Valuable Careers Advice For Leicester Students

5/5/09

Sixth form students gearing up for the world of work have been given an extra-curriculum lesson in preparing for interviews by staff from the Yorkshire Bank.

Teenagers from year 13 at Bosworth Community College were given 15-minute mock interviews by staff from the Yorkshire Bank Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) in Leicester.

Before Gail Fielding and Jeff Halford from the bank in Provincial House, New Walk, came to the college, the students prepared their CVs and a covering letter as if they were applying for a position as an associate at the bank.

Kathleen Baxter, head of year 13 at the college in Leicester Lane, Desford, said the advice given by Yorkshire Bank would prove useful in the students’ future job interviews.

“We wanted to create a real-life scenario,” she said. “They were given a job advert as it would appear in the local newspaper for an associate position at Yorkshire Bank before writing their CV and a letter to apply for the job.

“Gail and Jeff then interviewed each student and gave them personal feedback which I am sure will be invaluable in the coming months and years.

“This is the first time we have organised this and we were delighted with the enthusiastic response from the students and the bank.”

Gail said she had been impressed with the students who had obviously researched the company which is vital in today’s crowded job market.

“The students had put a great deal of thought and effort into their preparation,” she said.

“There are usually eight key skills that we consider for the associate positions but we asked the students to concentrate on team work and managing work.

“The majority currently have part-time jobs which is always a bonus since it shows experience of work and they had also looked at our website and knew this is Yorkshire Bank’s 150th anniversary year.

“I hope the experience from the whole process has given them an insight into the right way to approach job interviews and we wish them well when they start their job hunting for real later in the year.”