Impromptu Interview: A First for Career Development

Written by: Jaqueline Clark, Student Assistant for Career Development

On Tuesday November 14th, the Office of Career Development launched its first-ever Impromptu Interview Event. Created by Hannah Fischer and Jaqueline Clark, the event was held in Mellon Board Room where there were 10-15 minute mock interviews between students, faculty, and employers. Employers who attended the event were Nick Carnicella from Transitional Options Inc., Lavendar Sedlock from Friends of the Riverfront Inc., & Susanne Killmeyer from Verland. Faculty members who attended the event were the Dr. John Dube, the Program Director of Biomedical Studies & the Associate Professor of Biology; and Associate Dean of Academic Success, Jeff Bukowski.

Fischer explained the goals of the event: employer-student engagement and students’ interviewing and networking confidence. “I thought it would be a good resource for both our students and partner employees,” she explained. Clark had a similar goals to create this event. “Interviewing is a valuable skill that students must master,” she said. “Whether or not you get the job or internship, you never know what were the qualities that strengthened or weakened your interview. So, I think this event was important because students can now know those qualities and refine them”, she shared.

Clark ‘23 explaining the details of the event to students, faculty, and employers.

Coordinator of Career Development, Hannah Su Hepler, said that she was proud of her student assistants for this successful event. “ I loved the cozy environment they created where students could have low-stakes conversations with local Pittsburgh employers and Chatham faculty,” Hepler said. I feel like the event was able to have students feel more confident in their interview skills.”

Her sentiments are reflected in students’ reactions to the event. For example, Jeremiah Davis ‘24 attended the event to gain more practice in interviewing since it will be necessary as he is applying for companies. “This event made sense for me to find the time to attend—even with a class conflict,” he said. “There’s not many opportunities to practice interviewing with real professionals in a low-stakes environment.” Cora McCowin ‘27 attended the event to get points for her SDE class, but she left the event satisfied. “I did not have any reservations about attending the event because I love meeting new people,” she shared. “It was great practice to interviews.”

Program Director of Biomedical Studies and Associate Professor of Biolog, John Dube, considered the event to be a success. “The students seemed to be engaged and appreciated the feedback,” Dube said.

Clark ‘23 and Fischer ‘24 pictured with Susanne Killmeyer from Verland, Lavendar Sedlock from Friends of the Riverfront, Nick Carnicella, and Emily Steinberg (left to right).

When asked about her feelings after creating and hosting this first event, Fischer expressed her satisfaction because students and faculty/employers seemed to have benefited from the event. “In the future, I would love to have some more employers and students attend,” she said, “but for our first time putting on this event, I believe it was successful.

Hepler would like to see the event continue in the future. “I think that this event is unique where it focuses on self-confidence building and making the interview process a little less scary,” said Hepler. In the future, Dube wondered if the event could be adapted to more specific circumstances. “I was completely comfortable asking students why they wanted to be a doctor,” he shared, “but less comfortable [assessing their answer] when the student was interested in marketing.”

With such good responses and suggestions, it seems inevitable that the Impromptu Interview event will occur again.

Creators of the Impromptu Interview Event: Hannah Fischer ‘24 & Jaqueline Clark ‘23 (left to right)