Job interview tomorrow - protocol

[Why2]

Hi

I am going to an interview tomorrow for a School Secretary position - I already work as a school administrator in a different school.

I have several questions - if they ask me what my strengths and weaknesses are - what’s a weakness that wouldn’t impact on that kind of job?

Also, the blurb says the salary is competitive based on experience - but the school can see what I currently earn from my application form.

Might they ask me how much money I “want” at the interview tomorrow, and how do I ask given that I don’t know what their upper and lower limits are? Also, the figure I do have in mind is quite a lot higher than the amount I currently earn - but I need to go for it if I can - however how would I justify it? I know my own reasons - I’m a single parent with three dc, but is this the kind of thing you would say in an interview?

Thanks a lot .

The filing weakness could be ok.

'I struggle to prioritise tasks such as filing as I am often required to undertake more pressing duties. However, in my current job i have overcome this by ....'

Thanks for the most recent messages, which I have only just seen.

I had the interview - it went okay I think, but of course I am now kicking myself about this and that which I thought I should have answered differently.

They asked the weaknesses question - I answered generically but they pressed further so I said something a bit more “real”. Hope it went down okay, and one of the interviewers said that to be fair most people struggle with that - how to balance long term tasks with firefighting... And that the school holidays when the staff are still in are the ideal times to catch up. They did ask me how I dealt with that difficulty or was planning to, and I did have an answer - whether they liked it or not I don’t know.

I did ask about the salary range - they asked me if I had any questions, I asked a couple of other ones, and then asked them what the salary range was as they hadn’t specified in the advert. Not sure if I shouldn’t have as they weren’t particularly voluble on the subject, but on the other hand I do think that at some stage the candidate should be given a rough idea, and it’s already a bit of a stretch to ask someone to come to an interview for a job that might conceivably pay less than they are currently earning, in the dark as it were. Which is what I did today.

They answered briefly and then left it at that - I had a tour of the school and did some easy computer tests.

So at least now I know what to aim for if they do take it further. And might be back on here to ask you all how to ask for as much as possible, and how to justify it 😂. (Thanks for the advice lordemsworth.). Haven’t got to that stage however, and might not so we’ll see.

Thanks for all the advice 😊.

We did have a long chat before before there was any mention of money, so I definitely wouldn’t have given the impression that I was just there for the money.

There are other questions I wish I had asked and I sent a thank you email which included a couple of them... It’s difficult to think of everything in the heat of the moment.

(Not sure why the emojis are so big ).

So they didn't give you the salary range? Your post is a little ambiguous on whether they answered or not?

I didn't get time to answer your question about your weaknesses, but I'd have said, that 'it can be hard to manage fire-fighting vs. less urgent tasks, so I address that by setting aside a half hour specifically for non-urgent admin, at 11am daily and this seems to help me stay organised - I have found that though some tasks are not urgent per se, it can save time in the long-run if you keep on top of organisation'.

That acknowledges the weakness, yet shows that you are organised and realise the importance of organisation in an admin role.

My weakness is similar - so I usually answer the question along the following lines 'I can tend to put less urgent tasks on the long finger, so I work best in deadline driven environments. I thrive under pressure.'

That's actually the truth.

Not useful to you this time but in future you should consider phoning in advance of submitting your application to ask about the salary range. I would always do this if it isn't listed - can save a lot of time on all sides. You can also ask some other question at the same time so not all about the money - and in doing this you can often find out bits of background info that you can use in your application.

@Notflyingfree

I also ring ahead if the salary range isn't specified. No point going for a job at 18k when you're on 32k now.

When you are told the salary range, check what you will actually receive if the post is not full-time.

Schools often state salaries as the full-time equivalent value, then adjust this pro-rata for both the reduced number of working hours per week, as a school day is shorter than an office-hours day, and the reduced number of weeks per year, which can make take-home pay significantly less than the "headline" figure.