MAKE ME A GROWN UP
PROGRAMME 6: ALISON
ACTIVITIES
Young people are often sensitive about personal development issues. These activities support a mix of individual, paired and group work, depending on the context and the composition of the groups involved.
Before viewing
Create a big picture showing how people who are suffering from interview nerves might look and behave.
Make a list of what people do to relax when they are feeling tense or stressed. Which ideas suit you and why?
Identify the colours that you love and hate wearing and explain why. What does this say about you? Share and discuss your ideas.
After viewing
To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately, the clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.
The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing descriptions to help identify the intended scene.
Relax
Clip one: 08:09 – 08:53
Try out the techniques that Stephen asks Alison to use in this clip:
- tighten everything up, hold it tight, then let the tension go until you are completely floppy
- raise your arms and make a big circle in the air
- put one hand on your stomach, breathe in slowly through the nose to inflate your stomach and push out your hand, breathe out and repeat until your breathing is even.
Discuss how useful these techniques might be in helping you to breathe more evenly and to relax before an examination, interview or similar stressful situation. What other techniques could you use?
Answer in full
Clip two: 09:45 – 10:05
List the things that Alison did well in the interview. Explain what Stephen means when he tells her to give fuller answers rather than waiting to be cued by the next interview question. Think about and jot down the points that you would make in answer to these standard interview questions:
- Tell me a bit about yourself.
- What are your strengths?
- Tell me about something that you have done that shows you can deal with difficult situations.
- What are your long-term career goals?
- Tell me about your greatest achievement in life so far.
- Are you a team player?
Work in pairs. Choose one question to ask your partner. Listen carefully to the answer and give constructive feedback on how it could be improved – for example, more detail, better examples, further explanation or saying abbreviations in full.
Dress rules
Clip three: 13:36 – 13:59
Explain the dress rules for work presented in this clip. Discuss the following questions:
- Do these rules apply to all job interviews and all workplaces?
- Do these rules apply equally to males and females?
- Have any important rules been omitted? If so, what are they?
Think about something else
Clip four: 16:57 – 17:44
Explain how Alison benefited from the space hopper activity. What did she mean when she said:
'It was fun. It made me smile. I think that the feeling that I had whilst I was on the ball, I think I'll be able to get that feeling again inside me before going into an interview.'
Think of a time when it seemed that the harder you tried to do something well in front of other people, the worse it got. Do you think that this was because you were focusing too much on what people were thinking rather than what you were doing? If so, what could you do to help you concentrate better on the task? Share and discuss your ideas.
Be positive
Clip five: 18:35 – 19:05
Take a vote on whether a job interview is a conversation or a trial. Explore any major disagreements and the reasons for them. Stephen advises Alison to be positive and use the interview as an opportunity to say what she wants to say and show the interviewer what she is made of. What would you want to say in an interview? What are you made of? Share and discuss your ideas.
