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To those of us who feel very strongly about self presentation, this was maddening! How could we teach someone that it was important to be conservatively dressed for an interview when some companies were hiring kids with t-shirts, jeans and sandals? And what about that earring in the nose thing? It was scary out there!

I -- as most of my colleagues -- was angry in those days at the world of work. It was sending the wrong message. Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung drastically the other way. (Ya just can't win.) In today's work world, employers are asking for much more than ever before. Oh yes, our teen applicants still must breathe and show up for work each day; but now, prior to securing the job, they must be tortured with varied techniques used to actually make them think and be moving parts. We can no longer give them a canned way to present themselves beyond the basics. Now employers are using situational questions and are closely scrutinizing our young candidates with the eyes of hawks.

Depending upon the field or job sought, employers are now asking applicants to interview in the "normal" fashion and then return at a later time for a set amount of hours to actually work on the job. In that way, not only do they see if the applicant merely memorized answers to questions, but whether his or her skill levels are really as good as boasted. Employers also disguise internships -- your teen may be in the middle of an interview instead of an intership! Why?

Now, this is not a bad thing for a student who freezes on the interview but excels when down in the trenches. But for some young people, this kind of interview is a terrifying thing. It combines skill and relationship building talents. That's not always easy to do for a young person just learning the ways of the work world.

Case in Point

Angela Tallent graduated from a vocational high school in 2000 and then joined the military service. "Nearly every job I've had since I left the army in 2002 has required me to perform a working interview. It's not bad for me because I got really good skills in high school and furthered them in the military. I also do well with people skills because I've done some school plays over the years and that made me unafraid of projecting myself."

Angela works in the medical field and has been both a dental and a veterinarian assistant. During one working dental interview session, she was merely required to be in the room with the doctor and patient; and was encouraged to interact with those present. Another dental interview, however, found her actually assisting the doctor in daily dental procedures. She was required to interact with both animal patients and staff at a similar vet interview. All of her working interviews required her to wear her scrubs -- the uniform for those fields -- and to project herself as already working as an employee. The interviews ranged from two to four hours in length. And she never knew what to expect. Whatever happened to her during the interview was a surprise (despite her asking what she should expect).

These interviews are becoming especially prevalent in the vocational fields at entry-level positions, but those companies and organizations in the mainstream will quickly pick up. Even if a student does not have an interview like this for a first job, it is fairly certain that those following on the ladder up will require it at some point. This is why it's important to not only have excellent skills, but also to be able to force people skills down the throats of a fearful or introverted student. Yes, I know that sounds harsh. But the work world is becoming so competitive that being gentle about this puts a lacking child at risk.

How to accomplish this feat. Difficult. It's probably easier to teach vocational skills and have a student excel from practice than it is to teach people skills and subject them to unknown factors. Don't get me wrong. People skills are taught in schools very well and young people know what they are and what they need to do. Unfortunately, there are sometimes issues that affect their abilities to do so -- too many to go into here and most you already know.

	To develop a strong business relationship with an area company and see to it that your students have not only the opportunity to view what goes on there, but to participate in areas requiring intense interaction.
	Consider other kinds of assignments as practical applications: participation in community theater or any experience where students interact with adults towards a goal that they must contribute to for success.
	Teach (or require) public speaking and don't allow students to write word for word what they're presenting to a group -- make them work from bullet points.
	Break them up from group experiences to the more intense single encounter--especially with job shadow programs. Ask the company offering the job shadow experience to go over important tips.

	Would the person hired show up everyday;
	and was this person breathing?