Case Study on GoTeach Job Hunting Skills
Deutsche Post DHL and SOS Children’s Villages GoTeach Partnership - 2017
Sources of Information
Interviews with 6 young people from Peru, 2 young people from Indonesia and 9 volunteers from Thailand, Mauritius, South Africa, Peru and Indonesia
1. Executive Summary
The GoTeach program began in 2011 as a pilot program in four countries and has since expanded into an international partnership of over 26 countries across Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe between SOS Children’s Villages and Deutsche Post DHL Group’s GoTeach “Living Responsibility” CSR strategy.
Its mission is to improve the employability of disadvantaged young people by connecting them to the world of work. DPDHL Group employees at every level volunteer their expertise and time to help young people from SOS Children’s Villages. They seek to inspire and motivate young people to prepare for their first professional steps, by sharing their own professional and personal experiences.
This case study focuses on job hunting skills that young people have gained by being part of the GoTeach program. According to the Youth Employability Skills and Competencies definition, possessing job hunting skills means understanding the different methods of finding vacancies and how to apply for them. It also covers understanding how to create a CV or application letter and how to prepare for an interview.
GoTeach activities focusing on job hunting skills conducted in South Africa, Mauritius, Peru, Indonesia and Thailand will be explained in more detail below.
2. Objective and Purpose
This case study was designed with the aim of estabishing an overview of activities connected to job hunting skills that are conducted in different GoTeach countries. The case study provides a summary of various approaches to improving the job hunting skills of young people from different countries. The following aspects are examined:
- The length of time allocated for CV writing and interviewing skills
- The number and average age of young people involved
- The number and the positions of volunteers
- The activity type (training, workshop, career day, mentoring etc.) and the methods used (discussion, presentation, simulation etc.)
- If already in place, how is the activity structured
- What are the key take-aways (tangible, practical)
- What are the benefits of performing this activity
- How many internships and full-time employment positions are offered to young people attending the activities
- Potential partner companies to be involved in this kind of activity
- Current challenges in performing this kind of activity
- Future improvements for the current activity
The findings can help countries to implement, strengthen and improve their own approach. However, it should be noted that a different approach might be more suitable, depending on the local context. The case study should also facilitate the exchange between GoTeach countries.
3. Methodology
Regional managers were contacted to identify countries that had already implemented job hunting skills activities. Based on their recommendation, different countries were approached and interviews conducted with volunteers who ran an employability skills activity and young people who attended the activity. Ideally, the young people had already had the chance to make use of what they had learned and perhaps even successfully entered the working world. All in all, three volunteers from South Africa, two volunteers from Indonesia, one volunteer from Thailand, one volunteer from Mauritius and one volunteer from Peru were interviewed. Additionally, two young people from Indonesia and six young people from Peru participated in the interviews. The interviews took place between the July 21, 2017, and September 25, 2017, and took around 45 minutes each. To assure that all relevant aspects were covered an interview guideline was developed. All interviews were transcribed and analysed.
4. Activity Types
As mentioned above, according to the Youth Employability Skills and Competencies definition, having job hunting skills means being able to write a CV and resume and being prepared for job interviews. Below, different activities and workshops that give young people a better understanding of how to write a CV or conduct a job interview are described.
5. Activity Description
Which of the activities conducted in your country are connected to job hunting skills - CV writing & interviewing skills?
Most of the countries offer activities that strengthen and improve CV and resume writing skills and interview techniques. Young people are introduced to the process, including possible interview questions, and participate in mock interviews. Additionally, an activity on public speaking is offered in Indonesia, and in Peru a time management session. Furthermore, the training modules feature leadership development and English classes and facilitate personal development and employability. Depending on the country, activities and their duration vary. Whereas in some countries activities connected to job hunting skills are part of a 3-day camp (as in Mauritius), in other countries activities are organised as a one-day workshop. Furthermore, some countries offer job shadowing or internships. For instance in Indonesia, young people intern at Mondeles for two weeks to get a better understanding of the work in a warehouse.
Please shortly describe the structure of this activity (What kind of activity, methods used, average duration - in hours)
In South Africa the training itself lasts one day. Young people are taught how to write a CV. A 30-slide presentation covers topics such as “What is a CV? When should you use a CV? How long should a CV be? What information should a CV include? What makes a good CV? What is the format of a CV (chronological, functional and chrono-functional)? How to write a CV (Header, Objective, Education, Honors/Activities, Work Experience, Research Experience/Projects, References)? and Dos and Don’ts. A 5-slide presentation about competency-based interviews gives young people an idea about possible questions and ideal answers at an interview. An example for an interview question could be ‘What do you do when you have many tasks to complete at the same time?’ The answer to this question should be structured according to the STAR technique (Situation/Tasks, Action, Results). At first the interviewee should explain a situation or task where he or she experienced something similar/comparable. An example would be ‘In my previous role as an HR Business Partner, you always have many things to complete e.g. recruitment, disciplinary actions, performance reviews etc. At one time I had many roles to recruit for and also quite a few disciplinary actions and work to do on our HR IT system. I didn’t know how I was going to cope’. Afterwards the interviewee should explain what action he or she took. An example would be ‘I made a list of everything that I had to complete, and then I tried to see which was the most urgent, but because there were so many things that were urgent, I knew that I had to ask for help. I asked our HR administrator to assist with some of the more admin-related work and I told my manager that some of the tasks, which were not as important but still had to get done, would be a little late.’ In the end interviewees should give a result, stating if the situation/task was performed successfully. An answer could for instance be I completed the urgent tasks with the help of our administrator and I didn’t get into trouble with the tasks that were late because I had already talked to my manager.’ Other examples for possible questions would be: ‘Tell me about a leadership position you have held, what was the position and how did it turn out?’ Tell me about a difficult assignment you had to complete? What has been your greatest achievement so far? Have you ever been asked to do something that was against your or your company’s ethical standards?’
Afterwards mock interviews are conducted by the HR department to give the young people an opportunity to practice the what they have learned. The presentation and mock interviews only lasted for one hour and were part of a full-day workshop.
In Thailandz, two types of activities are conducted. One is called ‘Ton Kla on the Go’ and the other one is called ‘Ton Kla Camp’. ‘Ton Kla on the Go’ visits around five country villages in Thailand. Ton Kla camp takes place once a year in Bangkok. The ‘Ton Kla Camp’ in Thailand lasts for 4 days and is more advanced than Ton Kla on the Go. The Camp starts with an ice-breaker activity, which helps the young people to feel comfortable talking and sharing their experiences with the other participants. During the 4 days different activities are performed. Young people are taught in professional English, participate in psychology sessions to help them consider what future career would suit them, in personality sessions to teach them how to behave, dress and put on makeup for an interview, and in inspiration sessions, where an external speaker is invited to motivate and build confidence among the young people. In Mauritius one-on-one or one-on-two counselling sessions are also provided to discuss career options, assertiveness and how to handle feedback. Besides financial planning activities, young people are asked to develop their own CVs. This CV writing workshop is followed by a workshop on interview techniques and mock interviews. Teaching interview techniques and conducting mock interviews takes around 2 hours in total. In Mauritius the mock interview sessions lasts for one day. Here every young person takes part in a mock interview with a senior manager. The manager has the profile of the young people (e.g. he/she would like to be a cook) and the manager asks the questions according to the profile checklist.
However the number of young people participating in mock interviews varies from region to region. Either all young people, as in Thailand, have the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one interview with the HR manger or the interview is only simply conducted with some young people, as in South Africa or Indonesia. The remaining young people have the opportunity to observe the interviews. Afterwards the interviewees receive individual feedback.
Young people in Mauritius are also informed about what kind of personalities employers are looking for, e.g. being punctual or communicative and about proper behavior patterns during the interview, such as eye contact, sitting up straight, the importance of telling the truth or how to dress. In Mauritius YouTube videos are shown to explain good and bad practices.
Moreover, to help the young people get a better understanding of the work environment, job shadowing or internships are offered. In Indonesia, young people have the opportunity to learn how to scan data, manage archives and learn about inbound and outbound processes/logistics during a two-week internship. A company visit to DHL Express is included in the camp activities in Thailand. In South Africa young people are subdivided into groups. Each group is assigned to a department. For instance, the young people who were assigned to the group ‘S’ knew that they would be a part of the group visiting the Sales department. The volunteer for each group introduced themself to the group before going to the work environment. While the volunteer explains his or her task area, the young people are allowed to ask questions to get a better understanding of work life.
6. Findings
Please mention the number and average age of young people.
Most of the participants in all countries are between 15 and 20 years old. In Thailand the attention of younger people has also been captured. Ton Kla on the Go targets young people who are between 12 and 20 years old. In Indonesia 22-year-olds who are already studying are participating in the activities. Overall the situation of the young people is diverse. Some are still going to school, some are studying, whereas others are already working. However, the majority of the young people have not been to a job interview before or have not learned how to successfully write a CV. As a result, the level of their job hunting skills is low.
Please mention the number and position of volunteers conducting this activity.
The number of volunteers varies from country to country. For instance in South Africa 3 volunteers from DHL conducted the mock interviews for 13 young people. In Thailand around 20 DHL employees volunteer in the Ton Kla Camp, where around 30 to 40 young people participate. The functions of volunteers are also diverse. Volunteers come from different management levels and work in different departments such as IT, customer services, finance or commercial. However the majority works in HR. Others have a background in social work.
What are the key take-aways from this activity (tangible, practical skills learnt)?
Young people learn how to act in interviews, e.g. attitude (sitting up straight) and the best way to answer interview questions. Participants confirmed that they also improved their Excel skills and that they acquired useful information for their future career. For instance, improving their English and communication skills is essential for working professionally (Indonesia). In addition, the young people were impressed by the opportunity to get to know the working atmosphere and the importance of the work at DHL. Some can picture themselves working for DHL, others state that they obtained useful information, but want to pursue other types of jobs in their field of expertise, such as cook or teacher (Mauritius). Additionally the young people indicated they feel better equipped personally to start a job and more confident.
How many internships / permanent positions are offered after the activities? How do the skills gained help young people perform at the internship/job?
The internship demonstrated that being motivated and working hard can enable young people to achieve their own goals. Young people have learned to find their own motivation to achieve their desired future career and that rather than starting any job as soon as possible, it is important to prepare and work on your skills. Furthermore, the internships helped the young people to identify twhat they were passionate about. Two of those interviewed have already applied for an internship in their field of interest. In this case culinary art and interior design.
What kind of benefits does this activity bring to the young people?
The activities help young people in getting a better understanding of the working environment and work ethics. They also help participants develop more confidence about their future career. Young people value internships because they provide an insight into the culture and daily tasks of the working world. Interviewees would recommend this activity to other young people because they felt that DHL is a good place to work and somewhere you feel welcomed and comfortable. They also valued the opportunity to gain professional work experience.
In addition, participating in these activities offers young people the opportunity to exchange and share ideas and to interact with other young people. Participating in the activities increased the self-esteem and self-confidence of the young people.
Is it possible to involve other corporate partners locally in these kinds of activities?
Will you be available for suggestions based on the conclusion of this survey?
7. Follow-up
At this point, no real follow-up is provided after the activities. However, countries such as Mauritius and South Africa express the need and importance of it. South Africa for instance refers to the mentorship program in Madagascar. In Madagascar young people and their mentors meet once a month for around 60-90 minutes for a coaching session.
8. Challenges and Recommendations
What kind of challenges appeared/can appear when performing this activity?
- Shortage of volunteers: During kick-off a lot of people were interested in supporting the project by volunteering. However during the planning a lot of the volunteers backed out. Motivating employees to volunteer is essential.
- Distance: Often the young people live kilometers away from the DHL company. As such, transportation represents a challenge.
- Emotional attachment: Coping with the personal stories the young people share during the activities
- Language barrier: It was noted that communication in English is often challenging but manageable. Indeed it was indicated that communication skills improved during the activities, however there is still room for improvement.
- Timeframe: Often time is limited, resulting in too little time for some job hunting skills activities.
- Consistency: Often challenging to keep the consistency in the activity or rather to stick to the timeline
- Behavior: Some young people are really shy at the beginning of the activities.
- Mismatch of interests: Young people also noted that they did not feel comfortable about their area of work during the internship because they were interested in other areas such as culinary art and interior design.
- Agenda: Sometimes the activities did not match the agenda and young people stated that there was barely anything to do. They learned less as a result.
- Dropouts: Some are too young to benefit, perhaps leaving the workshop early because they don’t yet know waht they want for their future
What kind of future improvements for the employability skills activities do you see for your local area?
- Ice-breaking activities should be implemented before employability skills activities start. Ice-breakers help the young people to feel more comfortable in their surroundings and make it easier for them to open up and connect with other youngsters.
- Entrepreneur and vocational skills training should be conducted. However, implementation hass turned out to be challenging to date.
- Mentorship or coaching sessions, where the mentor and the young person meet once a month for around 60 to 90 minutes should be implemented.
- More activities with relevant content should be implemented. For instance how to write an effective email or financial planning activities to enable young people to keep track of their expenses and support them in their independence.
- There is no need to subdivide young people into age groups, however, grouping them according to their future career wishes is reasonable.
- A practical approach matters more than just theories - especially because for most of those present it was their first experience/ job interview
- More involvement from the DHL team would be beneficial
- Senior managers in interviews change - disappointment if they have the interviews with people from lower levels
- Prepare young people for longterm employment
- More internships should be offered. Could be tried to establish internships at SOS Children’s Villages.
- Individual interests and backgrounds should be respected. For instance in Peru artistic skills of young people should be identified. It is important to connect the career opportunities/discussions with young people’s area of study/field of interest. Therefore workshops that focus on the career wishes should be developed.
- English and French lessons should be offered in the following years
- Young people should be informed about the best way to dress
What would you recommend for others starting these activities?
- HR should conduct the interviews because they have knowledge about the questions and the process of an interview. HR should set up possible interview questions and provide different techniques to help the young people answer the questions. In South Africa young people are familiarized with the competency based interview.
- Young people should be informed about the code of behavior during interviews.
- Every young person should participate in the interview because it is a helpful opportunity to practice the what they've learned and receive feedback
- Young people should have the opportunity to give feedback as well
- The tasks and roles should be clearly identified and distributed among the DHL and SOS staff. However joint discussions between DHL and SOS regarding the content of the activities and the agenda should take place. (personalization)
- Follow-up after camps / activities: young people with potential – support they need – cannot happen
- SOS to engage with these entrepreneur needs
- Young people should stay in contact with volunteers
- Look for personal motivation
- Continue to have a follow-up with volunteers Mentorship
- Mock interviews were done quite well, are essential and helped a lot
- Practical experiences/ approach matter
- Especially because for most of the youngsters it was first experience/ job interview
- Group preparation
- Engage the best people from SOS (youth coordinator)
| Chapter lead | Martin Schmid |
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