15 years of mock interviews with the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce

Interviewing for a job or educational opportunity, at any age, can be a nerve-wracking experience. And for students in high school, who may be seeking out their first job, volunteer position, or internship, it’s important to know how to present themselves to prospective employers.

For the last 15 years, the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce has worked with the East Meadow Union Free School District to host the ‘Millie Jones’ Mock Interview event, named in honor of a longtime chamber member, who died in 2019. Professionals in East Meadow, as well as community leaders, volunteer to serve as interviewers, who then meet with dozens of students from both East Meadow and W.T. Clarke High School, who act as interviewees.

The students are part of the Academy of Finance program in East Meadow’s schools, and the experience aims to get them familiar with interviewing and prepare them for college and future employment opportunities. The Academy of Finance is a three-year program that requires students to take four credits of business classes, as well as participate in additional learning experiences.

This year, 35 professionals participated as interviewers, meeting with roughly 60 students during the morning of March 15.

“It’s a great day for the kids, it’s a great day for us,” Alan Hodish, a past president of the East Meadow Chamber said during the beginning of the event. “I don’t know of any other school district that does what we do for our students. This is something that is very memorable for them, and it gives them a good leg up on the whole interview process. They get to learn about poise, they get to learn about preparation, and they get to learn about how to interact in a business type scenario.”

For the third consecutive year, the East Meadow Herald not only covered the event, but also participated as an interviewer for students in the Academy of Finance program. 

Interviewers are presented with guidelines and some sample questions to ask students, including things like tell me about yourself, when and why you decided to pursue this job, what are your strengths and weaknesses, and tell me about any prior work or volunteer experience.

Students are also instructed to come prepared, and learn things about the person who’s interviewing them, and where they work. At the end, they can ask interviewers questions about their profession, education and workplace.

“In terms of the interview itself,” Hodish said, “you’re looking for certain things. Poise, their preparation, they’ve worked very hard on the resumes. Some of them are bound to be nervous — and that’s fine. It’s a good learning lesson.”

After an approximately 10-minute long interview, the interviewers provided positive feedback to the students, judging their performance. A rubric was filled out once the student was dismissed, and students were scored in the following categories: resume, appearance and poise, skill presentation, and delivery and language. Students can earn up to 20 points overall — meaning they’re an excellent candidate.

Overall, the process is meant to provide constructive criticism, so students can learn where they did well, and what they may need to work on for future interviews.

The Millie Jones Mock Interview event is chaired by Hodish, Debra Kirsh, Roxanne Rose, Mitchell Skoller and current chamber of commerce president Anthony Bott.

Toni McIntosh, the East Meadow School District chairperson of business and technology, said often the students are nervous heading into their interviews, as they’re only juniors. But once their interview is complete, most note that it’s an amazing experience.

“They’re always hesitant about doing this process, but once they do it, they’re coming out like ‘This is great — I love the person I interviewed with,’” she said. “It’s such great feedback.”