Canada continues to be one of Uteach’s favourite countries to recruit teachers from.  Canadian teachers have an excellent reputation in UK schools and we are looking forward to getting as many high quality teachers on board this year as possible. 

We are back in Ontario and Alberta in March with Head Teachers from some of our partner schools who are very keen to meet and hire our Canadian applicants.  This is a really great way for teachers to secure UK jobs as they will get to meet the Head Teachers face to face as opposed to just speaking on the phone.  We look foward to our return to Canada (hopefully to warmer weather…)!

We reckon that our teachers would like to get to know one another and share their experiences of teaching in the UK.  Settling into a new area can be a slow process and it always helps to have extra contacts and people to have a pint with!   It will also be a good way for teachers to share ideas and resources.

To be invited to the socials you need only be teaching through Uteach Recruitment - we will do the rest!

The interview days are a great way for teachers to “get their foot in the door”, as they get to meet the actual head teachers in Ireland, before heading abroad.  After the interviews, Uteach gives the teachers the opportunity to go to visit and have a further interview with one or two schools.  90% of the teachers who attended the Cork or Dublin interviews were successful and over the next couple of weeks, will go to visit the schools.

Uteach are holding other interview days in Ireland this summer - get your CV in, to be considered for this great opportunity!

Up to now, Uteach has specilised in the recruitment of mainly Irish teachers and has placed dozens each month in jobs in England and Scotland. We have established ourselves as the number 1 teacher recruitment agency in Ireland. Now we are looking to expand and see Canada as the next hot spot for high quality teachers.

Canadian teachers have an excellent reputation in UK schools. They are recognised as being hardworking, pleasant and flexible. Many are eager to travel and as London is the gateway to Europe, see moving the the UK as an excellent opportunity.

Uteach offers teachers a total relocation package which includes help finding accomodation, opening bank accounts, free pre-employment training, free travel vouchers, free UK welcome pack and great Uteach socials. Canadian teachers will not find a more friendly efficient service elsewhere!

Uteach will be in Toronto for 8 days in January, attending teacher career fairs, holding interviews and giving presentations. We are eager to meet as many Canadian teachers as possible and get the ball rolling for them, should they wish to travel in 2007.

It is a very exciting time for Uteach. We look forward to welcoming new teachers on board in the new year!

1) Determine the questions you are likely to be asked

You need to put yourself in the mind of the interviewer, acting on behalf of your prospective future employer before attending the job interview. This will give you the best chance of being prepared to answer all the questions. It will also reduce the chance of being ‘floored’ by a question that you hadn’t even considered before.

Key questions that you shouldn’t have any problem answering include, “Why do you want to work here”, “Where do you see yourself in five years time”, “What do you think are the key skills for this job” and “What key skills would you bring to this job”. You need to practice pre-prepared answers to these questions until they sound natural, believable and confident.

Next, you need to think about questions that you are likely to be asked that relate to the existing or future politics within the organization. For instance, if the original entrepreneur that started the business runs the company, then the interviewer may try and find out if you are comfortable working in a fairly reactive environment.

2) Prepare your own questions

You need to prepare you own questions about the role and company before the interview. This shows that you are keen on the job role and are proactive in nature. In addition, it shows the company that they perhaps may have to ‘sell’ the role to you should it be offered.

The questions that you need to ask should be about the future business strategy, their opinion of their own competitors and current operational and technological procedures. Other good questions to ask include promotional opportunities or personal development opportunities, however these two areas need to be touched sensitively as there may not be any such opportunities available at present, and the company may simply want to ensure that the individual that they recruit will want to stay working in the same role for a reasonable period of time.

3) Be prepared to ‘close’ the interview effectively

If you ‘close’ your job interview effectively, you’ll be ensuring that you know when a decision about a job offer will be made, when a second interview will be conducted, or the likelihood of you being offered the position.

If a prospective future line manager is interviewing you, then the chances are that you will be able to get good feedback on what your chances are of being offered the job. If you ask questions like “Is there anything that you feel I haven’t gone into enough details about” or “How do you think I’d personally fit into the organisation”, it demonstrates your keenness for the role.

If, on the other hand an HR department is conducting the interview, it may be more worthwhile to close the interview by saying something like “I’d like to confirm that I’m very much interested in the position. Do you conduct second interviews or make a decision after today?”

The bottom line is that you have to leave the interviewer with a feeling that you’re keen on the position and that you’d be happy to stay in the job role in question for a decent period of time.

1) Company Background

The Internet has to be the key for finding about the company. First of all have a look at the company website. What kind of tone is the website setting? What kind of consumer is the company likely to be targeting?

Have a good read through any mission statements, financial results or ‘about us’ sections on the company website. As well as getting a better feel of the company paradigm, you will be able to discuss future company strategy from a more informed perspective at the interview.

Remember to have a search for other websites that offer a neutral perspective on the company as well. Companies House provides information on previous years’ accounts. Also, the Chairman, CEO or Managing Director may have appeared in the news in the past, so remember to search for their personal names on websites like Google News.

2) Industry Competitors

You need to know who your future competition will be if you get the job. In addition, if you can inform the company at interview stage of things that they don’t already know about the competition, it gives you a significant advantage to getting the job.

First of all, search for your prospective future company name on a search engine like Google. (Don’t type the URL straight into the address box at the top of the page.) Secondly, assuming you find the company’s website listed on the search engine, there should be an option for viewing ‘similar sites’. Click on this option and you should be able to view a list of websites belonging to companies in the same industry.

Once you find the competitors’ websites, it is a good idea to do a very quick ‘SWOT analysis’ of their product and service offering. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. All you have to do is write down five quick bullet points on each SWOT heading about each company. It should take no longer that an hour to focus on the three most likely competitors, but it demonstrates a superb amount of personal preparation and keenness for the position at the interview.

3) Industry Trends

From your Competitor SWOT Analysis, you will be able to determine whether or not the competitors have any unique selling proposition compared to the company that you have the job interview with. You can then establish whether or not the consumer market for such unique propositions are expanding or contracting.

Ways of determining whether or not it is worthwhile suggesting during your job interview for your prospective employer to consider amending their current product offering include researching consumer trends websites such as Mintel or business information websites like the Financial Times.

In Job Hunting Tips – Interview Preparation – Part 2, we will discuss the questions you are likely to be asked at a job interview, the questions you should prepare to ask at your job interview and techniques to ‘close’ the interview effectively.

The final 5 of the top 10 ways to improve your interview body language are as follows:

6) Make sure that your eyes sparkle

It’s all very well having good eye contact at your interview, but if your eyes aren’t looking bright and interested then you’re making life difficult for yourself! Make sure that you have a good night’s sleep your interview. Remember – this is a very important day – you need to look your best and have no bags under your eyes! If you want your eyes to sparkle then it’s worthwhile getting some whitening eye drops. It doesn’t cost much but it will work.

7) Be engaged

It’s important to be subtly positive at your job interview. You need to demonstrate that you’re actively taking part in the interview. When your interviewer is telling you about the job role and company, make sure that you nod subtly. This shows that you are listening and are interested in what they are saying. It shows that your are engaged in the discussion process and want to be part of the organisation.

8) Breathe deeply

One of the best ways to relax before an important interview is to breath deeply. If you breathe deeply, not only are you relaxing by slowing your rapid, nervous heartbeat, you’re also ensuring that your brain has as much oxygen as possible. This means that you’ll be able to think clearly at your interview and be able to respond to difficult questioning more rapidly. Breathing deeply before an interview will provide you with the effective combination of being relaxed and alert at the same time.

9) Accept an offer of a glass of water

You may not feel like a glass of water, but taking a sip from a glass of water can have a calming effect on your interview performance. It can give you an opportunity to collect your thoughts while refreshing you. It will also give you a chance to get used to the surroundings while the interviewer is out of the room getting the glass of water. This will also give you’re the opportunity to gather your thoughts and decide upon any amendments to your interview strategy as well as reviewing your prepared responses to questions.

10) Practice your handshake

So many people haven’t got the right ‘professional’ handshake. Remember that this is part of the first and last impression that you leave at the interview. If you have a weak, limp handshake then this tells the interviewer that you may not have the ability to deal with confrontation. On the other hand, if your handshake is too strong, then you may not be a good listener. You may be quite confident about controlling a situation, but you may be less likely to be democratic in approach. To demonstrate the happy medium, have a firm but not hard grip, make good eye contact at the same time and mirror the style of the person whose hand you are shaking.

In summary, mirroring is the key. If you’re able to subtly copy the tonality of your interviewer’s body language, you’ll find it much more easier to communicate because you’ll be speaking the same silent body language. This will put you streets ahead of the competition in the race for your dream job.