Students in Pascagoula-Gautier school district prepare for future through ‘You’re Hired’ event

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - Some students in the Pascagoula-Gautier School District are feeling a little more prepared for life after graduation. The school district hosted “You’re Hired," an event helping students build and work on their employability skills.

More than 200 11th graders got a chance to put their job interview skills to the test on Tuesday. Each of them took a seat for a one-on-one mock interview with business and industry leaders.

“A lot of people including me, we’ve never done this before, so this will kind of give me an idea of how it will be later, and this was really good practice," said student Will Mitchell.

Students said that practice was invaluable.

“It’s giving us the experience to later on in life be prepared for interviews that we’re going to have to deal with down the road, after we graduate college and we’re going into what we want to do," said student Abigail Carter.

Students also attended different sessions teaching students about financial literacy, social media responsibility, resumes, body language and more.

Organizers said the event was created to address a need in the community for more ready-for-hire job candidates.

“So we took it upon ourselves to make it as part of the curriculum to be taught during the English 3 class. And we know that our students - we want them to be employable, we want them to be contributing members of society, and this just helps them do that," said Dr. Melissa Deangelo, Director of English Language Education and the Career Academy Liason.

This event is just one way the school district is working to smooth the transition for students after graduation. The district is also launching its college and career academies - or Bridge Academies - to allow students to explore their career interests.

“Whether it’s higher education or ready to be hired that we need to make sure that our graduates are ready for hire, and this is just one of the steps in the journey to that," said Paige Roberts, President and CEO of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

Interviewers graded students on their job interview skills, and chose a winner whom they would hire. In the past, some students have received actual job offers

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