Week 2 - Getting a Job

Today's workshop provided advice on how to get a job, what to do, and what not to do.

Given the number of students graduating it seems like a mammoth task to get an interview for a job. Having applied for jobs in the public service in a previous life, I know what an effort preparing job applications can be. A good way to think about applications are that they are the cheese in your mouse trap.

So in a perfect world, you do a whiz bang application and the school gives you a call to come in for an interview. It seems like quite a scary process exposing yourself to a selection panel who have likely had years of experience is quite daunting. Greg's advice is to be well prepared (good advice!) and to practice answering mock questions in the mirror. I have done this before, and while I felt like an idiot, it does able you to respond a little more quickly and coherently to the questions posed at the interview. My thoughts are that even if I don't get the job, the interview process is great practice for the next interview, and the next interview. Check out the Victorian Department of Education's website for further information on how to get a teaching job in Victoria.


Greg also provided some interview advise that seems like common knowledge but it is worth remembering. For example, do not wear too much perfume and aftershave, make sure you are on time etc.

After the workshop, I think what is needed most is to sit down and think about the interview process and pitcure what could happen, what questions could be asked etc. I found this on the St Patrick's College website, and though not Australian, is designed for Pre-Service teachers and the interview process. Check it out!


The second half of the workshop looked at the use of MS Publisher by students for an integrated approach to teaching and learning. Our task was to create a tourist brochure about a place where we would like to visit. My brochure was a mock surf safari brochure.



















I found Publisher extremely easy to use, and think it would be a fantastic tool for students to use in the classroom. Greg also showed us how we could use Publisher to develop our own e-portfolio to show at job interviews. While I thought the concept of an e-portfolio discussed in the lecture was a bit cheesy, I will trust Greg's experience on this one and spend some time in the next few weeks to develop my own e-portfolio. I find the Commonwealth Department of Education's website to be really useful in understanding and developing e-portfolios - check it out if your are interested.

Yet another valuable lesson Greg!