High school graduations aren’t far off, and many seniors are facing the decision of whether to head for college or go straight into the workforce. 

For seniors at Holly Pond, opting for the latter hopefully will go just a little smoother, thanks to an initiative at the school to prepare young adults for the job-seeking world they’ll encounter once they have their diplomas in hand.

Seniors spent Wednesday coming face-to-face with a trio of local professionals who came to the school to conduct mock job interviews and provide feedback on the students’ responses. The interview day is part of a week-long, “Work Ready” emphasis on local employment and workforce development. 

It’s designed, according to Holly Pond guidance counselor Karen Rowell, to get students ready to meet the expectations of the real-world workplace, once their high school ays are behind them.

“We have a preparatory activity in the fall as part of our participation in the state-level college readiness program, and it’s intended to help students who are already on a track to go to college,” Rowell explained. “But I kept thinking — I should do something for those on the job-seeking side, who may not be ready to go out and find employment once they leave high school. 

“I planned this week to go along with that. Today is interviews, and then Thursday we’ll be having a job fair, with staffing companies coming on site here at the school. Then on Friday, we actually have industry tours, where they’ll go out and visit with and learn about local industries.”

Thanks in part to Rowell’s efforts, each Holly Pond student will leave school with a portfolio that contains their résumés and other documents attesting to the academic and job-seeking skills they’ve cultivated. 

Senior English teacher Jacob Russell helps seniors work up their résumés as part of an in-class assignment, and this year, Rowell decided to use that project as a springboard to something concrete: putting those résumés in front of real potential employers. “The student creates their résumé, and I’ve been working with their 12th grade English teacher to put that to use,” she explained.

Harmoni Cole, a senior at Holly Pond, just happened to be starting a new job herself on Wednesday. But that didn’t prevent her from taking part in the mock interview process, just for the experience of honing her interviewing skills and listening to the advice of local professionals who see the need for a skilled workforce from an employer’s point of view.

There’s plenty of advice that seems almost universal when it comes to advising new job-seekers of what to watch out for. 

“One of the big things is, you’re always supposed to have a question for the interviewer; to show that you have some interest and knowledge in what it is that they do,” explained Chase Nelson of the Cullman County board of Education — one of the three local professionals who volunteered to stand in as would-be employers.

“With seniors in high school, they’re reaching a point when no one is going to be there to hold their hands anymore,” he added. “In the real world, you’re regarded as an adult when you graduate high school, so we really want to approach these young people with honesty when it comes to helping them realize what the real world is going to expect of them.”

Understanding and exceeding those expectations can serve today’s seniors years down the road, and well beyond their very first interview. Cole, the Holly Pond senior with the new job, says she plans to become a registered nurse via Wallace State’s two-year Nursing program before heading off toward bachelor’s and graduate-level study, where she plans to pursue a career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. 

At each step of the way, she’ll have to face professional scrutiny. And that, says Rowell, is the point of the whole mock-interview endeavor. 

“My real incentive here is that I want them to be employed,” she said. This whole experience is really a way to help them get that start, and hopefully carry that with them as they mature into the workforce.”

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.