Student Placement Interview – Guide for Interviewer(s)

Student Details

Name
Phone number
Education provider
Course / year
Potential Placement area:
Interviewers / Recommended interviewers*:
Student coordinator (SC) – provides an overview of the programs / services that the program / department offers, canvass expectation of the students
Task supervisor (TS) – provides an overview of the program and ability to fit in the team

Preparation

  • Review curriculum vitae and cover letter
  • Review placement offer
  • Review learning plan if available
  • Appointment with all interviewers and quiet room booked

Questions(to be tailored for the placement and student situation)

* / Question / Comments
SC / In regards to the course you are completing can you explain why you have chosen that course?
SC / What is your understanding of a student placement and what it entails?
SC / What do you know about the agency/client group/placement offer (to check they have done some research and that they are an appropriate match)?
Clinical programs only: Do you know what programs the agency / network offers and what they are? Have you thought about what program area you would like to undertake and why?
SC / What experience do you have that you think will assist you in undertaking this placement (look at employment/ volunteer experience, study, past placements)
SC / Why are you interested in / would you like to achieve in this placement?
How did you hear about this placement?
SC / In regards to the course you are completing can you explain why you have chosen that to study?
SC / What are some of your learning needs / goals that this placement may meet? (areas of practice that you haven’t had experience of)
TS / What do you think some of the challenges of this placement may be for you? (examination of personal values)
Can you see any areas of potential concern/difficulty for you?
TS / In this placement you may experience challenging behaviour from clients. How do you think you will manage this?
TS / What is your understanding of and practice of self care?
SC / Some of the work done in this placement may be mundane (eg, data entry, taking the work car to be washed). How do you feel about doing these tasks?
TS / What are your expectations of placement outcomes? What do you hope to gain from this placement?
TS / What are your expectations of supervision? What would you bring to the process
SC / Have you any ideas about which areas you might like to work in at the end of your course
SC / What is your availability for placement (commencement date, days per week, days of work)? What other commitments do you have that may affect your placement?
SC / If the interview is going well, ask about: hours / days available? Ability or desire to work in structured rostered hours, if applicable?
TS / Specific to child related services
What is your understanding of the child protection and out-of-home care system?
What is your understanding of trauma and its impact on the children, young people and families in the out-of-home care system?

Outline program / department expectations

SC explains the expectation of the program / department regarding:

  • Punctuality
  • the student undergoing a Police Check and a Working with Children Check
  • compliance with ethical agreement and code of practice documents
  • attendance for a minimum [n] days and potential hours (especially if rostering required
  • attendance at professional development sessions (highlight if the sessions are held regularly on a particular day)
  • they hold a drivers licence (if required for their program)

Scoring

Criteria / 1=unsatisfactory 2=marginal 3=competent 4=good 5=outstanding
Program / department has sufficient capacity to administer and supervise this in placement / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
The course the student is taking is relevant to the work the student would be undertaking in the placement / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
The student has demonstrated:
•An interest in learning about the work of The Salvation Army / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•An appropriate level of maturity and aptitude for working in their selected area of specialisation / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•An ability to cope with complexities and challenges of placement in the program / department / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•An ability to apply adult learning principles and take the lead in their own learning / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•Proficiency in spoken and written communications in line with the requirements of the student placement / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•Overall the interviews assess that, the placement will likely have a net positive benefit to both the program / department and the student / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
•Add rows to add local selection criteria specific technical and personal attributes that pertain to the program that the student candidate is interviewing for / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Recommendation

Accept for placement / Confirm start date
Conditional acceptance / Outline conditions that must be filled to achieve unconditional acceptance or list any concerns raised that might need to be considered when selecting a supervisoror service
Additional interview / visit
Not suitable for placement
G:\Volunteer\Volunteer Resources\H. Volunteer_categories\1 Student_placements_&_internships\1 Support documents\3 2 Recruit Draft Student selection interview questions.docx / 1