Interviews

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview for a new position with the school district. It was both exciting and informative. I had been seeking an interview for the past two years. Here are some observations I drew from my experience.
Observation 1: Always be prepared. I received a call on a Friday and was asked if I would like to interview the next Thursday. I tried to take some time to prepare for the interview, but it quickly occurred to me that I did not have as much time as I would have liked. The evening before the interview I came to the conclusion that my last-minute preparations would not do me much good anyway. It was like cramming for an exam in undergrad. If I did not know what I was talking about by now, I wouldn't know any more just be reading and looking over a bunch of material a few nights before.
Observation 2: What you say is important, but how you say it is just as important. The interview was set up as a series of 5 stations. Each station allowed me to demonstrate my readiness for a different aspect of the prospective position. At several stations I did some written work and then was asked some oral questions regarding the information. It became quite apparent that how I was presenting myself was just as important as the content of my words. It was clear that the interviewers were looking for poise, clarity, and good eye contact.
Observation 3: Don't overthink it. This interview process was not as harrowing as I had expected. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't given just a handful of softball questions and then I was done. But, the majority of the questions were things that I had expected and already deal with on a daily basis. It would have been easy for me to over-analyze the questions and become redundant and verbose in my answers trying to impress the panel. This would have simply demonstrated my ability to be a windbag. Instead, I found it much more relaxing and effective to give clear and brief answers. Often I would give just enough of an answer to allow the interviewers to deduce that I knew what I was talking about. If they wanted expansion they would ask follow up questions. This allowed the interview to be less one-sided and more interactive. It also allowed me to simply be myself and not get too uptight.
Observation 4: Leave them something to remember you by. This is obviously a no-brainer. I interviewed with a group of at least 10 people that day. We all went through the same 5 stations and were staggered throughout the day. I was right in the middle of the group. There was at least one other day that another group of candidates went through the same process. I had to give them something to remember me by. I was prepared to do this (see observation #1 above). I made sure to work in the fact that I was probably the only candidate they interviewed that day that had the educational background that I do. I made sure they were aware that I not only attended public schools growing up, but also private schools, and was also homeschooled. I delivered this tidbit purposefully, and it was immediately apparent that the panel found this interesting. I could also tell they wanted to know more, but were restrained because of the format of the interview process. I know they went away wondering about my particular experiences and how they would be an asset to the district.
I have yet to hear back on the results of the interview. I was told that they would be making decisions starting in the middle of March through the end of April. I also know from past experience that they could call me the day before school starts next year and offer me a position. So, we shall see how well I fare.