Acing Your Interview
Strategies for overcoming nerves and making a great impression.
BY BONNIE LAXTON-BLINKHORN, KINDICARE
No matter how cool, calm and collected you are in the classroom, job interviews test the nerves. This is even more so when you are interviewing for a job you really want. Regardless of whether you’ve just finished your Certificate III or are a seasoned director looking for your next challenge, job interviews are hard.
In addition to physical symptoms, such as a racing heart and sweaty palms, interviews can also lead to mental anxiety and make it tricky to focus and difficult to express your thoughts clearly; less than ideal when you need to ‘sell’ yourself.
While interviews are challenging, they are also the gateway to bigger and brighter opportunities, and with this in mind here are four tried and tested strategies for making an amazing impression.
Make a plan
Wear clothes that are comfortable and professional, this is the early education sector, so a suit won’t be necessary, but it’s important that your clothes are appropriate and not too casual.
Sort out your wardrobe the night before so you’re not in a flap on the morning of your interview trying to find your favourite pants.
Remember, stress minimisation is the priority in the lead up to an interview so be organised, make a plan and stick to it. Think about your logistics well ahead of time, if you’re travelling by public transport plan for a train strike, if you are driving, look up the address and parking.
Build in plenty of wriggle room, so you arrive at the interview in the best possible headspace to project confidence and reliability.
Preparation is paramount
It’s simple, the more preparation you do the more relaxed and confident you will feel.
Approach your job interview like you would an exam: learn as much as you can about the early education service, its approach, and its people. Start your preparation early so that when the nerves strike, the information is still available to you.
Think about what questions are likely to be asked and how your knowledge and experience can be applied to answer those questions, come up with some meaty examples that demonstrate how your experience is a good fit for the company. Practise saying these answers out loud.
Experienced interviewers understand how nerve-wracking a job interview is and will take steps to make you feel comfortable, but preparation is very important, the more confident you feel the more convincing you will be.
Turn the tables on thinking
Early education and care professionals are in demand right now and you can go into interviews knowing that any prospective employer probably needs you as much as you need them. View your interview as an opportunity to get to know more about an organisation, its people and its culture.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions that will inform your decision-making process, carefully consider how your questions are answered and whether those answers align with your values and your career goals.
If possible, ask for a tour of the service to gain a sense of the educators in action, the physical spaces and the educational approaches. The more information you gather the more confident you will feel about accepting the job or not.
Be cool
Try and maintain a sense of perspective when doing all job interviews, this will help you bounce back if you aren’t offered the position. If a recruitment decision comes as a surprise to you, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from the interviewers, you can use this information to reflect and to prepare for your next interview.
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of opportunities available in early education right now and each interview is an opportunity to practise answering questions and describing your experience.
In addition, the more interviews you do, the more you will learn about the early education sector and which companies are of most interest to you.
Good luck!
