Northview — Curtis Townsend gave his buddy a hearty handshake for luck and made his way down the high school hallway to a room where human resources pros were poised to put him and his classmates through their interviewing paces.
About 130 seniors in Shelli Tabor’s and Alex Hower’s English 12 classrooms created resumes, practiced their responses and, finally, dressed for success for face-to-face time with employers that included Amway, Hope Network, Fox Motors and Battleground GR.
Karin Perez, a recruiter at Hope Network, said that with many sectors in great need of employees, she jumped at the chance to help students — many of whom will be applying for their first jobs — be better prepared.
“Especially right now,” she said. “I feel like the expectations (of applicants) are lower, and we need to remind them the expectations need to be higher.”
Tabor said students often have tougher times holding conversations with people they don’t know, and with so much interaction happening online, don’t often talk on the phone or speak directly to people.
“It was a really good experience,” Curtis said after his interview. “I’m definitely prepared for the next one.”
