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UFS Mock Interviews: Shaping career-ready graduates and tackling unemployment

23 May 2025 | Story Lilitha Dingwayo | Photo Lunga Luthuli

To get senior and postgraduate students ready for the world of work, the University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Career Services’ Placement Preparation Day, which was initiated in 2023, has grown into an annual workshop – Mock Interview Day – with this year’s event taking place in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Held on 14 and 15 May 2025, this UFS initiative – aimed at addressing employability – has evolved through the implementation of several educational subdivisions tasked with the responsibility of assisting all registered students understand the professional environment. One of these divisions is the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) ‘Graduate Attributes’ – an initiative that seeks to assess a student’s development of valuable attributes during lectures.

According to Belinda Janeke, Assistant Director of Career Services, “Feedback indicates that most students have no interview experience – a critical factor. It is through these mock interviews that students’ confidence is built and their transition from student to employee is smoothened.”

With the assistance of staff members and employees in conducting the interviews, the two-day initiative has seen evident success in both attendance and reach. “Yesterday we had about 90 students come in for the mock interviews and all of them stated that it was their first time being interviewed,” said Janeke. “Even though our office is situated on the Bloemfontein Campus, we also visit the South and Qwaqwa campuses to ensure accessibility across all three UFS campuses,” Janeke added. Emphasising results, she shared that in the 12 years she has been working in this division, student engagement has grown due to improvements in technology.

Career Services sends out letters and emails on the 11th of each month to recognise the achievements of students who have used their services. In collaboration with the UFS’ Vision 130, more directions are being explored across the three campuses, starting with the cross-campus Shoe Camp project.

This initiative targets all UFS students, prioritising senior individuals on the cusp of job hunting. “As a postgraduate student, I am looking into getting a job next year and I have never been interviewed before, so I needed the trial run to get more information on accurate interview etiquette,” said Aphiwe Mbutuma, an Administration honours student. Mbutuma said the support she received from the staff was crucial in boosting her confidence for her next interview. She further described the experience as an eye-opener, adding that students should seize these opportunities to understand what is expected of them. Zukile Daki, a second-year student in the Faculty of Law, said: “I once bombed an interview, so I came here to improve, and it went well.”

News Archive

Three minutes for research

2015-08-19

Sixty-three researchers, three minutes each. This is the Three-Minute-Thesis competition (3MT) for master’s and doctoral students countrywide, presented by the Postgraduate School at the University of the Free State.

For the first time, this international competition will be presented on a national level in South Africa, with students from more than ten of the most prominent universities in the country taking part. During the competition, each researcher has to give a presentation on his/her research in three minutes.

Mr Katleho Nyaile, the competition organiser, says the 3MT is part of the Postgraduate School’s initiative to highlight and to boost postgraduate research.

The 3MT competition originated at the University of Queensland, Australia. Since its inception in 2010, it has developed into an international trend. Currently, the 3MT is presented in Australia, the USA, and the UK.

For the competition, participants are given only three minutes to explain their research. In this short time, they have to explain not only the problem and the methodology, but also why this research is important. Participants are allowed to make use of only one piece of static imaging material for support.

“It is not only great fun, but also a learning opportunity for the researchers. The competition supports the capacity of the researchers to convey the essence of their theses effectively. This is something that researchers sometimes find very difficult.”

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