Thoughts on Interviews

 The very first day with did a brief opening activity being asked to "tell us a little about yourself" as if we were in an interview for an admin job.  I, for one, have always enjoyed interviews. Yes, I get nervous but I'm a very social person who also happens to be a perform. I love meeting new people and interviews are almost like a game to me. I am a bit of a social chameleon where I can usually adapt to most social situations with out much trouble while still being genuine and authentic. However, when we did this activity the first day I noticed that my teaching interview skills have been so ingrained through repetition I didn't focus on leadership.  While I was talking, I was thinking, "why am I talking about this so much?", "This would be great for a teaching interview but your not interviewing for that!"  That actually made me nervous while it was going on because my best interview skills happen very naturally and I don't have to think about it. That is probably the reason I enjoy it some much, because good things tend to happen when I speak passionately about my job. After the activity our professor addressed just that. He said he would probably cut the interview short and hire me as band director but for the admin side of things, my priorities were a little off.

Today we did another interview prep activity answering the following questions:

1. Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.
2. Tell us about the most important person in your professional career
3. Tell us about a life changing event

We had to speak for 2 minutes on each of these items without stopping. It really wasn't that hard for me. Through these answers, each group member was easily able to speak passionately without much hesitation at all. These events, people and qualities made us who we are today and that's what we are "selling" in our interviews.  We want to show the interviewers who we are and how we can make their school better than it already is and and do a better job than the others interviewing. 

We followed-up this activity with a strength bombardment where your group members told you compliments for 2 minutes straight.  This essentially reaffirms a persons opinions on their own strengths. What this did was help focus what I should be talking about in my interview. Sometimes you dont have to talk about it but emphasize these strengths.

All in all, these activities have helped me refocus my interviewing strategies.  The goal is to stand out from a crowd.  Not as the best art teacher or the best literacy teacher or the best coach but as the best leader. Someone who people would listen to and believe in. I need to show examples from my life not on how passionate I am about music but how my leadership skills have help lead many to attain goals they would not have without me. I need to show them how eager and confident I am in these skills. I have been able to refocus my passion and ultimately refocus my message of who I am and how I will help you succeed when you hire me.