Having secured a maternity contract last year in an Educate Together school, this year I re-interviewed in the same school in hope to teach there again in September. Re-interviewing for a school was a completely different experience for me, as I felt so much more nervous and put myself under a lot more pressure. Probably as I was familiar with the people on the interview panel.

Find some more of my posts here about applying for jobs in Ireland:

Applying for Jobs in Ireland: What I’ve Learned

Applying for Jobs while Abroad

How to prepare for a re-interview

I used the fabulous blogpost on the Irish Primary Teacher’s website: Re-interviewing in a school you’ve worked in

This blog post allowed me to structure my preparation and jot down bullet points to share as much of my experience as possible. When preparing for interviews, I much rather handwrite my answers. It helps me to remember what I want to say and helps me to include as much as possible to help to further my application.

Below, I’ll share the questions that I was asked in hope to help you to be even more prepared for your re-interview. Or catch them below on my Instagram page.

Re-interview Questions

-Tell us about how and why you became a teacher.

-Tell us about the Educate Together ethos and how you would contribute to it in your classroom.

-Tell us one thing from your CV that you would like us to remember about you.

-What is your favourite area in the curriculum to teach?

-How will you develop this area next year in the whole school?

-How would you teach in an ASD unit?

-Tell us about your classroom management style.

-Tell us about how you worked as part of a team this year.

-Tell us about a time that you received feedback that helped you.

-What have you learned about yourself this year as a teacher?

-Is there anything else that you can add to strengthen your application?

-Do you have any questions for us?

Leave modesty at the door

The principal advised all of us that were re-interviewing for the school to leave modesty at the door when re-interviewing. She also advised us to:

• Jot down everything that we’d done for the school (no matter how big or small) and work out how to bring them up during the interview.
• Sell yourself. Try not to be self-conscious as you may know some of the people on the interview panel. This is your one chance to impress them and show them all of the fantastic work you’ve done for the school that year.

Mentioning ways that you can contribute to the school’s successes in the upcoming year is a very important topic to bring up too (if not asked). For example, the school that I re-interviewed for hadn’t applied for the Amber Flag (which recognises a school’s support in pupils’ positive mental health). In my interview, I mentioned that I would love to begin the journey to achieving the Amber Flag for the school as they already do so much to care for the pupils’ mental health and they deserve the recognition.

Is this something that you could say in your interview?

The very best of luck to each and every one of you that are applying, interviewing and re-interviewing. It’s not an easy time at all. Be kind to yourself and if there’s anything further that I can help you with, please get in touch.