Hillcrest High junior Allisson Guerrero knows the importance of preparing for a job interview.

At the recent Canyons School District’s Young Professionals Summit, she learned essential tips from industry professionals: “what to do, what not to do, what to wear, how to ask questions to the employer, to always make sure to email them after your interview, and it’s OK to include high school activities on the resume that relate to the job and highlight them during the interview.”

More than 100 students from Canyons’ five comprehensive high schools attended the summit, featuring keynote speaker entrepreneur Bryce Smith from Beacon Medical Products. Students participated in workshops on professionalism with Sarah Simpson from the Utah Transit Authority, communication skills with Alyssa Olsen from Cyprus Credit Union, and interview techniques with Shaylee Pulham and Shari Laney from Prestige Financial Services.

Guerrero found the experience valuable.

 “It was a good experience and very hands-on,” she said. “It was good being able to mix in with students for the other schools and learn to ask questions and network. I found the interview tips to be the helpful. I learned how to talk professionally with someone older than me and questions I need to be prepared for.”

The summit originated from a spring breakfast with Canyons’ work-based learning department’s business partners, said Janet Jefferson, Alta High’s work-based learning coordinator.

“We asked them, as educators, ‘What are some skills you feel students need more of as they move into the workforce?’” she said. “They came up with being able to interview well and present themselves professionally, having communication skills, working as a team and networking.”

These skills formed the foundation of the summit, with professionals leading breakout sessions to help students build confidence for their future careers.

The keynote speaker is an Alta alumnus and former aerospace engineer; he shared insights from his transition into the medical device industry. 

“Bryce talked about the root of inspire, which comes from the Latin words ‘to breathe into’ to motivate students to be successful,” Jefferson said.

Smith shared the acronym of CPR — creativity, perception and reliability — as qualities essential for success.

“He said the C is to be creative and innovative, to look for ways to solve problems in a creative way,” Jefferson said. “Then, the P to be perceptive, to notice details, to pay attention to what's going on, to perceive what needs to be done and do it. The R is to be reliable, to be somebody people can count on, and to do what needs to be done and what you've been assigned to do.”

Hillcrest junior Prajeet Verma appreciated the message.

“His speech was essentially telling us to trust in ourselves and to be curious,” he said. “Don't let other people tell you what is a good or isn't a good idea.”

Guerrero appreciated hearing how Smith was able to “switch careers and still love what he’s doing.”

Verma said many of the workshops focused on effective communication and presenting themselves with confidence and competence, while also demonstrating a willingness to learn.

“We learned communication techniques, both verbal and nonverbal, such as specific hand gestures. We learned how to introduce ourselves, how to give an elevator pitch, how to find the most important person in the room. We practiced networking through a bingo game where we had to introduce ourselves and ask each other questions so we couldn’t be shy. We went over how to dress to impress and interview questions like, ‘tell me about yourself’ and ‘how do you deal with conflict in your team’ and some commonly asked questions which are difficult to answer, but they led us in simple responses,” he said. 

Cher Burbank, Hillcrest’s work-based learning coordinator, noted the skills the students learned could be applied immediately.

“I noticed a lot of students who were going to be in FBLA competition the next week asked questions which they could apply when they communicate or present,” she said. “Some of the questions they were asking fell in line with that. They said, ‘OK, I’m presenting. How should I stand? Should I do this or that? How much is too many hand motions?’ They got in-depth answers and skills for them to apply. They learned how to emphasize a point when they're presenting, and some students said they were going to practice it for when they give presentations.”

Burbank believes students now will have more effective communication and professionalism.

“This was a good opportunity for them to hear from our community business partners what they need to know and to practice it. I hope they gained insight from these industry partners that may give them a different edge, a skill, professionalism, something that might stand out, that they learned, something they could apply when they communicate or network,” she said.

Canyons Career and Technical Education Director Janet Goble, who hopes to offer the summit again next year, can see the benefit to the high school students.

“I hope our students took to heart the presenters’ messages, whether it was your elevator speech, how to network, how to talk to people, how to communicate better,” she said. “All are ways to help them become more successful.” λ