13/03/2023
Partnering with local schools and corporates, The Switch is a charity which provides education support in Tower Hamlets. At the Switch, volunteers work with primary and secondary schools to introduce young people to all things work related. In collaborating with The Switch, Reddie & Grose works together with the community to raise the aspirations and boost the career chances of young people.
As part of National Careers Week (w/c 6th March) and International Women’s Day, (8th March), Isabel Valdes, Sophie Peng, and Chantalle Desouza volunteered with The Switch and participated in the Virtual Interview Practice event. We were each paired with three Year 11 students, who were preparing for mock interviews the following week. In this virtual session, we gave each student an introduction to Reddie & Grose, after which we gave students the opportunity to practice their interview skills and build their confidence speaking over Zoom.
The theme of International Women’s Day this year was #EmbraceEquity. In our effort to achieve equity, it is of paramount importance our actions are proactive, not merely performative. With this in mind, I was delighted that Reddie & Grose signed up to volunteer at an event with The Switch to provide school students with a chance to practice their interview skills.
Isabel spoke with two young ladies who had never been to an interview. It was a truly rewarding experience to listen to them talk not just about their perceived strengths, but also areas of weakness and how they were striving to improve. The students were both intelligent and pragmatic in their approach to furthering their academic careers. Towards the end of my first interview session, one of the students asked -“do you think I will be good enough in the interview?”. It is, of course, not uncommon to feel apprehensive before an interview. However, I was shocked this was asked of me – here was a confident, well accomplished student wondering if she would be “good enough”. In response, we spoke about the importance of believing that your strengths and achievements give you a right to a seat at the table – to be considered for the job or, in her present case, to be considered for a place at college.
I found the experience very fulfilling and look forward to the next event we can participate in. I hope going forward, the students understand the value of their strengths and achievements, which I have no doubt will help them to excel as they progress their academic careers.
Chantalle found it to be a truly inspiring and rewarding afternoon! By discussing career options that were of interest, I was able to understand the factors that might influence each students development, including personality, interests and values. For one particular student, the phrase “life-changing” was all that mattered. She wanted to change people’s lives for the better and make a real difference by alleviating pain and suffering. Her goal was to become a doctor, so I was keen to help her understand essential soft and technical skills required to succeed in this profession. Further into our conversation, we started to discuss her strengths and areas of development. We discussed how as you go about life, you’ll build new strengths and some of the development points will turn into strengths. What a truly rewarding afternoon. I look forward to continue helping young students fulfil their potential!
It hasn’t been that long since Sophie was reciting a time I had to work in a team myself so it was a slightly surreal experience to now be on the other side of the question! After a short briefing session, I found myself waiting in a Zoom breakout room with my list of questions ready on a screen. Getting to interview three students, it was great to hear their aspirations and interests. Each student seemed eager to respond and determined to succeed. Perhaps a reflection on the importance of mental health was a common interest in clinical psychology as a career path, with two of the students wanting to further study how the mind works and ensure that everyone can access the care they need. The influence of social media was also interesting to see, with one of the students inspired enough by celebrity boxing matches to take boxing up themselves. The interviewer experience was also eye-opening for me. I found that striking a balance between asking different topics of question and knowing when to dig deeper into a topic of interest could actually be quite challenging! Overall, it was a very positive experience and I wish the students all the best for a bright future!
