Is it OK to wear sunglasses to a job interview and text on your phone the whole time? Or is it better to come dressed in nice clothes and shake hands with the interviewer while introducing yourself?

These and many other questions were posed to a group of about 30 Whitefish High School students watching mock job interviews during a soft skills training day last week put on by Montana Youth in Transition.

Program coordinator Mary DiBiase walked students through the important pieces of a job interview — be early, leave your phone at home, dress nicely and be ready to answer questions about yourself. Then she held two mock interviews designed to show what not to do and what to do at a job interview.

“Why didn’t June get the job,” she asked students, who responded with a long list of reasons, including wearing stained clothes, texting on her phone, and not being prepared to answer questions about herself. In the good example, the candidate made eye contact, was respectful and offered a good handshake.

“Make sure you don’t shake hands too hard — don’t hurt them,” DiBiase told students. “Shake three to four times and then you’re done.”

DiBiase asked for a student to join her at the front of the classroom and together they demonstrated a proper handshake. Then she told students to go around the room practicing.

Montana Youth in Transition, a public and private partnership, works to advance solutions for issues related to the transition from high school to adulthood for students with disabilities. The group notes that employment is a major component of leading a happy and productive adult life, yet, many youth with disabilities are not taught these skills.

“It’s a cooperative effort between youth, family and professionals to help transition youth into adulthood,” said June Hermanson, director of Montana Youth in Transition. She noted that in addition to the soft skills curriculum, the group provides information for parents, youth and educators about available transition services and resources.

During the day-long training session at WHS, students learned the soft skills related to getting and keeping a job — how to prepare a resume, how to act during an interview, how to effectively communicate with co-workers, customers and a manger, and for those with a disability how to ask for the accommodations they might need to do their job.

“We want them to know how to communicate effectively,” DiBiase explained afterward. “We want them to know that a lack of people skills could mean losing their job. So much of what we’re taking about is just manners.”

WHS was the first school selected in the Flathead and Missoula valleys to participate in the launch. A group of students went through a one-day session, and teachers and staff were also trained to facilitate the program.

Teacher Christian Bitterauf helped bring the program to WHS with the goal of introducing it to not just students with disabilities, but to all students. Bitterauf will continue to expand on the soft skills lessons students began working on during the one-day session.

“About 85 percent of our kids need to work on these skills,” Bitterauf said. “We want to teach them what they need to do. We are looking for more opportunities to make sure students are ready for career and college, and this aligns with that.”

For more information, visit www.montanayouthtransitions.org