“Fake it ‘til you make it!”: Finding Success in a Simulated Interview

This blog post’s title self-admittedly became my personal mantra regarding confidence in an interview. If any obstacle stood between me and a job offer it was my desire to curl up in a ball and avoid the process altogether.

However, the importance and utility of a simulated interview process were not lost on me, as understandably Rebecca Corfield describes interviews as “a modern fact of life” [1]. Hence, unavoidable.

Loaded with preparation provided by the library’s resources and interview strategies provided by the module, I would have everything I needed to get the most out of this nail-biting process. In this blog post, I look at overcoming my anxieties surrounding interviews, the steps I took to ensure I had a successful one and the reflective practices I put in place after the fact.

“Planning and preparation give you confidence which leads to enthusiasm and success” – Corfield

 My shaky hands and blotting red face could be soothed with the knowledge that the more prep I did, the more confident I would feel. Johnstone notes that “lack of background preparation remains the single consistent complaint amongst recruiters” [2]. And so, for my chosen position of English Teacher at Hazelwood Integrated College, I knew the aspect of integrated education needed to be a concept I had researched extensively.

A Guardian Article alerted me to the fact that only 7% of young people were in integrated education [3]. As the deliverance of an integrated ethos was specified within the job application, I was then able to use my research, list the benefits, and personalise my answer to mention that I came from a mixed background myself.

Preparation didn’t just require me to google the school’s Wikipedia page and some news articles, I also needed to “sell myself”. Whereas I agree with Corfield that “such an expression seems to apply more to washing powder than to human beings”, I also knew the importance of showing the panel what exactly I brought to the table. As the teaching job market in Northern Ireland is almost famously oversaturated (with an estimate of 140 teachers a year too many), I had to appeal as the best and freshest produce in the aisle [4].

I knew my placement experiences were highly relevant to my chosen job position, so I needed to express that clearly to the panel. I knew how to work in a department setting, manage poor behaviour… everything they wanted! However, my anxious disposition usually led me astray into the mad ramblings of a glorified tutor and not the cool, calm and collected professional department support staff that I was. Luckily, in our Week 1 lecture, I was introduced to the STAR technique.

You’re a Superstar!

With the influx of competency-based questions, interviewers are keen to challenge our ability to reflect on past experiences in a structured and logical response that provides solutions to a common issue. Usually, the competency skills are laid out within the job application itself and so I also took the time to list skills and similar experiences which displayed such skills. The job application listed

In my simulated interview, I was asked to describe a time I worked well within a department and here’s roughly how I structured it according to STAR:

Situation: The pupil was struggling to be engaged and it was reflected in his work. He stopped handing homework in and stopped arriving at the support lesson altogether.

Task: I was challenged with engaging him back into the support lessons without losing his motivation and desire to receive help. I also felt I needed to get to the bottom of this behaviour as I felt there could be an underlying issue.

Action: I liaised with the English department including the pupil’s English teacher and the Head of Department to not only report the behaviour but draw up an action plan for the pupil to ensure the behaviour could be improved. I also contacted the pupil’s parents to check in with them and upon doing so I learnt that the pupil was being bullied by his peers in his English class, hence his reluctance to participate.

Results: As a department, we were able to address the underlying issues for this pupil and ensure he received the pastoral and academic support necessary. His mood and participation then improved, and we were able to get his grades back on track.

Well… how’d it go?

I had prepared a lot. From background information on the school itself, the education system in Northern Ireland and the job application’s list of skills and desirable qualities… it was a cert that I would excel, right? Not quite.

My body language betrayed my near-scripted answers and my attempts at anxiety management resulted in some nervous stuttering, and a failure to make consistent eye contact and seem relaxed. I was able to become aware of this through the useful feedback form that acted like a time capsule of my interview in the eyes of the interviewer.

Reflection

The importance of the process was not to secure a position by the end like your typical interview. Rather it was an invaluable opportunity to peer into the mind of the interviewer and view yourself under a microscope in the pressured environment that is the interview. The surge of adrenaline can blur the entire interview and I remember after I said, “thank you for your time”, I couldn’t recall half of what had just left my mouth over the previous ten minutes.

Using the peer feedback forms, I decided to use Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (1988) to roughly journal my thoughts and gain insight through reflection. [5]

I was tasked with a simulated interview, and I felt ridden with anxiety. I was able to complete the interview despite these feelings and succeeded in giving concise and informed answers. I could’ve been more confident in my ability to give these answers and next time I’d take a breather in between answers and engage in the eye contact that frightens me so badly.

References

[1] Corfield, R. (2009) Successful interview skills how to prepare, answer tough questions, and get your ideal job. London: Kogan Page.

[2] Johnstone, J. (1994) How to – pass that interview: A complete step-by-step guide for applicants. Plymouth, U.K.: How to Books.

[3] Wallace, A. (2021) Integrated education in Northern Ireland is urgent – why can’t our leaders see that? , The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/02/integrated-education-northern-ireland-school (Accessed: February 21, 2023).

[4] Meredith, R. (2019) Northern Ireland training too many teachers, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49177327 (Accessed: February 21, 2023).

[5] University of Cumbria Academic Services & Retention Team (2016) Gibbs’ reflective
cycle, Available from: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveCycleGibbs.pdf
(Accessed: February 21, 2023)