It's this primary or secondary? Have you done much supply work? If not, I'd recommended it as a way to honing your skills - I did 2 lots of 18 months and felt my confidence about waking into unfamiliar classes increase - you also get to pick up lesson plans left my absent teachers (of you're lucky) and get to try out new ideas of your own - you also learn to think fast and make quick decisions and learn how to make things work. I agree, think it can be argued that it's a very unreliable way to appoint teachers - I've certainly been at interviews where other candidates have had lesson plans worked on my others - teachers from previous schools or from their training institution. Many times you will see that one candidate is known to the school already (though supply work or having trained there for example) and you may rightly or wrongly suspect that you are just there to make up the numbers - this, IME, does happen. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself - in teaching and in the many other fields of work that I have worked in (I had 9 jobs in 16 years at one point when engineering jobs were insecure but highly paid) I came to think that it took about 6 interviews (worst case) to get better at the interview process and land a job offer. I don't know about you but if I think about some of the best lessons I've taught they came from matching my personal strengths and interests to the lesson and by working, from first principles, from the national curriculum, and using my own imagination to do exactly what I thought would work best - these great lessons didn't come from finding or adapting lessons from other resources - "memorable" would be a keyword high up in my list of things that might influence the design of my best lessons. However, having said this, I do disagree somewhat, not totally, with the idea that you should see yourself, and students should see you, as a circus entertainer - once you are in a job you make a fuss for your own back if you try to do outstanding, memorable lessons - every lesson, every day, week in week out - I do think schools tend to build up these lesson observations for interviews so the students expect something special. It's impossible to fully second guess what schools are looking for - some evidence, in a stressful interview situation, that you are paying attention to the students in the class - their behaviour, their questions, their learning needs (picking up on basis on their knowledge, misunderstandings, etc) - that you are quick enough on your feet to address issues in all these areas - instead of blindly, naively ploughing on with your lesson plan. These are only my opinions - we've all had different experiences at interview, doing supply and writing full time - it's lovely having your class or classes (I've taught full time in primary, secondary and worked as a private tutor (for 12 years) teaching A-level maths, chemistry, physics and the biochemistry parts of biology, as well as many other GCSE's) but supply work can be a great option - depends on your financial situation mainly. I hope you get some more replies! It's a totally insane way to earn a living. Personally, I'd suggest you try private tuition - maybe do some supply work too - a full time job IMHO is not the be all and end all if you want to teach. There is no end of demand for private tuition - work for yourself, with the hours you want to work, yeah what you want to teach, teach the way you want to teach. I went from primary teaching 13 subjects to only teaching one - neither there primary of the secondary environment offer very much scope for you to blossom as a teacher - I have many interests - I wanted to bring them all into my teaching - primary was great for me as a musician and with many artistic interests, secondary was stifling - private tuition allowed me to do all the things I wanted to do as a teacher.