Job Interview Tips & Advice

[FN-GM]

Hey

 

I have applied for a few jobs in schools, one has got back to me and has invited me for an interview and a test. I'm not sure what the test is the person who I spoke to didn't have any more information about it. someone suggested it could be a computer with a fault of some kind and i will tested on how i identify the fault and fix the problem.

 

Please can you give me some tips and advice please?

 

Thank You

[jcollings]

Ok - reading your posts you seem to know plenty about ICT so you should be ok on that front.

 

When I'm recruiting I'm looking for someone who will fit with a) my team and b) our school ethos. Someone with a reasonable amount of tech skills and good people skills I can cope with - they can always learn more tech stuff. Someone with rubbish people skills generally can't be taught them no matter what technical skills they have.

 

You need to try and find out some stuff about the school in general and relax into it. Try to be confident but not cocky. Ask questions but don't worry about being quiet some of the time (particularly on tours of the school etc). Don't come across as a know it all.

 

Personally when I'm doing this I don't like smart arses - eg. We were having an group chat with candidates once and backups came up so I described our backup and one guy said "I suppose it doesn't matter much - being a school you don't have any valuable data" - guess how far he went in the selection process!!

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

[torledo]

Ok - reading your posts you seem to know plenty about ICT so you should be ok on that front.

 

When I'm recruiting I'm looking for someone who will fit with a) my team and b) our school ethos. Someone with a reasonable amount of tech skills and good people skills I can cope with - they can always learn more tech stuff. Someone with rubbish people skills generally can't be taught them no matter what technical skills they have.

 

You need to try and find out some stuff about the school in general and relax into it. Try to be confident but not cocky. Ask questions but don't worry about being quiet some of the time (particularly on tours of the school etc). Don't come across as a know it all.

 

Personally when I'm doing this I don't like smart arses - eg. We were having an group chat with candidates once and backups came up so I described our backup and one guy said "I suppose it doesn't matter much - being a school you don't have any valuable data" - guess how far he went in the selection process!!

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

Make sure you go for a shit WELL before your interview. And wipe properly.

[Jose]

1. Turn up 30 minutes late, they will be impressed that you were in demand else where and offer you the position on the spot.

 

2. Make sure you refer to SEN pupils as retards this will impress any management on the selection panel.

[Oops_my_bad]

Make sure you go for a shit WELL before your interview. And wipe properly.

LOLOLOL

[FN-GM]

@torledo & Jose i will take note of that advice thanks

[mattx]

Make sure you go for a shit WELL before your interview. And wipe properly.

 

...and if you have to break wind - make sure its silent. And for god's sake don't follow through.

[Midget]

if you DO fart. Turn on the radio.

[wi_tech]

Definitely do some research on the school beforehand. I have generally heard that it is good to show that you have done some research and have some knowledge of the school and it's mission/purpose.

 

I have had "test" like you've mentioned before. One of them the computer wouldn't start because there wasn't a keyboard plugged in and the BIOS was set to halt on all errors....Real advanced stuff.

 

Good luck on your interview.

[steve]

For tests I've been through and set, they are usually half knowledge half common sense.

 

Make sure things are plugged in, the contrast isn't turned down on the monitor, the printer isn't set to offline, etc.

 

Its so easy to try and go into an issue and think its a highly technical problem, when someone has just pulled out the Ethernet cable.

 

Read the OFSTED report

 

Topics usually in an interview:

 

Prioritising work loads

Training (you're always willing to learn)

Dealing with pupils

Where you see yourself in the future

 

 

Ask questions at the end of the interview

 

Money / conditions

Annual ICT budget equipment etc.

Who manages the ICT budget?

Future of school - BSF / trust status / academy

Local Authority Job Evaluation process / progress

[apeo]

Ask questions at the end of the interview

 

Money / conditions

Annual ICT budget equipment etc.

Who manages the ICT budget?

Future of school - BSF / trust status / academy

Local Authority Job Evaluation process / progress

 

I generally dont bring up Money unless they do myself, and I would allow them to make an offer if/when they offer the job. As for the rest i would assume it holds true for someone going for a management position but i wouldnt expect a techy to ask such questions.

[FN-GM]

For tests I've been through and set, they are usually half knowledge half common sense.

 

Make sure things are plugged in, the contrast isn't turned down on the monitor, the printer isn't set to offline, etc.

 

Its so easy to try and go into an issue and think its a highly technical problem, when someone has just pulled out the Ethernet cable.

 

Read the OFSTED report

 

Topics usually in an interview:

 

Prioritising work loads

Training (you're always willing to learn)

Dealing with pupils

Where you see yourself in the future

 

 

Ask questions at the end of the interview

 

Money / conditions

Annual ICT budget equipment etc.

Who manages the ICT budget?

Future of school - BSF / trust status / academy

Local Authority Job Evaluation process / progress

 

Hi, I have already read the ofstead report, basically the school needs to improve with literacy and behaviour with pupils when they are unsupervised.

 

When you mention Prioritising work loads, how would i do this what would you consider a priority. I would consider Electronic registers eg sims (although that is mentioned in the job description) as a priority. What else would you consider?

 

Thanks

[jcollings]

I think you need to be able to rationalise how you would prioritise your workload when you have 10 jobs on your desk and all the people are telling you theirs is the most important.

[webman]

Anything that affects the teaching and learning of students I would call a priority. If SMT/SLT place demands on you at a time when you are dealing with a higher priority; the best thing to do is to get them to tell you they are happy you give them your attention instead of the higher priority - in writing!

[mattx]

I think you need to be able to rationalise how you would prioritise your workload when you have 10 jobs on your desk and all the people are telling you theirs is the most important.

 

The most important will be YOUR cup of coffee - [ if its first thing in the morning...... ]

[FN-GM]

Thanks guys

[apeo]

Regards priority.. what webman said.. its the question(s) that get asked all the time, and well the priority will always be making sure that education of the students comes first cause ultimately isnt that what the school is there for.

[Lee_K_81]

Tips for priority:

 

1st Priority: Something effecting whole school (i.e. internet down, server crash, e-reg problems, etc)

2nd: Something effecting a large number of users (i.e. an entire class), this could be a problem with teachers laptop, when they are trying to teach, etc.

3rd: Something effecting admin staff stopping them from doing their jobs

4th: Something effecting a single user i.e. a password change

 

as other have said something from SLT/SMT, although only effecting a single person would jump in higher becasue the give you the budgets, etc and you need them on-side. If you want to sugar-coat that last bit something like "they lead the school so a problem they may have is in effect hindering many people", just like cutting the head off a snake.

 

 

The test you will likely get are fairly basic, it's not going to be a mis-configured DNS server or anything like that. Check things are plugged in, make sure cables are in the right way (upside down IDE cables on a floppy are difficult to spot). If its a projector, check it;s on the right input, etc. Check simplist things first (and a proper check), nothing worse than giving a quick glance at a network cable and saying its fine if isnt quite in enough to connect.

 

You sound tech-savy, try not to be too nervous, and show a bit of personallity.

[limbo]

Ask questions but don't worry about being quiet some of the time (particularly on tours of the school etc). Don't come across as a know it all.

 

Strange that you say this - our tour of the school is used especially to see how outgoing someone is - if a person was quiet when I was giving a tour then I would put them lower down the list. But then, as you say, if someone is too in your face it can be just as bad.

 

The trick with the tour is to show that you are comfortable in the school environment and ask enough questions to show that you are interested in what is going on. Do not use this part of the interview as an excuse to show off what you know - it rarely fits in to the flow of the conversation and can be awkward - unless it is very subtle such as "Ah - I see you use x for doing y" - which shows you know the software at a glance, and then maybe make a comparison such as "it is better than z" or "personally I prefer z - but not for any real reason, I think I just learnt it first!"

 

And make sure you mention the students, because ultimately that is why you are there - to help give them the best education possible. So many times I have interviewed and techies talk about the system but never the users and how the system serves them.

 

As steve has already suggested - read the Ofsted, pick out one thing they are marked as good at and work it into the conversation "Just from walking around it is obvious you are good at....".

 

A more risky move could be to find something negative in the Ofsted report, refer to it and then talk about an IT solution that could help solve it. This can put you head and shoulders above the rest, but can also go really badly if you do not phrase it right - it can sound like criticism and sound like you are a bit arrogant, you really have to play it by ear and see whether you think it will help. If you are unsure then do not try it - and if you are then it works better in an informal chat rather than the formal interview.

 

For the practical test it is a question of staying calm and thinking clearly - do not be afraid to try all the obvious things first. They will be more interested in someone with a methodical approach than someone who has a lucky guess at what is wrong.

 

Other than these, just look smart, be punctual, act interested in everything and try to repeat things they have said during the day and no not be afraid to be honest about your abilities - as jcollings said, they probably will not be expecting the finished article but will want someone they think they can work with.

[pallen]

As for asking questions at the end...

 

Ask for a tour, particularly for where you will be based. I didn't when I went for an interview as I assumed that there would be a room provided. I was wrong, I worked in the class. I have since moved, but if you are going to spend your working life somewhere, make sure your happy to know what your letting yourself in for. Reading posts on here, you can see that Techs aren't always thought of first when planning locations.

 

Ask the structure of the IT staff. They may be interviewing for a Tech Post, but if there are no other people there you can find yourself running the school network. You should be clear in your head that you know what the job is. If there is a IT support team in place, ask if there is training provided(and that you are willing to do it). More and more schools are introducing Multimedia into the classroom, if you have a little knowledge or show willing to learn these things it can reflect well as this can have a direct impact on pupils learning. This is something which can be easily seen by teachers who may find it difficult to understand why you getting a CCNA would benefit Joe in year 8.

 

Ask why the position has become available. Is it because someone has left, been promoted, retired, workload etc.

 

Remember Interviews are as much for you to get information about where you may be working as they are for the school to get information about you. And a little information goes a long way, get some info on the school before you go to the interview and show you are a keen individual.

 

As you will be dealing with people with various knowledge of computers your communication skills will be highly sort. Being able to explain things to people clearly and concisely is what they will be looking for, tech skills can be learnt.

 

Oh yes, I forgot...Good luck

[FN-GM]

thanks for all the advice guys!

[PEO]

Good luck big guy and remember... the worst that they can say is yes... i mean no..... oooow i dont know

[jcollings]

Ask questions but don't worry about being quiet some of the time (particularly on tours of the school etc). Don't come across as a know it all.

 

I think I was saying what you say - that there is balance to be struck between outgoing and in yer face. I've had people on tour basically tell me how I should be doing the job which doesn't go down well.

[torledo]

As others have mentioned - important not to get anyones back up.

 

Be relaxed and don't be too eager or too laid back. If you really have got no questions to ask - don't try and think something up on the spot. Better to make observations ' i see you've got the new 20inch intel imacs... ' use what you've observed as a chance to demonstrate a little of what you know. Better to keep them talking and for you to show an interest in what they're saying. Important thing is to show you're not arrogant but also that you've got some confidence. Nothing worse than taking on some smart arse who'll want to tell you how to do your job but nor do they want someone who is too timid - they don't want to be holding your hand for however many weeks or months.

[broc]

Try and get into the school for a look around before the interview and talk to the ICT staff if you can, including ICT teaching staff. This shows you are keen & can give some useful hints about where the issues are & where you may make a difference. It may also scare you off (as happened to me with a CC3 site).

 

Think about why you want the job at the school, assuming you still do after being shown around. Think about what you can bring to the school that sets you apart from the competition; you may have to 'interview' your fellow candidates to get an idea of what they know & what sort of people they are. Watch out for seemingly simple questions like 'Why do you want the job....... or Why should we offer you the job?"

 

Take your time answering the questions, don't blurt out the answers before thinking. Engage brain before opening mouth. Avoid yes/no responses, but if you must, qualify why you answer yes/no if you can.

 

Try and relax, but don't slouch in the chair, with your feet up!

 

A little light humour can sometimes help, but avoid flipancy, be truthful (but not too truthful); by that I mean think about why you are being asked the question, and what sort of answer the questioner is expecting. Don't lie, but tell them what they want to know

 

Good luck