Help, 1st interview in 6 years

[mrsmummy]

have an interview for a part time school office job next thursday and panic has already set in!haven't worked since 2002(previously clerical role for BT for 18 years), my confidence is rock bottam.the letter states tasks and interview - what sort of tasks??? and what are they likely to ask me in the interview?am seriously thinking of not going which is nuts as the job would be ideal - 10 hrs a day so i could still drop off/pick up from school.Anyone help??

[Bessie123]

They're not going to ask you to do anything you shouldn't already be able to do; maybe they will ask you to do a typing test or do some filing or do a role play on the telephone - it won't be brain surgery and you will definitely be fine.

Good luck.

[WaynettaSlob]

Congratulations on getting the interview!!!

Two things I need to know:

1. what does the job entail
   
2. what exactly does the letter say?
   
   (And by the way, you are an accomplished experienced mother, and trust me, anything is a doddle after that! Start making a list of all the things you do in your day to day, and put a spin on them. For example:
   getting kids to and from school = time management
   stopping them from tearing each other apart - conflict management
   Also 2002 wasn't that long ago, so you have been out of work for 5 of the past 23 years, and in work for 18 of the past 23 years.
   Think positive!!!!!

[mrsmummy]

hi thnaks for replying, the job is assitant admin officer and i know i can do it, but 5 years is a long time to me! Job entails general clerical skills/numerate/literacy skills, able to use basic office eqipment - photocopier etc, basic pc skills, abililty to relate to childrenand adults.
what are they likely to ask me? tasks?? dismantle a photocopier??.also how basic do they expect the pc skilss to be?? have used excel and word but nver set up spreadsheets and it all seems such a long time ago! -

[twotimestrouble]

Typical questions that might appear in the interview:

What made you apply for this role?
What skills do you think you bring to the job?
What experience do you have of administrative work?
What do you know about the school?
How familiar are you with word and excel (and maybe powerpoint)?
How do you prioritise?
What have you done during your careers break)?
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
How have you kept up to date with latest technology etc?

I have interviewed loads of people as a senior manager (and I am also a professional careers consultant) and it is a complete truism that people form their opinions in the first minute. So it is important to be enthusiastic and confident from the start.

Can I also say, that even though this is a school try to think of work related examples during your career break. Unfortunately the multitude of skills we use when managing the family are not that highly valued be employers (even if they damn well should be). So have you been on a school committee, run a playgroup, taken a course, done any charity stuff that you can use? It's good to mention what waynetta said but you need some vocational examples as well.

My advice, do a few sample interviews with family before the real one. Get them to throw loads of questions at you so you don't get caught out and it'll also build up your confidence. Make sure your answers use tangible examples that stick in their heads.

So: How do you prioritise? I keep a diary.
Instead something like... "Well each morning I look through my list of tasks and highlight urgent ones. I deal with these first then systematically go through my in-tray ensuring that nothing has been in there longer than a day. If a task is given to me during the day and I think I am unable to make the deadline, I ensure that I inform the person in good time to discuss whether it can be delayed, if not I reprioritise etc etc."

I know it's blindingly obvious but it shows you have a system and have thought things through.

The truth is that I doubt the interview will be very rigorous. What you might also want to do is to learn how to do a spreadsheet (they are a doddle) and practise loads on your computer before Thursday. Good luck.