By Christina Flowers

On May 17, students from all Champaign County high schools had the opportunity to participate in interviews for summer employment and full-time employment beyond graduation.

As a part of the county’s initiative to increase career education, 14 businesses conducted 32 interviews at the Champaign County Library. Employers including the YMCA, London Correctional Institution, CRSI, Active Day, Downsize Farm, Green Hills, Bundy Baking Solutions, Rittal, Sutphen, Weidmann and the Madison-Champaign Educational Service Center were present.

“It was a pleasure to get a first look at newly-eligible candidates for hire from the Champaign County-area schools. I was proud to be able to critique and give my feedback to the students on how they did and get feedback from them on how I did during the interview and hopefully the takeaway for the students was that I helped build their confidence in an interview setting. It was a win/win!,” said Gennie Bartley, Sutphen recruiter.

Prior to the interviews, students prepared resumes and practiced interview skills with Dr. Craig Meredith.

Triad senior, Mandy Wynn, shared that it was a great experience. “It helped me overcome some anxiety about interviews and feel more confident about my future.”

Director of Academic Programs, Patrick Johnson, shared, “The student interview process for our juniors and seniors was incredibly enriching. Students were able to create a resume, learn interview skills and tactics with Dr. Craig Meredith, and then interview for positions for the summer and for full time employment from a myriad of employers. Triad students were able to gain true interview experience, as well as just gain experience in being an adult and preparing for that next step in life.”

Christina Flowers is Champaign County Business School Liaison.