Nailing the Interview!
This is an opportunity for us to find out a little bit more about you, as well as giving you the chance to look at the course in more detail and assess whether it is the best option for you.
Within the interview we are looking for the following:
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Experience - you will be expected to discuss work experience and knowledge of teaching as well as your interests
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Personality and enthusiasm - these are important characteristics to be considered during selection
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Confidence and resilience - how are you prepared for the challenges of teaching
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make yours count! Whether you are invited in for a visit to the department, school experience or the interview itself, all of these are opportunities for people to meet you and to provide feedback.
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Be smart, be confident, but not over-confident.
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Look people in the eye.
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Offer a firm handshake.
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Ask pertinent questions
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Dress for the office, not for a night out! Always err on the side of formality rather than casual.
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Be prepared.
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Ask questions
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Do your research
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Follow up the interview with a note of thanks whether or not you are successful
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Be polite to everyone you meet, you never know who will be asked for their opinions.
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The Big Day
Dress to Impress
Interviews vary from place to place and will depend very much on the school or the university's requirements. You may be asked to sit a literacy or numeracy test, you may be asked to do a group exercise, but most interviews will look a little like this:
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A visit to the department/tour of the school. This could be on the day of the interview itself or a separate event.
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A teaching activity. This will usually be a 20 minute activity about which you will be advised. It could be to a small group of students or to a whole class of 30. The school will let you know so that you can prepare. At this point, they are not expecting a fully, polished lesson. They are looking for how you communicate with the group and are assessing your potential.
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A pupil panel, or interview by a small group of students. Not all schools will do this, but sometimes teacher interviews involve an interview by members of a student body. Their comments will feed back and help inform any decision. You generally can't prepare for this and the students are very good at judging character and potential so whatever you do, if you do encounter a pupil panel of some description, don't underestimate them.
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The formal interview. This could be with the Senior Teacher in charge of teacher training and the Head of Department, or Head of School and class teacher. Questions will range from why you want to be a teacher to explaining an educational issue. There are some examples on the Discover More Button above.
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Don't forget to ask questions as well - examples of these could be:
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• What training is available in the school during my course?
• What mentor support is available?
• Will there be other PGCE trainees based at the school?
• What IT resources are available to support learning?
