Interviewer: So tell me all about yourself…

Me: Do you mind if I don’t? It’s just that I really want this job….

So, at some point in the coming months it will come down to that interview with a Principal/Director that you don’t know and we have all felt that creeping fear of hoping that the answers that we blurt out will somehow be the very ones that the interview panel are looking for. The Internet is of course awash with thousands of exemplar questions and you are very free to crib them all and over several sleepless nights commit them to memory. You might of course then oversleep and miss the interview but at least they won’t catch you out with a tricky question!

Over many years of interviewing candidates for teaching and school jobs all over the world, I think one can simplify things yet further with proper preparation rather than trying to be something that you are not (yet). For me, a candidate who knows who they are, what they believe in and an understanding of why they are both good at their work and how they would fit in to our school will invariably always be among the favourites. I also think most of the salient questions fall in to just a few broad categories and if you reflect upon these, there will be very little you can’t answer honestly and coherently (also slightly important!)

Why do you want to be at our school? (What is driving you to leave your home? Is this part of a longer term plan or are you just testing the water? Have you really researched the school? Will this move help you to grow and develop? Does the ethos tie in with your own? Have you considered fully the change in culture/language/familiarity?)

What makes you a great teacher? (Think about the effect you had at your last school. What was it that made you the teacher you say you are? What would previous school communities say about you? What about your subject or the grade you teach, do you have both the drive and skill to make a difference? What about evaluating students’ progress? Did they do well? How do you know?)

…and what do you need to improve upon? (This tests real reflection so think honestly about things that could do with refinement. Minus marks for any response saying you are ‘too much of a perfectionist’ or ‘care too much’).

What is your philosophy of education? (This is a big one. What do you really believe in as a teacher? Why do you want to be a teacher? What about how you manage your classes/behaviour? How do you liaise with parents and colleagues? What about Assessing students’ work? Is running enrichment clubs something essential to you? Is working extra hours something you do? What about how you use technology in the classroom? Just think carefully about what you think a teacher should be like)

The above is a pretty good start and a candidate that has really reflected on these will give themselves a fighting chance in being able to answer most questions organically in an interview. Please don’t follow the example of one interviewee I had who, as well as not knowing which curriculum we followed in school was nevertheless keen to show me his detailed research on all the various flights and connections that served our European hub to prove he was ‘serious about the job’!

Do let us know at 49 Thirty two.com if the above are helpful and of course we can always give you a little more support if you let us know….