How can I be more confident in interviews?

You are a great teacher and you are confident in your abilities, but what do you do with the dreaded interview fear? Are there ways to get past this and shine in your teaching job interview? Of course there are and I am here to help you.

Develop self-compassion and improving your self-talk

So many of my clients come out of an interview and do a postmortem of it! They berate themselves for the bits they slipped up in or couldn’t answer well and focus mostly on that. Try refrain from doing that by distracting yourself after an interview and take the time to do something that relaxes you before your interview. Getting to your interview location early and taking a short walk to get some of the nerves out, can be a great help. As you are walking, visualise the interview going really well and concentrate on keeping your breathing relaxed and under control. You have been called to this interview for a reason. They have chosen you out of many applications and these are your future colleagues. They already like you and now you just have to show them that they are making the right choice by hiring you for the job.

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

Make the most of your documentation

Getting your Standard Application Form, Cover Letter and CV right, can give you confidence as you will have done all you can on paper. You will have given your potential employer a good indication of your abilities, work history and also, who you are as a person. If you are called to interview on the back of your documentation, it means that they are already impressed with you. That should make you feel more confident already.

Identify your strengths

Get a good understanding of your skills and attributes that make you shine as a teacher. Sit with a friend or colleague and let them tell you what is so great about you! Forget modesty here, this list will give you information about yourself that you can share at an interview. If you are good at something, tell them! How else are they going to know if it does not come from you.

Read 3 strengths that are overused in teaching interviews here.

Practise your answers

We practice and revise for exams or performances all the time. An interview is a test and you can practice for this too. Take the time to do mock interview preparation with a friend, colleague or a professional coach to increase your confidence. This practice will show you how prepared you are and will also show up anything that you need to prepare better for. It is well worth recording yourself or asking a friend if there are certain things that they observe that make you come across as nervous. Perhaps you fidget or move around and this adds to your nervous energy. Facing this and practicing to eliminate these habits will make you feel much better about an upcoming interview.

Check out Interview questions for leadership roles in education here.

FREE Download: 50 key questions to ask yourself before you prepare your job application for Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal and Principal roles in education - Click here to download.

Realise that interviewers are people too!

You are being interviewed by people who have walked in your shoes themselves. Even if they don’t show it sometimes, they understand your nerves and they are there to help you. They need someone to fill a role in their school and they just now need to have a chat with you to see if you are the right person to complete their team. You could be that person, isn’t that exciting?

Learn more about Interview Confidence Coaching with me here.