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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Awful interview today!

29 replies

teacher582 · 19/07/2023 17:35

I know there is an education board on mumsnet, but posting here for traffic sorry.

I had an interview today and I’m not sure how I feel. It’s the first interview I went to for a long long time. I’ve been doing supply so not completely out of the loop when it comes to education.

It was a little “different”. For starters, I did the lesson to members of staff rather than the kids which I really wasn’t expecting. I prepared a slideshow which they didn’t want to see as they wanted me to “run through the lesson as I would with kids”. I was really finding it difficult tbh.

I don’t feel I did very well at all. It was so awkward and difficult! I find it so much easier to engage with kids rather than a fake lesson.

I don’t know what I’m looking for by posting this but I feel my confidence has taken a knock as interviewer was asking me “would you be teaching the kids like you are now? Would you have notes in your hand?”. Of course I wouldn’t do any of this.

OP posts:
24Dogcuddler · 19/07/2023 17:42

That sounds unusual and must have been off putting. I don’t see how they could tell how you would be in a class, behaviour management, use of questioning etc.
Don’t let it knock your confidence. Put it down to experience and move on.
If they didn’t want to see you interact with and teach children maybe you have had a narrow escape.

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 17:46

@24Dogcuddler thank you. It was a special needs school maybe that’s why. But even still they can’t see my teaching ability from what I did today. It was awful! I keep getting flashbacks of holding the printout of my slideshow! If I was allowed to use the slideshow it would have been easier as my mind just went blank. I must have come across as such a rubbish teacher but I know I’m not as bad as they saw.

OP posts:
24Dogcuddler · 19/07/2023 17:53

Nothing to do with special ed. Majority of my teaching career was in special.
Really not good they made you feel like that sounds like a terrible experience.
Hopefully the memory will fade and be replaced by more positive experiences.
Did they even look at what you prepared/ lesson plan etc?

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 18:00

They looked at lesson plans but I feel if I had the chance to teach the kids it would have been amazing as the first part of the lesson was very hands on. It just didn’t work with me “running through” it.

OP posts:
24Dogcuddler · 19/07/2023 18:09

Really don’t think I’ve come across this before. I wonder if they did have a class lined up and something happened like a child going in to crisis? If so you’d have thought they’d have said.

Soozikinzii · 19/07/2023 18:38

I was a SEN teacher many years . I would've heated to do this . That's really difficult and not really related to your teaching ability. Please don't be put off by such a ridiculous idea .

Soozikinzii · 19/07/2023 18:39

Hated obviously not heated !

THisbackwithavengeance · 19/07/2023 18:42

You know what OP. I've gone into interviews made a twat of it and somehow got the job and conversely came out beaming cos I felt I did so well and then not got it. You never know. Sounds like they were really putting you on the spot and you still got up and performed. So don't write it off just yet.

HappyHolidays22 · 19/07/2023 18:45

Don’t let it knock your confidence OP. Just chalk it up to experience and maybe make a note of what you would do differently next time - just in case that ever happens again. For me, if it happens again I would be prepared to really politely say ‘goodness that’s not what I was expecting to have to teach members of staff - bear with me on this one. I’ll try to pretend you’re the kids but might not feel quite right’… something like that just to set your stall out that it definitely isn’t the same thing!

anyway, relax. What’s done is done, might be a blessing in disguise if you don’t get the job as it sounds a little odd.

HappyHolidays22 · 19/07/2023 18:45

Also agree with PP - you never know! You may have done better than you thought.

JudgeRudy · 19/07/2023 18:47

teacher582 · 19/07/2023 17:35

I know there is an education board on mumsnet, but posting here for traffic sorry.

I had an interview today and I’m not sure how I feel. It’s the first interview I went to for a long long time. I’ve been doing supply so not completely out of the loop when it comes to education.

It was a little “different”. For starters, I did the lesson to members of staff rather than the kids which I really wasn’t expecting. I prepared a slideshow which they didn’t want to see as they wanted me to “run through the lesson as I would with kids”. I was really finding it difficult tbh.

I don’t feel I did very well at all. It was so awkward and difficult! I find it so much easier to engage with kids rather than a fake lesson.

I don’t know what I’m looking for by posting this but I feel my confidence has taken a knock as interviewer was asking me “would you be teaching the kids like you are now? Would you have notes in your hand?”. Of course I wouldn’t do any of this.

Don't assume the worst. I had a bad interview for a teaching post ....it was over MSTeams and l accidentally clicked on my YouTube history and shared 'Mr Pimple Popper' instead of a pic of the Mona Lisa! I owned it though and 'took the shame' and was offered the job. I did joke I was probably the only applicant!
My current job interview, my button popped off my trousers and they were falling down as I wrote on the board. 10 mins later the fire alarm went off and I was scuttling along hanging onto my trousers!

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 18:55

Thank you everyone. A few more weird things happened. She asked me what my contracted hours were (8:30-3:30) as I’m a supply and she was shocked! She asked if I go home then which I replied I do but it doesn’t mean my job stood there! I’m up till late after my kids go to bed planning and barking work and responding to Emails. She said I would have to stay till 5:30 there as it’s policy. No teacher I know doesn’t work till late in the evening. That’s another thing that I didn’t like. I’ve run my department in the past and I was made to feel I can’t be trusted to work at home.

OP posts:
Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 18:56

Oops sorry for typos!

OP posts:
AHugeTinyMistake · 19/07/2023 18:58

5:30 🤣🤣🤣

They're having a laugh

Do you really want this job OP? It sounds a very rigid and odd place to work.

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 19:01

I just found it really horrible. I was clutching my PowerPoint printout and she asked what I be doing that if I was teaching the kids! 😂

OP posts:
PensionPuzzle · 19/07/2023 19:05

Is it somewhere that's an 'independent' special school? Been set up by people that mean well/think they know what they are doing/think they are being edgy and quirky?
Just sounds really off and not best recruitment practice (or working time-1265 anyone?). I think I'd run a mile tbh. I've worked in (local authority) special and we never ever did any recruitment like that, for any post. Nor did we follow anything other than a fairly normal school calendar, we did more after school duties because of taxi transport but we still fell within 1265.

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 19:13

It’s really silly as I have no idea what the kids are like and they won’t see my teaching till it’s too late and I’ve signed a contract! I really didn’t like it

OP posts:
Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 19:16

I kind of thought it was done like that as they didn’t know how the kids would react to a stranger. Is that not the reason?

OP posts:
LittleMachine · 19/07/2023 19:18

I teach in an SEN school and think this is unusual.
I honestly think that interviews show if a job would be a good fit from your point of view as well as the school's. Maybe you have had a lucky escape!

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 20:22

Thank you everyone. I don’t want to work there even if I do get it I don’t think I want to work in a place like that

OP posts:
PensionPuzzle · 19/07/2023 20:30

When i had my interview in SEN I didn't teach, I went into a class as an extra TA and was observed interacting etc. More questions about T&L in my interview than normal and I also later discovered there was quite a focus on that in the referencing questions. So they hadn't seen me teach either but they had a good idea based on all that together. It was an autism and SEMH school so it made sense not to chuck me in to teach but that's still a long way from teaching a class of adults which is just all round weird.

Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 20:32

@PensionPuzzle that founds ideal, I really would have liked that. I didn’t even get to see one child or classroom. It was strange.

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Original poster
teacher582 · 19/07/2023 20:32

*sounds

OP posts:
VeterinaryCareAssistant · 19/07/2023 20:43

I had an interview like yours once. It was for teaching animal care. I had to prepare a presentation and some work for 15/16 year olds on an animal of my choice (I chose rabbits). But the "children" were the interviewers, who actually got their pens out and started doing the worksheets (!)

I also had to demonstrate to the same "children" how to do a health check on a cow (which didn't cooperate).

I didn't get the job (I blame the cow 😆)

mnahmnah · 19/07/2023 20:46

Trust your gut! If it doesn’t feel right, trust it. I have withdrawn from interviews in the past because I just got a bad feeling from the staff or school.