Our day at the AOK – A lot to keep in mind, a lot of fun

About how the students of the 9a learned to deal with an application for a job at the AOK.
                                                             08.01.2010

On the 8th of January we made our way to Fürth together with Mrs Schlez and Mr Latk to meet somebody at the AOK who was willing to spend a little time with us in order to prepare us for our later job applications. When we arrived at the AOK centre the weather was terribly wet and as we squeezed into the corridor nobody really knew what would happen next. Of course, we must admit we were rather sceptic and many of us weren`t expecting much fun. Surprisingly, we were lead into a room which looked like a class room , with rows of chairs and tables on which water bottles were placed for everyone. We all sat down and a young man introduced himself as Michael Hober who was going to tell us a couple of things which would be helpful for our future. He was very kind and was able to entertain us all morning without boring the class. After the introduction, he gave us our first exercise: find out what is important for you in your later job. Together we collected aspects like payment, location, etc.. Michael Hober told us that the most efficient way to choose a job is to compare your abilities, your expectations, and your hobbies. After that we went on with a phone call between Hober who played an employer and a student from our class, Markus Schober who played an applicant. In addition we worked together and found mistakes that Markus had made and again Hober gave us very interesting advice how to do better. Furthermore, he told us what to always keep in mind when we write an application for a job and a lot of extra information like which colour the folder should have and much more. Then, everyone worked on a “quick test”, a test in which you have to work on logical exercises in a short period of time. After that, a small break with Pretzels followed. After the break, we corrected the test together and everyone was able to see how good he was. Michael Hober told us a few things about the test which we were to keep in mind: you are not allowed to turn the pages unless you are told to and you are never given enough time to finish the test. It is important not to panic and to solve as many exercises as possible. After that, we started talking about employment interviews. These are important in order to get to know each other and see if the company suits you. Obviously, we also talked about what behaviour is expected at such a meeting: you must show that you are interested in the company and that you are willing to work hard (not only at school). Before you go to the interview inform yourself about your future employer. You must be able to convince the interviewer that you have skills which distinguish you from others and would be a real benefit for the company. Always pay attention to your body language and mimics and don`t forget “a first impression counts” !Ultimately you must try to create the impression that you are a professional person who is more than capable of communicating to a high level in an interview situation. Interviewers will be assessing whether you are responsible enough to deal with clients, and likeable enough to work on their teams. People who impress at interview impress clients. If you make a good impression, you may be hired. Johannes Walter (a student from our class) had the honour to be interviewed by Michael Hober. He did a brilliant job and payed attention to everything we had learned about before. In addition, we were told which questions are often asked in an employment interview and Hober requested that we should always only reveal our good qualities. If you have been successful then you might have to take part in an assessment centre. These are an extended period of interviews, assessed tasks and assessment exercises, organised and held by recruiters for small groups of graduate level candidates. Recruiters use assessment centres to find out how candidates perform in various situations, in particular group situations, which are often modelled on real life work-based scenarios. They are most frequently used by large graduate employers who want to hire a relatively large number of people for a similar job role, such as a graduate scheme. It is important to be professional at an assessment centre. Candidates should behave like the employees of the company they are being assessed by. You must wear smart business dress throughout, men should wear ties and polish their shoes, women should dress appropriately. If in doubt, you should dress conservatively. You must always be polite, look people in the eye and shake hands. You must make an effort to say hello to your fellow candidates and assessors. Everything you do during an assessment centre is noted. All in all, both class and teacher enjoyed this highly informative morning and we can only recommend this experience to you!