I hate having to fill in application forms! I think many of us do - firstly there is the tedious job of filling in all your jobs to date and why you left, then your education, then any training - all of whaich takes ages even if you do know it all by heart. After that you have the complicated task of selling yourself as to why you should get the job, this is the bit that takes me the longest, usually because I write far too much and need to cut down and be more precise. Things are becoming much easier now that there are online application forms as they can be saved and re-used especially for somewhere like a county council where unless you are a teacher the basic application is the same. This has saved me a lot of time and efffort in the past as all the inital details are there you just need to change the "why should YOU get the job" part.
Although I hate them, because I am a perfectioist I do tend to write a good application because I ensure that my "sell yourself bit" covers every bit of criteria on the job description but also make it clear and concise and give plenty of examples of how I meet those criteria.I also always get someone else to proof read it, because no matter how many times I read it I always miss something and also it helps to get an objectove opinion of how the application comes across. Finally A covering letter is a muct - it is the best way to express why you want the job.
Interviews are even worse for me as I get incredibily nervous. I always prep well before hand so can impress them with my knowledge of the company/ school/ colllege and it shows that I am interested in the job as I made the effort to research it. It seems to me all the jobs that I think I did rubbish at I get but the ones I feel went well tend to be the ones I don't get.
Recently I was interviewed for a learning mentor post and I thought it wnet great - I got on with the students and thought I wals friendly to the pupil panel and professional with the deputy head - but I didn't get the job. In my feedback the deputy head said I interviewed well and I was their first choice but the students thought I was too authoritarian so on balance they couldn't offer me the job. similaly a few years ago I applied for an administration post in London, my intial interview was a telephone interview and having done my research I had decided I didn't really want to move to London so during the interview I wasn't particulalry enthusiastic - I answered the questions honestly but didn't really sell myself like I would do normally. Imagine my suprise when two days letter I had an invite to a second face to face interview, I respectfully declined the offer as I thought it unfair to waste thier time if I wasn't really interested in moving to London. It just goes to show that you don't always come across the way you intend to.
Overall I find the whole process of applying and being interviewed for jobs quite exhausting especially the interview part as once I've accepted the invite to interview I'm anxioux until I hear the result (a bit like exams all over again) but the more expereince I get the better I am at calming myself down and getting through the interview without to many errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmm or welllllllllllllllllllllllllll moments wheere i'm racking my brains for an answer.
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