Thirty potential mentors from local organizations, nonprofits and businesses were sitting across tables facing dozens of eleventh-grade students. The conversations were flowing.
“Tell me more about this project,” a mentor said to a student.
“What was your role in this?” asked another mentor.
“I was the project manager, I learned how to communicate with all the members of the group” replied the student.
Internship Interview On Site Day at High Tech High took place three months before the required eleventh-grade internship began in May. The mentors and students sat across from each other at long rows of tables draped with black tablecloths, bottles of water, notebooks and pens in a large common space. Some of the mentors were from the community, but many were family members of current students who owned small businesses, worked in non profits, and headed organizations. There were also parent volunteers who weren’t looking for interns, but came anyway to help students practice their interview skills.
These parents came out for Interview On Site Day because they cared about the school, and felt connected to it. This didn’t happen overnight, it was the culmination of a process we had been working on all year..
In September, our school reached out to families, staff and the community to build a list of possible internship mentors. This outreach included phone calls and emails, with the goal of setting up an initial zoom meeting. We asked staff and families to provide contact information for possible internship opportunities. Then we followed up, provided information, talked collaboration ideas and created an internship website with details about the program.
In October, we hosted an on site Community Connections event and invited more than 200 veteran mentors and new mentors. We invited a dozen eleventh-grade students to attend to assist with registration and networking. We invited five seniors to talk about their internship experience on a student panel.
We followed up this event with thank you emails and invited the mentors to fill out a google form showing interest to host an intern. Then we added their company to the internship database and Interview On Site Day.
In January, we sent out invitations to all the mentors in the database asking them to participate in the Interview On Site Day. Once we had a confirmed list of organizations attending, we sent a directory to the students of the participating organizations with a description of the internship and skills required.
Each organization had six 30 minute interview slots. Students were required to sign up for at least two interviews. There were also five parent volunteers conducting practice interviews for students. Students were also required to upload their resume so the mentors could review them prior to the interviews. Students were also required to bring a copy of their resume to their interview. Students had created resumes in their tenth-grade Humanities class and updated their resumes in eleventh grade.
In January, we launched our “Dress For Success” closet with donations of gently used business clothing from the parent community. Students were required to “dress for success” for their interviews. Teachers reviewed what “appropriate attire” looks like with students during their “advisory” period a few days before the event.
On the day of the event, we set up rows of long tables covered with black tablecloths so the mentors and students faced each other across the table. We provided water, pens and notebooks for the mentors. We also provided coffee and pastries for the mentors. Students were required to be outside the space five minutes prior to their interview time in appropriate dress and with resume in hand. Every 30 minutes students were invited in for their interviews.
Once the event ended, students were advised to send thank you emails to the mentors. The mentors were asked to extend internship opportunities directly to those students who they felt would be a good fit for their organization.
50 students obtained internships through Internship Interview On Site Day. An additional five students found opportunities through contact information they received at the event from the parent volunteers. .
Jenny, a parent of an eleventh-grade student, was one of those parent volunteers. She told me “I interviewed six students, they were so impressive. I found internships for half of them in my network and two got hired at their internships for the summer. It was life-changing for all of us.”
Thirty potential mentors from local organizations, nonprofits and businesses were sitting across tables facing dozens of eleventh-grade students. The conversations were flowing.
“Tell me more about this project,” a mentor said to a student.
“What was your role in this?” asked another mentor.
“I was the project manager, I learned how to communicate with all the members of the group” replied the student.
Internship Interview On Site Day at High Tech High took place three months before the required eleventh-grade internship began in May. The mentors and students sat across from each other at long rows of tables draped with black tablecloths, bottles of water, notebooks and pens in a large common space. Some of the mentors were from the community, but many were family members of current students who owned small businesses, worked in non profits, and headed organizations. There were also parent volunteers who weren’t looking for interns, but came anyway to help students practice their interview skills.
These parents came out for Interview On Site Day because they cared about the school, and felt connected to it. This didn’t happen overnight, it was the culmination of a process we had been working on all year..
In September, our school reached out to families, staff and the community to build a list of possible internship mentors. This outreach included phone calls and emails, with the goal of setting up an initial zoom meeting. We asked staff and families to provide contact information for possible internship opportunities. Then we followed up, provided information, talked collaboration ideas and created an internship website with details about the program.
In October, we hosted an on site Community Connections event and invited more than 200 veteran mentors and new mentors. We invited a dozen eleventh-grade students to attend to assist with registration and networking. We invited five seniors to talk about their internship experience on a student panel.
We followed up this event with thank you emails and invited the mentors to fill out a google form showing interest to host an intern. Then we added their company to the internship database and Interview On Site Day.
In January, we sent out invitations to all the mentors in the database asking them to participate in the Interview On Site Day. Once we had a confirmed list of organizations attending, we sent a directory to the students of the participating organizations with a description of the internship and skills required.
Each organization had six 30 minute interview slots. Students were required to sign up for at least two interviews. There were also five parent volunteers conducting practice interviews for students. Students were also required to upload their resume so the mentors could review them prior to the interviews. Students were also required to bring a copy of their resume to their interview. Students had created resumes in their tenth-grade Humanities class and updated their resumes in eleventh grade.
In January, we launched our “Dress For Success” closet with donations of gently used business clothing from the parent community. Students were required to “dress for success” for their interviews. Teachers reviewed what “appropriate attire” looks like with students during their “advisory” period a few days before the event.
On the day of the event, we set up rows of long tables covered with black tablecloths so the mentors and students faced each other across the table. We provided water, pens and notebooks for the mentors. We also provided coffee and pastries for the mentors. Students were required to be outside the space five minutes prior to their interview time in appropriate dress and with resume in hand. Every 30 minutes students were invited in for their interviews.
Once the event ended, students were advised to send thank you emails to the mentors. The mentors were asked to extend internship opportunities directly to those students who they felt would be a good fit for their organization.
50 students obtained internships through Internship Interview On Site Day. An additional five students found opportunities through contact information they received at the event from the parent volunteers. .
Jenny, a parent of an eleventh-grade student, was one of those parent volunteers. She told me “I interviewed six students, they were so impressive. I found internships for half of them in my network and two got hired at their internships for the summer. It was life-changing for all of us.”
