The first round of workshops on “Job Search Skill Development” was finalised on the 29th of October with the completion of the mock job interviews organized by the CyHRMA, the Cyprus University of Technology, Europe Direct Limassol and the Counseling and Career Centre Development (KESEA). A total of 50 people participated in the mock job interviews including students, recent graduates (who are looking/will be looking for a job) and people who are currently unemployed. The purpose of the interviews was to prepare participants to enter the job market by providing them with tips on how to prepare, behave and dress for a job interview. The mock job interviews were conducted by HR Professionals, members of the Association, who were willing to transfer their long experience in recruiting to help young people find a job.

All participants were called to combine what they have learned during the workshop in a real job interview. The “candidates” were given a deadline and were advised to prepare and send their CV in advance prior to the deadline. Participants were instructed to dress appropriately and meet the interviewers in the indicated place for an interview. After the completion of the mock job interviews participants were asked to evaluate their performance and answer the following questions: What went well? What went wrong? How did you feel? What would you change for next time? At the same time, the interviewers provided participants with their own individual feedback highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each individual to ensure the success of an actual job interview.

Through the evaluation procedure, most participants identified as their main weakness the lack of confidence and added that they now have a clear understanding of how important it is to prepare for a job interview. Overall, participants found the whole experience very valuable as for most of them this was the first time that they were able to practice what is often presented in job interview lectures but also because receiving personal feedback by professionals was important to them. In turn, the members of the Association encouraged the participants to improve the identified weaknesses and use every opportunity available to receive feedback on their performance.

The mock job interviews were conducted by Martinos Demosthenous, Maria Pavlou, Costas Hoppas and Valentina Toumaniou.