Community feedback saw the return of Deniliquin High School’s First Impressions Last careers program last week.
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Aimed at Year 11 students, the full day program gave students the opportunity to hear from representatives of local businesses and participate in a series of practical sessions designed to assist them with formal interview and job and scholarship application processes.
The school’s careers team recruited presenters to guide students through how to present for an interview, grooming, presentation and appropriate language (including body language).
Careers teacher Pam Sinha said the program has not been run for a number of years, but that members of the community saw there was a need for it to be reintroduced.
“It was brought back due to community demand to see the students get further upskilled in the areas of presentation and other related skills around preparing for a formal interview - be it a job, scholarship or other such interviews.
“This event was made possible through some alumni funding from New South Wales State Training Services, and the Deniliquin High School P&C.”
The program was hosted at the Deniliquin RSL Club and speakers included a mix of regional professionals and former Deniliquin High School students now working in varied industries.
The keynote speakers were Darcy and Bec Biggs representing Essential Energy.
Others locals chosen to share their wisdom were former Deni High students like Georgia Van Leishout, a dietician with her own private practice, Jack Fitzpatrick from Fitzpatrick Construction, former flight attendant turned St Michael’s School teacher Lily Bond and Erica Laing.
Special guests covering particular topics were Dylan Howe from Compact, which is a youth and career development organisation servicing the Riverina Murray region. He covered interviewing and interview technique.
Murray Irrigation Limited human resources staff Nicole Young and Fiona Hollowood then spoke with the students about the ideal cover letter, resumes and CVs and also touched on what employers are potentially looking for.
Chosen to speak on the transition from high school to a career were Travis Treweek and Ebony Wardlaw from EB N Flo - remote digital agency specialising in video editing, graphics design, web design and more for content creators and businesses.
After hearing from the speakers, the students went off in small groups to practice the new techniques they had learned on each other
Paige Brown and Ava Robinson.
Andrew Croker, Kaan Ozmen and Toby Grimwood.
Rylan Wade and Alyssa Sampson.
Kate Jenkins and Shontai O'Callaghan.
Olly Fagan and Will Boyd.
Nicole Young HR manager at MIL gave a presentation to the Deniliquin High School students on how to conduct themselves in the job application process.
Dylan Howe from Compact, Travis Treweek and Ebony Wardlaw from EB N Flo, Georgia Van Lieshout Dietician, Nicole Young HR manager and Fiona Hollowood HR assistant at MIL.
Tom Mckern, Dakota Mckenzie, Alyssa Sampson and Rylan Wade.
Jake Herberte, Alex Harvey and Toby Grimwood.
Lily Westcott, Emma Parks, Shontai O'Callaghan, Ava Robinson, Gemma Macdonald and Ruby Caruso.
Olly Fagan, Andrew Croker and Kaan Ozman.
David Ingram, Nathaniel Taylor, Ian Gray, Ronnie Owen and Riley Clent.
Phoebe Selleck, Ruby Murray, Lily Donald, Erica Hayes and Jasmin Currie.
Kaigh Ritchi-Reid and Mark Busby.
Darcy and Bec Biggs from Essential Energy talk to the students about the transition to work after school.
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