As students progress through college, the thought of getting a job becomes discouraging with the lack of skills, said NW student development associate Dee Nevill when she visited NW Campus in Professional Career Skills on Feb. 4.

She presented students with information and encouraged them to share their experiences while giving them guidance for their next job hunt.

“Interviewing is always hard,” said Nevill. “You’re front and center. The spotlight is on you.”

The workshop is one of many conducted in the NW Student Center hopes to help students become more confident about career success.

“You have to do a lot of preparation in the beginning to know the company,” NW career services practicum student Sarah Casarez said. “You never really know what they are going to ask you.”

While asking students what their interview experiences were, she noted a few had experienced anxiety during their interviews.

“Unless we prepare, unless we take those deep breaths, it’s hard,” Nevill said

At the workshop, Nevill told students although appearance and punctuality are the main focus, they are not the only things an employer is looking for.

“You need to know the job description,” she said. “You also need to know who the company is.”

She explained to students that research on the company would be a great advantage because employers would be more interested in hiring a new employee that knows about their company’s background.

“Know sometimes the vision and mission of the company,” she said. “That tells a lot to the employer, that ‘Oh my goodness, this person actually has done some research about us and actually invested in coming in and being part of this mission and vision.’”

Customer service representative Johnnie Gonzales mentioned that students should be attentive to their job interview experience, even if they did not get the job.

“It happens all the time, right here, in here. Somebody will go up to an interview and will come back to me,” he said. “I go ‘How’d you do?’ and they would go ‘I don’t know.’”

Nevill said that students need to be wary of what they post online.

“The first thing we do is look through their profile,” she said. “Do they match up to the person that is in front of us?”

She said a positive attitude would give students a better chance in getting a job.

“Impress everyone, from the receptionist to the janitor, to anyone,” she said. “You want to be there. That’s why you’re there.”