The Virginia Employment Commission held a workshop Friday to help unemployed people in the area sharpen their interview skills.

Several people attended the class, many of whom had not needed to apply for a job in several years and who wanted to refresh their skills.

The workshop leader went over basic interview etiquette and several common interview questions.

The VEC said it hopes, in this time of high unemployment, sharpening interview skills will give people a leg-up on the competition.

"Their competition is fierce right now with different job openings, so we're trying to give them an edge maybe on someone else that is interviewing during that same time," says Michelle Burnett of VEC.

Here are some of the tips that attendees learned at the workshop:

- To decrease your anxiety, plan what you are going to wear the day before.
- Take a map of the area in case you get lost driving to the interview.
- Bring extra copies of your resume to the interview for you and your interviewer, just in case.
- Come prepared with a legal pad full of questions about the company so you can show you are enthusiastic about the job as well as prepared.