By Jen Cross

Many criminal justice students had a chance this past week to look into their futures, while students from Joseph Polio’s criminal justice pre –internship class had a chance to participate in a mock interview.

The students were required to complete a resume and have it checked over by the career services office located in Kaplan. The students were then set up with the people who would be conducting the interview. The interviews were approximately twenty- five minutes and were intended to be like a real interview. They took place in the Alumni Lounge, with four interviews going on at a time.

During my interview, I was grilled on why I chose the profession I am choosing, what makes me good for a position in that field, and what are some of the things that may set me back in this field. I felt like I was being hit by the firing squad, but overall it was a positive experience.

Many interviews that college students have participated in up to this point in their life were easy going relaxed interviews, because they were looking for jobs not careers. This experience gave us all a chance to see what a real interview would be like in the criminal justice field, especially focusing on the fact that they are hard and might be scary.

The interviewers took notes throughout the interviews and were required to submit the interviewees’ results back to the teacher. Professor Polio will then report back to his students on their strengths and weaknesses during the interview process. Polio is hoping that this will better our chances at succeeding in our first real interviews in the criminal justice field.

The purpose of the pre – internship class, as many of you have already figured out, is to prepare you for getting an internship. This experience is just one of the many ways that the class does that.