{"id":95,"date":"2012-02-22T17:06:01","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T17:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/?p=95"},"modified":"2023-05-11T09:31:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T08:31:31","slug":"the-first-60-seconds-of-an-interview-getting-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teacherhorizons.com\/advice\/the-first-60-seconds-of-an-interview-getting-it-right","title":{"rendered":"The first 60 seconds of an interview – getting it right!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"john-regan-pink-background\"The first impressions are most important, as 80% of the final outcome are made (on both sides!) within 5 minutes of the start.\u00a0 It is taken as read that the interviewer has spent as much time in preparing and research as the interviewee.\u00a0 Both sides are evaluating whether their preconceptions are valid.\u00a0 The interviewer is assessing whether the candidate could deliver the goods in the classroom, but also whether he\/she would fit in with the school\u2019s mission and if they could fit into what will probably be a totally different from what has been experienced so far. So, preparation is all important.<\/h4>\n

If the time for the interview is 11.00am, it is obvious that the candidate should report \u2018suited and booted\u2019 at the venue at 10.45am at the very latest.\u00a0 The interview schedule may not necessarily be running to exact timings.\u00a0 If the preceding interviews are running slightly over the schedule, you are just going to have to grin and bear it, but if a previous candidate has failed to report, the interviewer will welcome the chance to start your interview slightly earlier.\u00a0 Naturally, if you are not there for an 11.00 o\u2019clock start, there had better be good reason for this and it is always worthwhile ringing up to explain why you have been delayed.<\/p>\n

So, you have reached the interview on time; fully prepared; and well-presented.\u00a0 Even though it is a slightly artificial situation, start as you mean to go on \u2013 be your real self and be relaxed!\u00a0 The interviewer is trying to picture you as a future colleague.\u00a0 If you try to put on a show for the interview, you may be a great actor and get away with it and be offered the job, but it could be disastrous.\u00a0 A couple of times this has happened to me and it ended in tears as within the first year I had to dismiss the teacher for not delivering what was promised at the interview.<\/p>\n

The advice \u2018be relaxed\u2019 is easier said than done, but it is useful to try to do something about controlling your nerves without being too laid back to give the impression of indifference.\u00a0 The most vivid and amusing experience, I can recall, was when a candidate who could not control his nerves was seated in an office swivel chair.\u00a0 He continually turned the chair from side to side but then, unfortunately, he leaned back and tipped the chair over.\u00a0 He went over backwards amid a flurry of arms and legs and as he picked himself and the chair up, he explained that had never happened to him before and he hoped it would not affect his chances of getting the job!\u00a0 It was the final nail in the coffin that he had climbed into in the first 60 seconds of the interview!!<\/p>\n

Written by John Regan, Chief Executive of Teacher Horizons and former International School Head in the UK, Portugal and Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

PS, the same rules apply to our video interviews hosted on your Teacher Horizons profile, see here<\/a> for advice on producing these. \u00a0Number one rule, be yourself! \u00a0For further info watch this:<\/p>\n