Job fair helps students prepare for the next step

Plains high school seniors were dressed to the nines last Tuesday night as they gathered for the annual Jobs for Montana Graduates (JMG) Job Fair.

This was the fifth year for the annual occurrence in which students from the JMG and Business Essentials class invited local employers in a career path they are interested in pursuing.

Students prepared a resume and cover letter for five different hypothetical job openings and interviewed with a prospective employer for each. Business owners awarded students grades based on their preparation of the paperwork and their performance during the interview.

JMG Teacher, Anawyn Griffin, said that although herself and school counselor Kevin Meredeth were in attendance, the students organized the event.

“Our main role was to make sure students were meeting their deadlines along the way to make sure that the event went smoothly,” she said. “We made sure that each student had their resume and cover letter looked at least once prior to the event.”

Alicia Wood, the student coordinator, was in charge of inviting the employers, handling cancelations and setting up tables, chairs and refreshments.

Although the event was student driven, Griffin insisted that the success of the evening will largely be determined not by how seriously the students handled the process, but the employers.

“If they were professional and critical, the students learned a great deal. If they were just there to give students an easy A then they didn’t learn much,” Griffin said.

Over the years Griffin has had an overwhelmingly positive response form students. Some are nervous or even sick beforehand, but that just energy transitions into confidence as the process goes on.

“Students come back year after year and say I’m so glad we did that or I should have paid more attention!” Griffin said.

The process was altogether new for most students who’s interview history was written entirely in a classroom. In preparation, students watched a video, discussed do’s and don’ts and performed mock interviews.

Students with the highest scores will be offered the chance to compete at the career development conference in Billings this April. Once there, they will submit their prepared resumes, fill out an application on sight and undergo more interviews.