Preparing students for life after high school and post-secondary education goes beyond academics—it’s about equipping them with real-world skills that will set them up for success. One critical skill that often gets overlooked? Interviewing. Whether for a job, college admissions, or scholarships, students need to know how to confidently present themselves.
This engaging activity helps students practice answering common interview questions while using their Colorado Career Advising Tool Results to highlight their unique strengths, behaviors, and motivators. By integrating self-awareness with practical experience, this exercise empowers students to step into interviews with confidence and clarity.
The Goal: | To bridge the gap between self-knowledge and career success by helping students practice real-world interview scenarios. By leveraging their Colorado Career Advising Tool Results, students gain the confidence to showcase their value to potential employers or college admissions teams in a professional and impactful way. |
Materials
Colorado Career Advising Tool Results
Three Chairs
Note: Emphasize that students should rely heavily on their CCA Tool Results for this exercise. Regardless of their skill level, everyone can benefit from incorporating the CCA Tool language into their interview strategy. Encourage them to explore sections like Strengths, DISC, Motivators and Communication to find vocabulary that authentically highlights their unique qualities in a positive way.
Step 1: Divide students into pairs—one is the interviewer, one is the interviewee. Have students answer any of the following questions (you can use your own too):
Why are you interested in this job?
Why would you be good at this job?
How will you work on a team?
What is a weakness that may show up?
How do your skills fit this job?
Who is your ideal manager?
What is your key strength that you bring to the table?
Step 2: Now, as the teacher you are the interviewer—have three student volunteers come up to the front of the room and sit in three different “hot seats.” Pick a couple questions to ask them and see how each responds.
Feel free to rotate students as many times as possible if a lot of students want to volunteer. You may ask the same questions that they went over in pairs or use your own questions. The more practice, the better!
Encourage students to look at their CCA Tool Results Summary Page and use some of the language on the Results Summary, DISC, Motivators and Communication sections while on the hot seat to enhance their answers! This will give them practice using strong language to describe themselves.
Step 3: Close by asking students for ideas on how they could use their CCA Tool Results to prepare for job interviews and college applications.
How can you show what you are passionate about through motivators?
How have your behaviors come up in your life?
How can you use the language from the Results Summary, DISC, Motivators and Communication sections more?
This blog is a rebranded version of “Indigo College and Career Activity: The Hot Seat (Interview Practice)“, originally published by Indigo Education Company and now adapted for Colorado Career Advising. For questions, contact us at info@coloradocareeradvising.com.
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