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Tim Post
St. Paul, Minn.

STEP-UP helps students prep for job interviews

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About 1,800 students from across Minneapolis will be participating in mock job interviews this week at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The young people are interns in the city's STEP-UP youth employment program.

STEP-UP was created in 2004 and partners with local businesses to provide work experience to city students between the ages of 14 and 21. Program staff member Amy Shapiro says the exercise is designed to give young people a sense of what they'll need for future job interviews.

"All of the interns go through a job interview, a mock interview. And then we ask our volunteers to really model their own professionalism and provide candid feedback. So the interns can feel more confident and really strengthen their interviewing skills," she said.

The volunteers who conduct the interviews are employed by more than a dozen large corporations such as Target, Best Buy and Medtronic. Shapiro said more than 90 percent of participants in the program are students of color.