Teaching Interviews: What if I get the feeling that they didn’t like me?

The job-search can be a very daunting thing.

• You know that you are up against many other applicants, and you hope to be the one to be selected for that great teaching job.

• You have all the qualifications you need but feel that you may not have come across as well as you had hoped in your interview.

• You are already working in the school - but you know that your principal will base the job on your interview performance so you really want to impress.

• Was there something about the way you came across that lessened your chances of being selected?

• Did you imagine it? Can you learn from it?

Interview nerves and self-criticism

You may have already attended a few interviews or perhaps this is your first. Practice is everything and you CAN overcome crippling interview nerves through preparation and positive self talk.

Sometimes I notice that nerves make teachers come across as defensive and you are not giving a true impression of the real you. Perhaps you are overly critical of yourself and give yourself a hard time. If you are qualified and know that you would make a great addition to a school, be sure to sing your own praises and tell them why you are the right candidate for the job. Positive energy is such a lovely thing to give and receive and the interview room is no exception. In doing so, you will start to increase the positive energy within you and this will boost your confidence.

Read ‘5 things to do to avoid ruminating after an interview’ here.

Interviewers are people too, you know!

We all have our bad days. You may come away from an interview thinking that you were the reason for the air of discomfort in the room. Perhaps your interviewer had a horrible morning or was going through a rough time. It is easy to focus on ourselves as the subject of an interview but think…maybe it’s not you creating the bad atmosphere. These things happen and it may not be bad news for you.

Perhaps you need to modify a few aspects of your interview technique. Get advice.

Ask your family and friends to help you to identify if you possess certain character traits that add to a less than ideal first impression. Do you fidget, move around a lot in your chair? Do you get defensive when nervous? Have a good think about why you feel the interviewers were not so keen and see what you can change for the better next time.

Work with me

Here’s what Eoin had to say about working with me. “I placed first in the panel and got the job! Thanks Orla. I feel that our mock interview was informative and I got great pointers to counteract the fact that I was rusty after years not doing interviews. It was great to brainstorm and improve sample answers so that I honed my answers for my post-primary interview. Though we worked together for just 1 hour, it made a huge difference to my interview performance. I found your service very helpful. I would definitely recommend Interview Preparation Coaching with you to my fellow teachers”.
Eoin, Post primary teacher.

Get in touch with me here if you want to improve your interview technique and get feedback on your interview answers.