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Program graduates wanted more mock interviews.
StepUp Durham partners with Talk Hiring to offer unlimited mock interviews.

Published: December 5, 2019

What is StepUp Durham?

StepUp Durham offers free employment readiness training, personalized job coaching, employer referrals, and supportive services to job seekers. They are a nonprofit workforce development program in Durham, NC, and their mission is to be the premier resource in Durham County for people seeking to improve their lives and develop stable careers. The majority of their participants are unemployed and facing significant employment barriers. They have helped 398 people find employment!

Why did StepUp Durham want to use Talk Hiring?

StepUp Durham offers free employment readiness training, personalized job coaching, employer referrals, and supportive services to job seekers. They are a nonprofit workforce development program in Durham, NC, and their mission is to be the premier resource in Durham County for people seeking to improve their lives and develop stable careers. The majority of their participants are unemployed and facing significant employment barriers. They have helped 398 people find employment!

Tim Wollin is the Program Director at StepUp Durham. When he heard about Talk Hiring in February 2019, he was excited, and rolled out Talk Hiring that month. In addition to many graduates wanting more mock interviews, about 70% of StepUp's graduates are hired by employers outside of StepUp's employer network. Job seekers interviewing with employers outside of the network don't have the benefit of getting warm introductions to hiring managers. These employers are a lot harsher on job interviews.

"I like to ask students 'how long during an interview can you pause?'. People usually say around 7 seconds. I then role play that back and have the student be the interviewer. They realize how awkward waiting 7 seconds is. It's great that Talk Hiring can give automated interview feedback on pauses." ~ Tim Wollin, Program Director

What are the results?

57 mock interviews
1.7 mock interviews per person
69% of interview responses showed improvement!*

*How are we measuring improvement in interviewing skills? Measuring interviewing competency objectively is tough. What we do is, we take the first time a user answered a specific question and the last time that user answered that question. We compare the 2 answers across a variety of dimensions (number of relevant details, conciseness, delivery fluency, length of speaking time) to evaluate if answers improved.

What did users say?

"I get to know what areas I'm strongest in and where I need help"
"It gives you a chance to sell yourself as if you are really at an interview"
"The main benefit would be the results and critique you receive after your through like pace and not using so many fillers"
"I get to practice doing interviews until I get good enough not to be nervous anymore."
"Y'all are pretty much perfect as is."
"Your service is excellent."

How could your program benefit from Talk Hiring?

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