So, I was very confused. Was I in an interview situation applying for an internal post at school, or was it an audition for ‘Britain’s Got Talent’? Ok, so I couldn’t see the big red buttons waiting to buzz me off as soon as I said something that left the judges disappointed, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.
Am I the only one that feels as though the interview process in the teaching profession is akin to a talent show nowadays?
I remember when I first applied for a job at a bank. One interviewer, not a whole panel, who sit there smiling at you, trying unsuccessfully to put you at ease; firm handshake and brief introduction, not a welcome process that takes longer than the handshakes at the beginning of a Premier League football match, but which is just as phoney; questions that actually build and explore different aspects of your character, not a pre-prepared list of facile interrogatives with no room to discover interesting and possibly important avenues of enquiry.
When I was a journalist I’d think up a few questions before an interview, but rarely would I complete this without diving off my list at some point to try and clarify some area that intrigued me. I always worked on the premise that if I was interested enough to ask about something that cropped up out of the blue, then the readers would be as well. You might say that interviewing for a news report as opposed to a job is a completely different ball game, but I’d disagree, if there’s something you want to know about the candidate you owe it to your company to ask the question and find out about it.
This is all before we have the absurd situation where everyone has to hang around and find out the verdict on the same day. What world do you live in teachers? That’s not how real life works.
In reality, you go home. You wait a few days until you get a phone call (if it’s an important job) or a letter (if you’re just one of the minions) giving you the news.
All this hanging around is bizarre. And there seems to be this politically correct mind-set that everyone has to know at the same time. It’s an impossible task. Unless you get everyone in the office at the same time and reveal the winner in a Sugar-esque point of the finger, you have to tell someone first. Just send a letter – I’m happy with that.
And then we have the ‘feedback’ that will help develop your interview skills. Well can I tell you something – when I’ve just been ‘unsuccessful’ I’m really not interested in the excuses that are made up on the spot as to why I didn’t get it. Just be honest – ‘we preferred her, sorry’.
So while I wasn’t buzzed out of the room, I didn’t make boot camp. Looks like I won’t be performing in front of the Queen again this year.
Am I the only one that feels as though the interview process in the teaching profession is akin to a talent show nowadays?
I remember when I first applied for a job at a bank. One interviewer, not a whole panel, who sit there smiling at you, trying unsuccessfully to put you at ease; firm handshake and brief introduction, not a welcome process that takes longer than the handshakes at the beginning of a Premier League football match, but which is just as phoney; questions that actually build and explore different aspects of your character, not a pre-prepared list of facile interrogatives with no room to discover interesting and possibly important avenues of enquiry.
When I was a journalist I’d think up a few questions before an interview, but rarely would I complete this without diving off my list at some point to try and clarify some area that intrigued me. I always worked on the premise that if I was interested enough to ask about something that cropped up out of the blue, then the readers would be as well. You might say that interviewing for a news report as opposed to a job is a completely different ball game, but I’d disagree, if there’s something you want to know about the candidate you owe it to your company to ask the question and find out about it.
This is all before we have the absurd situation where everyone has to hang around and find out the verdict on the same day. What world do you live in teachers? That’s not how real life works.
In reality, you go home. You wait a few days until you get a phone call (if it’s an important job) or a letter (if you’re just one of the minions) giving you the news.
All this hanging around is bizarre. And there seems to be this politically correct mind-set that everyone has to know at the same time. It’s an impossible task. Unless you get everyone in the office at the same time and reveal the winner in a Sugar-esque point of the finger, you have to tell someone first. Just send a letter – I’m happy with that.
And then we have the ‘feedback’ that will help develop your interview skills. Well can I tell you something – when I’ve just been ‘unsuccessful’ I’m really not interested in the excuses that are made up on the spot as to why I didn’t get it. Just be honest – ‘we preferred her, sorry’.
So while I wasn’t buzzed out of the room, I didn’t make boot camp. Looks like I won’t be performing in front of the Queen again this year.