Interview Failure

[TiredAndStressedOut]

I'm currently looking for a new job as we are moving house and my current school doesn't work for location and commuting.

I've applied for and have been shortlisted for a couple. I've attended the interviews and didn't get the jobs because of them being given to internal candidates or more experienced (currently an NQT). Fair enough. Those cannot be helped and I don't think are a reflection on me personally. I've just moved on from those.

However my most recent unsuccessful interview; in my feedback they said I came across as nervous, not a confident teacher. It's really bothering me that they said that as I'm quite a confident, outgoing person but, on reflection, I'm feeling overall that I didn't fit their school or what they were looking for, so whilst I don't think it's a bad thing that I didn't get the job, it's made me think about the whole process and my performance.

I've realised I'm struggling in the interview part - coming up with good answers quickly. Whilst I've looked at possible questions and thought of answers, in the moment I panic and forget and just waffle without really answering the question which makes me come across as being very nervous.

Would it look bad if I pre-prepared some possible questions and bullet pointed some answer prompts and took the sheet in with me? Would interviewers look unfavourably at this?

Do you actually physically practice answering questions though? Not just as a mental process but properly out loud pref in front of a mirror

AS the previous poster said practice out loud. I used to kid myself that I would know how to answer certain questions but would end up waffling. Since then I've practiced 'typical' questions out loud. It really, really helps. Don't stop practicing them until they are clear and succinct. You find the examples you have can be applied to many questions.
Good luck with future jobs!

I often take in a notepad and pen which has my questions relating to the role written down and so I can jot notes and break down multifaceted questions so I can prompt myself to answer each part without the risk of waffling and missing half the question.

No one has ever looked down on this technique and some people have commented that it’s a wise approach and shows I’m taking the whole thing seriously. It also helps settle your nerves a little bit, kind of centres your focus.

Thank you for replying. No, I've not tried this technique - I go over them mentally. I'll give it a try.

Cross posted!

Thank you both for your replies. I'll certainly give the speaking out loud practice a shot.

I think that's why I start waffling - I don't break down the question then don't even end up answering the question! I may take a notepad - if it's not looked at unfavourably then I've more of a chance of coming up with a good answer!

Hi- all the best with this job hunt. It can take a while to get the break, but I’m sure perseverance will pay off, and there will be more jobs (and fewer people able to go for them!) after the end of May.

Without wanting to be too dismissive, interview feedback (in my exp) isn’t always the most useful thing in the world. They have to say something and probably aren’t interested in giving you much more time, so ‘you seemed nervous’ is a fairly easy thing to say. The reality is that they preferred one of the other candidates on the day, and that’s something you can’t really control.

How are you feeling at the interviews - do you think you become unusually nervous? It’s quite normal to feel tense, woffle a bit.
I think it would look odd to take a sheet of prepared answers, and wouldn’t do it. I suggest (probably as you are doing) that you go through the job description / person spec carefully, think of one question per point and come up with a short answer and an example for each. But obviously be prepared for unexpected questions too, and remember that it’s fine to have a bit of thinking time in an interview - you don’t have to plunge in with an answer straight away.

Good luck; hope you get something you enjoy!

I came in to agree with the thinking time. Always good to have a pause, collect your thoughts and then answer. I had a tendency to plunge into answering when interviewing so it was something I had to work on - got much better answers when I'd collected my thoughts!

Thank you both. I always think that thinking time looks bad (when I'm the one doing the thinking!) and they're all sat there staring at you until you answer so it gets a bit uncomfortable. I need to get over that I think.

I'm glad I posted, I've had some great advice!

Just wanted to add to my pp that I now interview others so see it from the side. As an interviewer you want the best out of that person so probably the most important thing is that it is relaxed so they can answer freely. Just remember they want you to do well! As pp said reflect on the job spec to have examples ready. And have answers to usual questions such as 'why do you want the job', 'where do you want to be in 5 years', what do you know about the school', 'give an example of how you have dealt with...' etc

Sorry one last thing- I would personally find a notepad would disrupt the flow of the 'chat'

Sorry posted my response before finishing.
You will have a good idea of the questions. Get a good scenario for each one. Focus on what you did in that scenario. Always say i rather than we.
If you drive on your own anywhere, thats a great way/time to practice.
You should be able to mentally get your answer to one trigger word to help with recall. Eg teamwork equals netball or whatever.
To help with nerves take a copy of your cv in a clear plastic folder..write those trigger words in pencil on its face. If you do get stuck, glance down.
If you hit a question you are stuck on ask if you can come back to it.

Top tip! I had a candidate once who, after answering a question, asked me to summarise what she’d said. I did this. She then added extra info. A great technique!

I was dreadful at interviews but rather than practising for certain questions, as when different ones came up it threw me a bit, I drew mindmaps of certain things so for example skills I have, qualities of good lessons, behaviour management techniques etc and with everything I wrote on it also wrote an example of when I had shown this skill or had this experience. I then just read this over and over and I found that most questions stemmed from the mindmaps I had drawn so I came across as a lot more confident. Do your research on a school as well, this looks like you've made the effort and want to work there! Good luck!

Thank you all so much, this is fantastic advice. I'll get practicing the questions and making notes etc to have with me for before I go in. I just need to get some focus with the answers and stop going off on a tangent.

I'm going to be sending some applications this weekend so fingers crossed. Thank you all again

I am seriously the world's worst at interview; I once ended one with the immortal words, and in response to the question 'what would you say if we offered you this job?' with a strangled gulp and gasped out 'I would say, 'why on earth would you want to do that?' They weren't impressed or encouraged to actually offer it to me.

I finally cracked it by treated it like an essay; I mindmapped all the areas I thought I'd be discussing up - and then when 'behaviour management' came up I knew what I wanted to talk about it that area of discipline.

Oh Lord!
That is a fairly stupid interview question though - at best (at absolute best) I'd have looked confused and said "eh, thanks"

Don't take that comment to heart. They have to say something. I once went from being told my lesson was "at best a 3" to doing pretty much the same lesson in another interview for it being rated as "outstanding". I once got told in an interview that I seemed really disorganised, only for being hired a few weeks later as they really needed "an organised person like me".

Interviews are a mere formality anyway, where all they find out is whether your face fits. But as most schools now start off with the lesson, by the time you actually get to talk to anyone they have often already made up their minds and just want to confirm their impressions.

Thank you - you've all told me what I really needed to hear. I'm going to apply for a couple more that I've seen and take all your tips and advice on board. I feel a lot better about everything since you all helped me, thank you.

I wouldn't put too much store by it. Whilst feedback can be useful, it maybe that the person giving it didn't really know what to say so came up with something and said it.

Re the notepad, I actually like it if a candidate has prepared something! Means they are actually interested and want the role.

Sounds obvious but take your time. Don't worry if you have silence for 10 seconds (which seems like forever in an interview), think about the question, collect your thoughts, deep breath and answer.

The amount of times when I interviewed I would say 'it's ok, take a minute to think about the question'. I would rather have that, than someone jump in, start answering and they don't actually answer the question.

Also if you are unsure what they are asking, ask them again or
Say 'please can you rephrase that'.

And remember every interview is more experience. You will also get a better idea of what questions are likely to be asked.