A Comparison of Three Methods of Preparing College Seniors for Employment Interviews.

The purpose of this study was to determine which of three one-to-one methods of interview training requiring forty-five minutes of time was most effective in increasing the stated preparedness of college seniors for employment interviews. The three training methods were: (A) discussion, (B) discussion combined with audiovisual modeling, a simulated interview, videotape replay and feedback, and (C) the individual review of printed materials (didactics). Sixty-six college seniors were stratified according to high and low grade point average and interview experience and then r and omly assigned to the three treatment groups. A total of fifty-six of the subjects (35 males, 21 females) actually completed the treatment. Preparation for interviews was measured by the difference in pre and posttest scores on six Likert scale questions examining the subjects' thoughts and feelings on interview preparedness and by scores on twelve multiple choice questions on the posttest examining the subjects' mastery (knowledge) of material presented. Analysis of variance showed that although the subjects did experience significant differences between their pre and posttest Likert scale scores measuring stated interview preparedness, there were no significant differences among the three treatment groups on this variable. Also, none of the treatment groups performed significantly better on the questions for measuring knowledge on the posttest. Finally, although each of the treatment groups did have a high percentage of subjects who stated that, as a result of the training, they planned to spend either more time or considerably more time on interview preparation, these differences were not significant. An interpretation of the results suggests that although the training did increase subjects' stated interview preparedness, allow the subjects to acquire important information on this topic and serve as an inducement for further self-preparation, it cannot be concluded that any one of the three treatments examined in the study was significantly more effective in producing these outcomes.PhDSchool counselingUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160059/1/8412272.pd