School admin assistant interview - so nervous!

[shellby28]

So I have an interview next week for a role as a school admin assistant and I am absolutely terrified!

I have lots of experience in SIMS and safeguarding, just not in a school setting. Does anyone have any advice as to what interview questions might come up or anything I should swot up on?

Thanks!

Hurrah. What questions did they ask out of interest?

Congratulations.

@shellby28 @PicaK , yes, could i please ask also what the practical tests were? Word or excel or both?

Thanks everyone!

I didnt have a practical test but was asked how I would do a mail merge and create a spreadsheet.

Question wise, I had a few "tell me a time when..." style questions. One was about a time where I have planned a project from start to finish and what steps I took. I was asked about safeguarding and about when there has been a communication barrier, how I have worked around it.

Overall, very nice interview experience, made better by actually getting the job!

I assume the practicals have gone out the window due to covid, no sharing laptops/stationary

@shellby28 . That is very interesting

We are still word and excel testing all our candidates all through Covid , with sterilising measures in place.

Can you please advise on the safeguarding communication barrier to which you refer?

I've only just stumbled upon this thread -well done OP. You had some great advice here. I work in a school as support staff, its fabulous.

"I assume the practicals have gone out the window due to covid, no sharing laptops/stationary"

"No, schools are still doing practicals" with social distancing and sterilisation of equipment.

I have attended interview practicals using shared sch interview laptops in June, July and Sept and work in a sch. Very strange your experience. All equipment sterilised for each task.

Schs are still doing practicals
I can assure you. They
need the appropriate staff and those staff will be tested accordingly.

@shellby28 " I had a few "tell me a time when..." style questions. One was about a time where I have planned a project from start to finish and what steps I took"

Can you tell us about the steps you took? "

@shellby28 could you please talk us through your mail merge?

@fmlagain

I have an interview for a school admin officer I haven't had an interview in 14 years and only had the 1. I am really scared to the point it's causing me severe anxiety and I feel sick. Someone please help 😫 I freeze and my mind goes blank when I am asked anything. I am scared of not getting this job as its really important for me that I am successful. Someone please calm me down. Feel like I am gonna fail so bad

When's your interview?

@fmlagain try to be positive. You've got an interview so they must believe you have what they need for the role.
I assume they will ask you for examples of things you have done. Try to organise your thoughts into1. What the situation was ( eg I was working in an office on a busy day ) 2. What the objective was ( eg I needed to send a letter to all our customers by 4pm) 3 What action you took ( eg I organised the printing and split the stuffing of envelopes into batches and asked others to help) 4 Result ( eg they were all complete by 3.30pm)

The most important thing to do is to engage with the interviewer, so chin up shoulders back and smile

Good luck