Mock Interviews for Internships:
Improving student preparedness
using formative assessment
Mary Bushell B.Pharm (Hons). AACPA, GCTLHE, MPS,
AFACP
Acknowledgement: Judith Austin & Elizabeth Hendry
Careers and Employment Services
Background
 Pharmacy
Practice Lecturer
 4th year (final year) assessment task
Background
 Upon
completion of a pharmacy degree,
graduates must complete an internship,
to be eligible for registration
 The number of pharmacy graduates
looking for intern positions has increased
significantly


485 graduates in 1997
1905 graduates in 2013
 Application
via interview
The evidence



Preparation of well written cover letter and the
ability to market one’s self via a resume is known
to increase ones chance of being invited for a
formal interview (Shakoor, 2001).
While interviews provide only a snapshot of an
applicant’s ability, an applicant’s interview
performance and the impression they leave, may
lead to a job offer or job rejection (Arvey and
Campion, 1982).
Developing the knowledge and skills to construct
a cover letter, resume and interview well are
integral to unlocking future career opportunities
and success.
The aim of the assessment

Question: How can we help make our 4th year
students competitive in a competitive
market?

Aim: Design an assessment task that improved
student preparedness for real life interviews

Collaboration with Careers and employment
Service
Assessment design
 Formative
 Formative
assessment task
assessment, also referred to as
assessment for learning, has been used in
higher education to provide individually
tailored feedback to students with the
goal of improving current performance.
Description of assessment
CV
Cover
letter
Mock
Interview
•Panel
For both a hospital and
community internship position
Description of assessment
 Interview
questions and associated
marking grids were sourced from:


a regional teaching hospital
a community pharmacy
 Both
question sets previously used in 2011
when interviewing potential intern
pharmacists.
Interview guide/ marking grid
Overview
Workshop on
how to write a
CV and cover
letter and
interview skills
Post workshop
summary of how
to improve
interview skills
Evaluation
 Student
questionnaire after formative
feedback



aimed to identify student’s impression of the
mock interviews
their value in preparing them for future
interviews
if they identified areas self-improvement
Evaluation


Student questionnaire during intern year
aimed to identify student’s impression of the
mock interviews,





their value in preparing them for future
interviews
if they identified areas self-improvement
how many interviews
how may job offers
student successful in obtaining a graduate
position in their preferred sector
Evaluation
 8/9
students indicated that the task was
beneficial
 8/9 increased their preparedness and
confidence when applying for actual
intern positions
 Actual value was higher then perceived
value
 All students successfully obtained an
intern position for 2014.
Comments in open text box
 “I
found the feedback from the mock
interviews really helped me prepare and
perform in my real intern interview… I
knew what to expect….”
 “Several
of the questions asked in the
mock were asked in my real interview”
Thankyou