Employers: Interested in Being a Guest Speaker or Mock Interviewer for Our SAP Students?
Looking for SAP talent? If you are interested in being a guest speaker or mock interviewer, it could be a way to meet SAP-trained veterans and transitioning service members before they finish their program. This guide for SAP guest speaker employers, from St. Michael's Learning Academy (SMLA), explains what a guest speaker session could involve, how a mock interview could work, how to tell us you are interested and what to prepare. Ask us whether sessions are scheduled, and we will follow up. There is no placement pitch here.
Where are you: this post is for employers and hiring managers
This post is written for people on the hiring side of the table. Find yourself below.
- A hiring manager or team lead who wants to hire veterans with SAP skills and needs people with SAP knowledge and wants to see how candidates think before a formal interview.
- A recruiter or talent acquisition partner who wants to understand what SAP-trained veterans bring and how to talk to them.
- An SAP practitioner or consultant who can explain what the work looks like day to day.
- A leader of a veteran employee group at your organization who wants to give back and build connections.
If you are a student or a prospective student rather than an employer, this post is not your starting point. Our other October posts cover funding, class schedules and exam day, and an advisor can help you sort out where to begin.
Read the real benefits of hiring veterans →Who you would meet, in one paragraph
SMLA provides students with training and certifications in high demand professions including SAP, Project Management, CompTIA, Microsoft, and Lean Six Sigma. Our primary population is military. You can read about SAP's software at SAP S/4HANA.
Learn about the SAP Veterans to Work program →What sap guest speaker employers could do
The short version: tell us you are interested and, if a session is scheduled, you would introduce your organization and the work you do, and take questions. The rest of this post fills in the details.
Guest speaker sessions: what you could present
Ask us whether guest speaker sessions are scheduled, and we will follow up with session details. In a session, you would:
- Introduce your organization. Who you are, what you do and where SAP fits in your operations.
- Describe upcoming projects. What kind of SAP work your teams are doing or planning, in terms candidates can picture.
- Explain the roles. What the jobs are called, what a typical week looks like and how people grow in them.
- Take questions. Candidates may ask practical questions about the work, the tools and how to prepare. Leave plenty of time.
You do not need a polished keynote. Plain, specific answers are easier to learn from than a marketing presentation. If you are presenting virtually, test your audio and screen sharing before the session starts.
One simple structure: a few minutes on who you are, a few minutes on a real project, a few minutes on the roles you hire for, and the rest of the session for questions. Adjust it to your style. The goal is that candidates leave knowing what your organization does with SAP and what it would take to work there.
See the SAP Veterans to Work volunteer page →Mock interviews: how they can run
A mock interview is another way you could help. In a mock interview, an employer runs a practice interview with a candidate and gives feedback. It would be practice for the candidate and a preview for you. Ask us whether mock interviews are scheduled, and we will follow up with the details.
What you could expect as an interviewer:
- You interview as you normally would, with the kinds of questions you ask in real interviews for SAP-related roles.
- You give feedback after each interview: what worked, what to tighten, what a real hiring manager would want to hear.
Feedback is a key part of a mock interview for candidates. Honest, specific notes help more than general encouragement.
Giving feedback that helps
A few habits make your feedback far more useful to a candidate:
- Name one strength and one fix. A short, clear list is easier to act on than a long critique.
- Point to the exact moment. For example, saying 'Your answer about inventory counts was strong until you skipped the result' teaches more than 'be more specific.'
- Translate military language. Candidates may describe their experience in unit terms. Tell them how a civilian hiring manager would phrase the same work. If a candidate mentions a military job code you do not recognize, the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, offers a Military Crosswalk Search in O*NET OnLine that lets you look up codes and titles from the Military Occupational Classification (MOC) and see related civilian occupations: O*NET Military Crosswalk.
- Ask what an unfamiliar term means. If a candidate uses an acronym you do not know, ask. Explaining it in plain words is good practice for a real interview.
- Say what you would ask next. Hearing the follow-up question you had in mind shows a candidate where the answer fell short.
- Be direct and kind. Candidates in a mock interview are there to practice.
How to tell us you want to take part
To offer your time as a guest speaker or mock interviewer:
- Request info or call 713-977-0566. Say you are an employer who wants to volunteer.
- Tell an advisor what you can offer: your organization, the kind of SAP work your teams do and how much time you can give.
- We follow up to let you know whether sessions are scheduled and what would fit.
What to prepare, and what not to bring
Prepare:
- A short overview of your organization and where SAP fits in it.
- One or two examples of real SAP work your teams do, described in plain terms.
- The job titles and skills you actually hire for.
- For mock interviews, a few questions you ask in real interviews, plus a note on what a strong answer sounds like.
- For virtual sessions, a working camera, microphone and connection.
Do not bring:
- Confidential information. Keep slides and examples at a level you would share publicly.
- A hard recruiting pitch. Candidates respond to honesty about the work, not a sales presentation.
- Promises. Do not suggest a job offer or a hiring commitment during a session. Any hiring conversation that follows is between you and the candidate.
- Readable proprietary screens. If you show system screens, use sample data.
What a session could give employers
Outcome stories belong to our graduates, and they tell them on our testimonials page.
What we can describe is what a session could give an employer:
- An early look at candidates. You would meet people while they are still training.
- A sense of the training. You would see what candidates are learning and how they talk about SAP processes.
- Practice for your own interviewing. A mock interview would let you test questions in a low-stakes setting.
- A connection to a veteran talent community. If you are building an SAP talent pipeline in Houston or elsewhere, familiarity matters. You could become a familiar name to candidates who are about to start their search.
If you want to connect with other organizations that use SAP, the Americas' SAP Users' Group (ASUG) is a large user community that is independent of SAP: ASUG.
See how SMLA works with corporate partners →Frequently Asked Questions
Q1 What would a guest speaker do?
Q2 What is a mock interview?
Q3 Should I make job offers during a session?
Q4 How do I sign up?
Request info to volunteer
If you can give some time, we would like to hear from you. Request info and tell us you are an employer who wants to be a guest speaker or mock interviewer, and ask whether sessions are scheduled. We will follow up.
Or call 713-977-0566
