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23 May 2025 | Story Lilitha Dingwayo | Photo Lunga Luthuli
Mock Interview
UFS students shine with confidence at the 2025 Mock Interview Day, ready for career success.

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

PwC invests in student potential at UFS
2017-02-28

Description:PwC invests in student potential  Tags: PwC invests in student potential  longdesc=

From the left are: Cassius Coetzee, Marketing
Manager at PwC, Mbalentle Mdange and
Clementine Molaeng, both accounting students
at the UFS, and Belinda Janeke from the Career
Development Office at the UFS.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

Corporate Bloemfontein has made it its mission to invest in the potential of students, which is exactly what PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) set out to do with its competition for accounting students.

PwC to join UFS Career Fair in 2017

The Career Development Office at the University of the Free State (UFS), in partnership with PwC, held a competition in which students had the opportunity to win book vouchers.

Cassius Coetzee, marketing manager at PwC, did the handover at the UFS which saw Mbalentle Mdange and Clementine Molaeng each walk away with book vouchers to the value of R1500, as well as goodie bags from the Career Development Office.

Belinda Janeke from the Career Development Office said it was always a pleasure working with the PwC team and said they would be joining the UFS Career Fair later this year.

Corporate companies and the community

Vicky Simpson, from the Department of Institutional Advancement, said there were businesses and organisations that believed in making a difference in the lives of students. “We commend each of them for their passion and enthusiasm. Collaboration is the key to the success of our community. People matter to us and even more so, the important role we play within our community.”

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