Work in Progress: Using Mock Telephone Interviews with Alumni to Teach Job Search Communication

In this pilot project, engineering students in a technical communication course at Vanderbilt University paired with engineering alumni to participate in mock telephone interviews. The purpose of the project was to prepare engineers for job search communication, particularly interviewing techniques, and to establish a networking relationship with alumni. A total of 75 students and 33 alumni participated over two semesters. The project included an alumnus guest speaker, a training workshop in interview techniques, an interview chart assignment, the telephone interview with an assigned alumnus/alumna, and a memo summarizing the experience. Students and alumni completed questionnaires to assess the project. Both groups rated the project very highly and recommended continuing it in the next semester with a student rating of 4.7 and alumni rating of 4.9 on a 5-point scale. In their end-of-course, anonymous self-assessment of meeting course objectives, students rated their knowledge of interviewing techniques before the project as 2.1/5.0 and afterward as 4.4/5.0