Name(s) of student(s):

Age and grade level:

Goal from IEP connected to lesson:

Objective from IEP connected to lesson:

Purpose of lesson: To learn how to prepare for a job interview.

Materials needed: Access to the CareerConnect website

Introduction

After filling out a job application or providing a company with your résumé, you may be chosen to meet with potential supervisors and managers for an interview. The team will interview, or question, the most qualified applicants in order to determine who will be the best asset for the company. If you have the opportunity to interview, your goal is to sell yourself as the best asset to the company.”

Exercise: Preparing for an Interview

Each student can listen to Dr. Wolffe’s advice on preparing for a job interview and devise a list of tips for interview preparation.

Discussion: Common Interview Questions

Review the list of common interview questions with the students and encourage them to take notes. Allow them the opportunity to ask you interview questions. Provide examples of exceptional answers.

Discussion: Disclosing a Disability

“If the interviewer sees your cane or can otherwise detect a visual impairment, he or she will want to know how you will manage tasks, whether or not you will be as productive as sighted employees, the price of access technology, and if you will be safe in the work environment. The interviewer can’t ask you about your visual impairment until you disclose it. Therefore, while it will not be a spoken interview question, it is in your best interest to alleviate any concerns a potential employer might have.

“As you heard Dr. Wolffe discuss, you will want to anticipate any question the employer may have and provide clear, simple, and direct responses. Provide examples, state how you arrived at the interview, and allow the potential employer to see your confidence and competence. Remember, he or she will likely have had no experience with someone who is visually impaired.”

Have students review the article, Deciding When to Disclose Your Disability.

Exercise: Peer Interviews

Pair the students for mock interviews. Each student can write interview questions for a specific entry-level job to ask his or her partner. Each student should also prepare a disability statement to be used during interviews. The students should be encouraged to research the organization for which they are mock interviewing.

Review

“Today we listened to methods of preparation for job interviews and we read common interview questions. You interviewed me and you participated in a mock interview with a partner.”

Progress notes, data collection, comments, and modifications: