**DFW Weekend Chat Thread**12/04/08

LouiseJ

I am starting to get really worried about this job interview on Tuesday and have just realised I have never had a job interview in my life!! Always managed to get offered work without interview up to now.

I have no idea what to wear, say or how to behave. I know two out of the three on the interview panel and dont know if thats better or worse. HELP!

smashedbooboo

Stop fretting hun. What job is it for. x

penguin83

Hey Louise - dont worry bout your interview you will be fine.

Remember to take your time, maintain eye contact and smile. The interviewers will be aware that people are nervous so dont worry about a shaky voice or anything.

The other thing remember to accept the glass of water they offer you - I didnt and I was so nervous my mouth went that dry that I couldnt talk - had to stop the interview to say 'actually think I will have that glass of water!'

Just be yourself and you will be fine x x x x

LouiseJ

The interview is for an internal post in the college I teach at and is for a 0.5 permanent contract. For the past 7 years I have been teaching on a hourly paid basis which means if I am not teaching then I dont get paid.

I get all of the school/college holidays but dont get paid in them. This job would be a massive cut in my hourly rate but I will get paid holidays and less travelling as at the minute there is alot of backwards and forwards due to working at different college sites, o overall I think I will balance itself out.

I know I have the correct qualifications teaching wise but my specialist area is accountancy and I have very little qualifications in IT. I have taught some of the courses that the IT department offer but I know some of them will be new to me. I just dont know what type of questions they are going to ask, letter says half hour interview:eek: .

poorandindenial

Just typed a long post for office type work but might be less relevant now I know you teach (I know nothing about it), mind you some of it might be helpful so here it is anyway:

I interview loads of people for all sorts of weird and wonderful office based roles but across quite a spectrum from PAs to case handlers to analysts and coordinators or project officers and there are some things that tend to hold true for all interviews (well all interviews for office jobs that is and probably not unhelpful for lots of other jobs)

1) be prepared for the why do you want to work here question. There is nothing worse than soemone who can't succinctly tell you what qualifies them for the role and why they want to work for your organisation in that role. Also be prepared to tailor the answer - sometimes you will get a 'what qualifies you for the role?' followed by a 'what do you know about this organisation?'

2) Have examples to hand. You will get asked about when you have solved problems and you need to choose a couple of relevant examples and think about the different ways you might need to cut them

3) you will also generally get asked how well you work in a team - have examples of you supporting others and also asking others for support, recognising that this is two way gets you brownie points (or it does when I interview) but sounding like the know it all or the dependant child doesn't so you need to get the balance about right.

4) there will also usually be one about prioritisation and time/work management and coping under pressure.

Then there will be some questions that are specific to the role that will focus on key skills or areas(see the personal spec for predicting these); these areas could be customer service, analytical skills, report writing or other comms, diary management and admin systems etc.

For all of these if you are sounding to glossy you will be asked a 'and what have you learned?' or 'what would you do differently next time?' - be prepared for this and have a nice eg ofr each of the answers you prepare above.

(I second what Penguin said, being nervous is not a show stopper, you are expected to be nervous and the panel should hopefully try to put you at ease, just try to relax as much as possible. If you don't 'get' a question, ask them to repeat rather than trying to answer what you might or might not have heard)

penguin83

Is there a teachers forum anywhere - you could maybe ask people what sort of questions they were asked in their interviews?

I was asked questions based on my application form - I had to give examples of a time where I had displayed leadership, conflict, team building etc on my application so the interview just went into more detail on that. x x

LouiseJ

Thanks guys, you are stars. I think I will have another good look at my application form as I printed off two copies and do a bit of research into the courses I am unsure of. I will just smile and bulls.hit the rest:rotfl:

I only have one suit and it was cheap and looks it, cant afford a new one by Tuesday tho, will have to go through my pathetic wardrobe and see if I have anything remotely suitable.

Burlesque_Babe

have lots of examples about your experience - think of something relevant that has gone particularly well, something which you are proud of, something about how you are good at organising your time/work load.

I would wear a simple, smart jacket and skirt/trousers.

Bunnyinthelights

Evening all!
I'm shattered-long day after a very long night-OH got called out 4 times last night and it always disturbs my sleep (sorry-dont mean that to sound heartless, he is totally SHATTERED!) and then was up at half 6 because I was coughing so much. Cooked a lovely meal for the outlaws and ready to go to bed now...

LouiseJ

Bunnyinthelights wrote: »

Evening all!
I'm shattered-long day after a very long night-OH got called out 4 times last night and it always disturbs my sleep (sorry-dont mean that to sound heartless, he is totally SHATTERED!) and then was up at half 6 because I was coughing so much. Cooked a lovely meal for the outlaws and ready to go to bed now...

Entertaining the outlaws is draining, well it is for me anyway. Only have MIL as lost FIL last year:sad: but she does my head in. And I dont think she likes me too much either.