It was the day that all students in the business essentials class were dreading: interview day.

For seven years now, the business essentials class, taught by Verna Wilkerson, has been conducting mock interviews with their students to better prepare them for the future. Wilkerson brings in several outside sources, such as career counselors from Calhoun and HR’s from Redstone Federal Credit Union, and has them interview each student as if they were applying for a job.

“[The interviewers] come in and sit down [in the library] and interview the students just like they’re applying for a position. All the students are applying for the same position,” Wilkerson said. “It’s two test grades. Fifty percent comes from the live interview and another 25 percent comes from if they’re dressed or not. The other 25 percent is a resume, cover letter and reference page.”

The objective of this mandatory assignment is to not only teach the students how to properly create a resume, cover letter, reference page and other important documents needed to apply for a job, but how to be comfortable with interviewing.

“It’s the little things that are going to get you the job,” Wilkerson said. “Especially today, it’s really competitive out there. And if I could give them that one little thing that puts them on top of the stack of resumes, then I’ve done something for them.”

What: Mock Interviews

When: Wednesday, December 2

Where: The Library

Why: To increase interviewing confidence

How: Live interviews