America On Tech’s Annual Interview Prep Professional Development Week Is In the Books!

AOT’s first Professional Development Week of 2023 is officially in the books! Last week we brought together 102 volunteers from five companies in New York City and Los Angeles to provide hands-on interview preparation workshops for 283 high school students.

Every February, AOT hosts a week-long series of Interview Professional Development Week workshops for students enrolled in our year-long Tech Flex Leaders Program. These workshops pair students with working professionals in technology and tech adjacent fields to build a professional narrative and practice their interview skills, which will help them secure internships and employment opportunities in the future. ​

AOT students had this to say about their experiences:

"I liked how [this workshop] prepared me more because I did not know that I needed help for interviews. Now I feel prepared and like I can do this!" - Brandon T
"I really liked how well the volunteers not only taught us what we should and shouldn't do but [they] helped put us in a confident mindset" - Sheila B
"The experience taught me a lot. I received a lot of feedback and now I know how to approach an interview and be more prepared for one" - Kelly A

AOT’s Interview Professional Development Week workshops are designed to complement our annual Resume Professional Development Week workshops held in December to give AOT students the full set of tools and knowledge they need to secure a meaningful job or internship once they graduate from our programs. Students that successfully secure an internship are also invited to attend AOT’s 3 day Internship Bootcamp workshop series in June to ensure that they are prepared to move seamlessly into the professional world.

For this event, AOT recruited 102 volunteers from our corporate partners at Capital One, Citi, FactSet, PwC, and TikTok to offer their skills and expertise to our students. Here is what some of our volunteers had to say:
 "Loved that the students were prepared in terms of knowing what they are passionate about, internships they think of applying for, and they sure know what their passion/strengths are!" - Katherine Ramirez Perez, Factset
"I liked the structure of the session. I liked how the students had a way to clearly organize their thoughts before speaking and tools to prepare. I also appreciated the resources for the volunteers so we know what the students are looking at so we can better meet their level when working through the exercises." - Owen Brahms, Factset

In total, 175 students in our New York City programs and 108 students in Los Angeles participated in this event. Thanks again to all of our fantastic volunteers and corporate partners for helping support our young people!

If you or your company is interested in volunteering in an AOT workshop, reach out to AOT’s Director of Development Stan Smith (stanley@americaontech.org) and we will be in touch!