to make part of our presentation.
We'll also have some separateSaturdays that we'll be doing to
(23:23):
focus on some key elements.
So one of those two either thethird Thursday or a special
Saturday to talk about yourprogram for them to be able to
sink their teeth into and findout more.
So awesome.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Yeah, I'd be happy to help out with that.
My goal is to see this thingspread.
I think the reason that peoplemaybe don't stay around on
campus or whatever our energy isas enthused over a period of
time is there's got to be a lotof value.
Now people are very busy too.
There's lots of pulls on people, for sure.
But I think that the reasonthese workshops have happened
(23:54):
and the reason that they'vespread is because the teachers
talk to each other.
They share these kinds ofthings that they see value in.
If they see value that it'sworking for them and it's a
win-win, then it's going tospread.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
And that's the key right.
Rotary brings value to ourcommunity.
Now this type of program bringsvalue to our schools, our
teachers, our students, inanother way.
So thank you, Mark, so much forjoining us today.
I'm sure that Niren and histeam will be chatting with you
and I hope that you share thispodcast out as it gets published
(24:28):
so that other clubs can joinyou in this particular activity
of doing mock interviews intheir schools.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
That's terrific.
Thanks very much.
Glad to share.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Take care Bye-bye.
So that wraps up this episodeof Heroes of Hope.
We are so happy that we have anaudience out there listening.
We want you to subscribe, shareand tell your friends about the
Rotary Community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the
word out about the impact we'rehaving in this world.
Hello and welcome to the Community.
Heroes of Hope, a podcast wherewe shine a light on the
remarkable individuals andprojects in Rotary District 5330
that bring hope and change toour local and global communities
.
I am Judy Zelfikar, yourco-host and the current District
Governor of Rotary District5330.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And I'm Niren McLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect, and I'm NirenMcLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect.
Together, we're diving deepinto the heart of the community
service, showcasing the impactof dedication and collaboration
in addressing some of the mostpressing challenges our
communities face.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Each episode, we'll tell stories of incredible
people making a difference,innovating solutions and
inspiring others to take action.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
We'll also be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at
the projects that aretransforming their lives, and
we'll discuss how you, too, canget involved, contribute and be
part of the positive change.
Whether you're a seasonedRotarian or just looking to give
back, this podcast is for you.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So join us as we explore the journeys, challenges
and successes of people likeyou who have stepped up to make
a difference.
Let's celebrate the spirit ofcommunity and the power of hope
together.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Don't forget to subscribe to the Community
Heroes of Hope on your favoritepodcast platform.
Stay with us on this journey ofinspiration and let's spread
the message of hope further thanever.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for tuning in.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, good morning, Mark, and we're very, very happy
to have you here with us on thepodcast for District 50 through
30, and we're here with ourgovernor, Judy Zulfikar, and I
will be here.
I will be following her andthis is exciting, and for me
it's very exciting because Markinterviews were something that
(01:51):
were done way back in my dayback in school and they seem to
have fallen off.
So I'm really, really excitedto see that you guys are really
stepping out to help the youngpeople with the interview
process, so that's exciting.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So, Mark, why don't you introduce yourself and tell
us a little bit about the mockinterview program that you have
there at the La Quinta HighSchool?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Okay, well, that's great.
Well, we've been doing the mockinterviews at La Quinta High
School now for several years,interrupted for a couple of
years by COVID, which seemed tointerrupt a lot of things, but
primarily we're working with theacademies at La Quinta High
School.
My background is in careercounseling.
(02:36):
I was an instructor, I was ateacher, I was a counselor and
ran a career center for manyyears in Salinas, california,
where we started this program.
But it was based on a Rotaryconcept that I saw at a
conference way back when,probably 35 years ago, and the
idea was that every high schoolstudent should really have an
(02:59):
opportunity to learn how tointerview for a job and should
have a portfolio or a resume ofsome sort to present to a
community member like a Rotarian.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yeah it really gets them prepped for getting out
into the real world right.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
That's right and unfortunately the schools
weren't doing it.
And in fact, one of thequestions I like to ask my
interviewers was how many of youhave ever had mock interview
practice and an evaluation ofhow you did in that interview
when you were in high school?
And I get maybe zero hands in agroup of, say, 30 people and
(03:41):
maybe I might get one or twodepending on the workshop, but
very few people have had thatexperience.
So that's one of the reasonsthat we started it.
We started it with one class ina government class in high
school.
That teacher really liked theexperience.
Then it grew to every teacherin the school, then it grew to
the other high schools, then itwent around the state, and so
(04:04):
we've been doing this nowprobably for thousands of kids,
literally over many, many years.
We wound up with every senior,went through the experience, and
so what we're doing now at LaQuinta High School because I
really wanted to carry this onafter my retirement.
I really wanted to see thisgrow, because I knew the value
of it.
I knew how our interviewersfelt about meeting with our
(04:28):
young people and forming arelationship, a one-on-one with
them and being able to help themwith one of the most important
skills they could ever learn,which was how to interview for a
job.
So that's how it all started,and I can tell you a little bit
about the process, if you'd liketo know it all started and I
can tell you a little bit aboutthe process if you'd like to
know Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
That's what my next question was going to be.
So you have to train theinterviewers as well as then,
obviously, going through theprocess.
So tell us how that works.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Okay, so typically we schedule these workshops for a
two-hour time frame.
We need two hours because wewant to do four interview rounds
.
An interview round consists ofan eight-minute interview using
commonly asked interviewquestions or other questions
that interviewers would like toask, followed by a five-minute
(05:17):
written and oral evaluation on aform that I've developed, which
I'm willing to share withanyone who'd like to have it, as
well as any of the otherdocuments I use, and then the
students reflect back after thefive-minute evaluation.
The students actually reflectback what they learned from
their evaluation and have to dothat so that they internalize
(05:41):
what they've learned.
And then we go ahead and weinterview another student, so we
do four students, and in mostof our workshops we try to
recruit enough interviewers sothat we have one interviewer for
every two students and that wayevery student gets at least two
interviews and two evaluationsin the session.
The reason we do it that way isso that the students can apply
(06:05):
what they learned from the firstsession to the second one in
the same workshop.
Okay, then they take thoseevaluations with them back to
class, they debrief those inclass over the next couple of
classes and then includingsending a thank you card
oftentimes, or a thank youletter to our interviewers, that
(06:26):
students develop those letters.
So we go through the wholeprocess.
Regarding the interviewersthemselves, I recruit those
interviewers from Rotary memberswhen I can, and if I don't have
enough then of course I have toturn to community members,
which most of our community isvery anxious to participate in
these workshops.
They really get a kick out ofthem.
They really like being able tocoach kids and help them with
(06:49):
something that they knowthemselves is such an important
skill.
The interviewers don't have tobe experts or HR people or even
subject matter experts, any ofthat.
All they have to do is bewilling to spend a little time
with some kids, and so I trainthe interviewers right before
(07:10):
our workshop, where we give themthe materials, I talk to them,
answer their questions and talkto them about the timing,
because the interview workshopsare very structured.
So I keep time with all of thedifferent stages the interview
eight minutes, the evaluationfive minutes, the talk back to
(07:31):
the interviewer in terms ofreflecting back another two
minutes, and so forth, so thateveryone stays together.
And then the tricky part is Iwanted the students to have a
different experience with eachof the four different interviews
during the two-hour session.
So what I do then is I move theinterviewers from one table to
the next, and so every interviewis with a different interviewer
(07:55):
.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
They get a different feel for the different types of
the ways people interview.
Even if it's the same questions, they kind of approach it
differently, right?
Different tone, yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Yeah, and because we have the, we use the 18 commonly
asked questions as kind of abase, then you're you're only
able to ask about six or seven.
So there's plenty of questionsto give a different experience
each time which the kids really,really benefit from.
And the other thing is thatwe've learned over time that we
need to keep the other studentat the table or sometimes
(08:30):
there's two other students atthe table busy during the
interview.
So we talk about well, you'renot going to fall asleep at this
interview, you're going toreflect back and you're going to
help with the evaluation of thestudent who's been interviewed.
And I work with the interviewerto ask the other students at
the table what did they thinkabout?
An area like what about eyecontact?
(08:52):
What about the introduction?
What about the handshake?
Did you notice?
What did you think about theanswer to that particular
question, and so forth.
So the other stage, before theworkshop starts, of course, and
after I've worked on recruitingwho I'm going to recruit, and so
forth, but about a week orsometimes two weeks ahead of the
interview workshop, I go intothe class and I bring the
(09:16):
materials with me and theteachers have had these
materials also in advance, but Igo over especially the
evaluation form with thestudents point by point, getting
a lot of input from thestudents as I go so that I
demonstrate things and I givethem a role model and I give
them examples of how they might,how they sit and how they shake
(09:38):
hands and how they say theirname first name, pause, last
name, because so many kids saytheir name really quickly.
We talk about volume of speechbeing important, we talk about a
body language and maintainingcalm hands, calm feet, leaning
forward, eye contact, all ofthose things and we get all the
(10:00):
way down to the.
We examine the resume and theportfolio the kids have prepared
and that's part of theirevaluation process too.
And if I coach the interviewersI say to them if you see words
misspelled or anything wrong onthat resume, please point it out
and let the student know youwon't interview anyone with
errors on their resume, thattype of thing, because those are
(10:22):
the kinds of things we want ourkids to walk away from knowing
that just doing well enough,like some of them may do on a
math test or whatever, isn'tgood enough.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
So, mark, you've been doing this for many years.
Have you had students come backafter they've gone through this
process and gone into you knowthe work, into you know finding
a job and giving you anyfeedback on what this impact of
this program was on them?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I have had some Students generally don't come
back after their senior year,but I have had a few over the
years.
But more than that, I've hademployers call me.
I've had employers call me andsaid how did you do with that
student?
That student was the only oneto come in who was dressed in a
(11:17):
business-like way.
The student approached me veryconfidently, with a great
handshake and eye contact wasn'tshy like we see so many kids
who just don't really know whatthey're doing.
I just want to know what didyou do?
And so I explained what I did.
And then now employers wereputting job offers into our
(11:39):
career center and we had anumber of kids who were hired in
these interview workshopsbecause the employers were so
impressed and if they happenedto need someone at the time,
they actually hired kids out ofour workshops.
That's awesome which was aterrific advantage for the
students and for the employers.
It's a win-win all the wayaround.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Are you finding that same type of interactivity in La
Quinta in this program thatyou've been working there?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, I have.
At first it was a littledifficult to break in because I
was hoping to work with seniors,the same as I did in Salinas.
But I had an in there, since Iwas on campus and people knew me
I'm a Rotarian and that helpedopen some doors.
But what really worked for mewas when I targeted the academy
classes, the CaliforniaPartnership Academies, which we
(12:25):
had in Salinas as well, butthey're career-oriented
academies, like the MedicalHealth Academy, like the
Technology Academy, culinaryArts and Public Services Academy
there are four, I believe, atLa Quinta High School and so we
were concentrating on those andthose teachers were really happy
to have our services, becausethis is exactly the type of
(12:49):
program that works with whatthey're doing.
They have mentorships, they haveinternships, they have content
oriented towards their careerarea, they take lots of job
shadowing, types of field tripsand placements for students and
so forth.
So this worked very, very wellwith them.
They part of the CaliforniaPartnership Academy is to
(13:11):
develop more career orientedactivities and also connections
with the community, and so I wasproviding that service through
Rotary for them and they werevery pleased to have it, and so
they're anxious every year toget started.
In fact, this year we've addedanother academy, the last
academy at the high school thatwe haven't been working with,
and we're going to be workingwith that academy as well.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Mark, that's pretty excellent.
I have a couple of follow-upquestions.
One is going back to the actualinterview.
The workshop, I imagine, isdone in a classroom-like setting
the actual interviews whenyou're working with the students
.
Is that done in a more intimatetwo-on-one type of thing, or is
(13:56):
it done at a big table andwe're sitting here and then the
next student and intervieweesare sitting a few feet away and
then etc.
How is that operating?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Good question, and so the orientation and the setup
of the room is very importantalso, and so what we have is we
do the interviews well, we dothem in a couple of different
locations, and I'll tell youabout both.
One is we use one of the smallgyms at La Quinta High School
(14:28):
and I set up a map for thecustodial staff and the
administration to set up thatgym with six-foot tables.
They're rectangular tables, sixfoot tables.
They're rectangular tables andthey're set up a little space
apart from each other, quite alittle ways apart, so that
there's not interference fromnoise or conversations from
another table people can hear,and I set up two or three chairs
(14:51):
on one side of the table andone chair on the opposite side
for the interviewer, so they'refacing each other, and so we'll
have maybe 20 or 22 tables setup that way in lines, and that
way I can easily move theinterviewers from one table to
the next after each round.
So it's a large room but itallows us the space to move
(15:15):
people around and have enoughquiet between tables or have
enough separation between tablesso that the noise isn't
distracting from one table tothe next, and that seems to work
pretty well.
The other place that we do it inthe culinary academy.
They have such an amazing shopthere at La Quinta High School.
It's a full industrial kind ofkitchen and operation and plus a
(15:40):
classroom connected to it.
It is amazing.
It's more like a college levelprogram or a professional
culinary school program.
It's very much like that.
So I thought it would beimportant to bring our
interviewers into the shop andgive them a tour of the shop so
they could see what the culinaryprogram and the equipment and
(16:01):
so forth.
And I asked the teacher toprovide student greeters.
Students come in, they meetpeople in the parking lot, they
bring them to the office tocheck in and then the students
escort them out to the shop.
And we even have golf carts forsome that can't walk that far
out to the shop, and we evenhave golf carts for some that
can't walk that far out to theshop.
And then the students take themthrough the shop to show them
(16:25):
and explain the equipment and alittle bit about what they do in
the culinary program.
And then we have the workshopin the classroom setting, again
with the same set of tables likeI described for the gym.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
So it really is focusing on all of the soft
skills that you don't normallyget in your classroom setting
and allowing those students topractice those soft skills
within the construct of theirclasses, and learn those skills.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
The real goal of the workshop is teaching them those
skills and having them practicethose skills a lot, because they
do it in class, they do it whenI'm there.
They also do it when I'm notthere for a week or two before
the interview workshops actuallystart, because we want the kids
to be tuned up.
One of the other things that isvery important is this is not
(17:20):
seen by the students as just anordinary extra, extra activity,
and this is so important.
It is part of the curriculum.
It is a graded activity.
It receives a heavy gradeequivalent to a final exam,
(17:40):
equivalent to a final exam.
The original Rotarian that Ilearned this from when I went to
that vocational workshop back35 years ago.
He was superintendent of hishigh school and also president
of his Rotary Club and he madethe program such that seniors
would have to have a passinggrade given by a Rotarian and it
(18:01):
would have to pass.
Their portfolio resume wouldhave to pass and also their
performance in the interviewworkshop.
He required it.
Now I'm not a superintendent,I'm an outsider from Rotary
going into the school.
So that's why I work with ateacher to make an important
part of their grade, becausesome kids will recognize the
importance of this, but whenthey're a teenager, sometimes
(18:23):
it's just another thing.
But when you say, hey, this ispart of your grade and we're
having people from the outside,you want representing your
school I'm saying this in frontof the instructor too You're
representing your school, yourprogram, this academy and
yourself.
So you need to be as wellprepared as you possibly can be,
(18:43):
and I'll tell you what all ofthose things kind of tune the
students up to be a little bitmore serious than they might
otherwise be, and they come indressed, and so forth.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
We have members of school boards and probably
superintendents that arepossibly listening to this
podcast, and we definitely haveRotarians and other clubs around
our district listening to thispodcast.
How could they implement thisin their district or their
schools in the region that theyreside?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I'd be happy to work with any of them in terms of the
materials and the setup and bemore of a guide for them and so
forth.
I won't do the workshops forthem or anything like that I'm
kind of busy myself but I'd behappy to help them if they want
to set something like this up,with what you need to do to set
it up.
I have a timeline, for example.
(19:37):
I have a written timeline withall of the required activities
to make this work, and then Ihave the recruitment emails that
I've developed.
I have all of the forms and allof the activities and what
teachers are expected to do andso forth.
And so, yes, I'd be happy tohelp anyone who wants to start
something like this, and I thinkthe advice that I would give
(19:59):
them is start small.
Start with one group, just doone group that's how I started
and see how it goes.
One group just do one groupthat's how I started and see how
it goes.
And if that works, then move onto more of the kids, rather
than try to take something onthat's too large at one time.
No need to do that.
Just start small and then workup from there.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So, Mark, let me ask you a couple of questions.
One is does the La Quinta HighSchool have a sponsor, an
advocate on campus outside ofyou?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
For the workshops.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
For the workshops or the program in general?
Is there somebody driving itbesides you and you're just kind
of the consultant that iscoming in and saying turn left,
turn right and making sureeverybody's doing what they
should be doing?
And saying turn left, turnright and making sure
everybody's doing what theyshould be doing?
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Once I introduced this workshop to teachers okay,
who are responsible for theirclasses, they become my
advocates.
The reason it spread in thefirst place was one teacher had
it.
That's why I say start small.
He talked to the other peoplein the department and within one
(21:08):
year the very next yeareverybody wanted a workshop.
And the same way I started withone academy at La Quinta High
School.
One class well, basically twoclasses, because they have two
per academy with one teacher,and the other teacher also
helped.
And so the idea was that thatwent reasonably well.
And then another academyteacher said, hey, I'd like to.
Was that that went reasonablywell?
And then another academyteacher said, hey, I'd like to
(21:29):
do that for my academy too.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So the teachers are the advocates on the campus, see
, that adoption rate I think isquite remarkable because I know
talking with Rotarians lookingfor pride in Ryla, trying to
find sponsors or keep sponsorsfor some of the programs that
they have ongoing, has posed achallenge.
So the fact that you're able tolight a fire in one part of the
(21:54):
campus and it goes sweepingacross the entire campus is
truly, in my mind, quite aremarkable thing and talks about
the, I guess, you as a leader,as well as the program itself.
So kudos to you.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Sounds like District Governor-elect.
You might have a new programthat you can send out to your
president-elect and maybesomething that could be talked
about at District TrainingAssembly.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Well, unfortunately for us, the District Training
Assembly schedule is set up, butI tell you what I would like to
do.
I'm going to have a thirdThursday Mark, where I'm going
to be bringing mypresident-elect to talk about
certain things, and I wouldcertainly like your program to
be one of those first things wecome out of the gate because,
you know, education iseverything and I'm thinking in
(22:41):
particular about the young kidwho you know he's not coming.
He or she are not coming fromthe right side of the trucks,
right, they may be the first intheir family to graduate high
school and don't trulyunderstand the importance of
speech patterns and lookingsomebody in the eyes and a
(23:01):
straight handshake and thequality of your resume and all
that sort of thing.
So what you're doing really islife-changing and that's part of
really what we do in Rotary andchange in the arc of your
resume and all that sort ofthing.
So what you're doing really islife-changing and it's part of
really what we do in Rotary andchange in the arc of a young
kid's life.
So I think that's so phenomenaland I would definitely like you
to make part of our presentation.
We'll also have some separateSaturdays that we'll be doing to
(23:23):
focus on some key elements.
So one of those two either thethird Thursday or a special
Saturday to talk about yourprogram for them to be able to
sink their teeth into and findout more.
So awesome.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Yeah, I'd be happy to help out with that.
My goal is to see this thingspread.
I think the reason that peoplemaybe don't stay around on
campus or whatever our energy isas enthused over a period of
time is there's got to be a lotof value.
Now people are very busy too.
There's lots of pulls on people, for sure.
But I think that the reasonthese workshops have happened
(23:54):
and the reason that they'vespread is because the teachers
talk to each other.
They share these kinds ofthings that they see value in.
If they see value that it'sworking for them and it's a
win-win, then it's going tospread.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
And that's the key right.
Rotary brings value to ourcommunity.
Now this type of program bringsvalue to our schools, our
teachers, our students, inanother way.
So thank you, Mark, so much forjoining us today.
I'm sure that Niren and histeam will be chatting with you
and I hope that you share thispodcast out as it gets published
(24:28):
so that other clubs can joinyou in this particular activity
of doing mock interviews intheir schools.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
That's terrific.
Thanks very much.
Glad to share.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Take care Bye-bye.
So that wraps up this episodeof Heroes of Hope.
We are so happy that we have anaudience out there listening.
We want you to subscribe, shareand tell your friends about the
Rotary Community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the
word out about the impact we'rehaving in this world.
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