Career Days Expose Students to New Job Possibilities, Sharpen Interview Skills

In-school career days help students sharpen their social skills and expose them to working world. Events at Westfield Preparatory High School and Canton Preparatory High School gave students a glimpse of life after school, and drove home the importance of the finer details of interviewing such as proper attire and how to shake hands in the interview setting.

Student and Family Liaison Turai Finley helped organize Westfield Prep’s Career Fair last school year, where about 15 vendors across a variety of industries were on site to speak with students. Finley said she gauged student interest and tried to secure professionals in their desired fields.

Scholars learned more about careers such as: real estate agent, doula, fashion designer, actor, chef, and more. On top of meeting with these professionals, students participated in a career readiness workshop where they engaged in mock interviews and learned best practices for landing a job.

“A lot of teenagers might not know what to say yet,” Finley said. “So, we practiced them selling themselves. This helps them be more marketable. We wanted to give them some practice so the first time they interview won’t be the first time they’ve experienced it.”

Finley said it was important for students to participate and learn rather than listen to a presentation. The event provided students flexibility and independence to discover new careers and skills. This approach allowed students to tailor their experience to what they needed.

“It’s not one size fits all,” Finley said. “We all have to kind of find our niche. I’m silly and people think I’m funny, so I might crack a joke if I was in an interview. That might work for me, but I wouldn’t suggest people make jokes. It’s about finding your own style of how you interact socially.”

At Canton Prep, scholars were able to speak with a variety of local professionals such as a mechanic, carpenter, caterer, military veteran, and an entrepreneur, among others. The wide variety of careers students learned about allowed exposure to multiple paths of life after graduation.

Special Education Teacher Lorie Long said it was the third year she has hosted a Career Day at Canton Prep. Long said she initially started the event to connect her students with different career paths they might not have known about.

“I think it’s really important students realize that there are so many more options out there and you’re not limited,” Long said, adding that students enjoyed the day.

“I really want to get them involved, too,” Long said, looking ahead to planning this year's career day. “I think it’ll help them get engaged in school if they understand what the end product can help them with and get them to be more mindful of how important school is in your choices moving forward.”

Both Westfield Preparatory High School and Canton Preparatory High School are part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.