Personal Reflection

Well… It could have been better.  That is my self-assessment.  Are we our toughest critic?  Yes, I am.  I went to an job interview today and I am truly thankful for being selected as being a viable candidate for the position.  Aside from being grateful for the experience, I could have done a lot better.  After the one-hour interview, I spent the next 5 hours self-critiquing my responses… Ooh, I could have given a better answer… Ugh, I could have given a specific example… Duh, I could have said this word instead of that word… and so on.

The post-interview self-talk is not enjoyable or even logical.  Apparently, it’s normal.  On the positive side… I was myself and I felt comfortable talking to the interview panel about myself and my accomplishments.  My only regret was not being specific with each and every question.  That’s what trying new things out does… making mistakes and learning from them.  The only wish I have is having the opportunity to get constructive feedback from members of the panel as to what went well and what I need to work on… aka. Assessment for Learning.

Not to promote what I endorse… Assessment for Learning ROCKS… but, I truly enjoyed the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) at SFU for this very reason.  At ISW, feedback was immediate.  What was said by peers and facilitator was constructive, insightful, and informative.  Participants had to self-reflect after each session with the facilitator while the peer group formulated a feedback response.  More times than none, I was somewhat critical of my performance.  The feedback I received would often exceed my expectations.

Anyway, I’m not sure if this applies to my interview or not.  What’s done is done.  I can’t go back in time or have a “redo” interview.  All I can do is ask for some feedback and hope for the best.  Now, it’s off to the next thing… prep of a workshop I’m delivering at Pemberton Secondary this Wednesday regarding Assessment for Learning and creating course outlines.  The best part is that I get to use what I learned from ISW to this workshop. Yay me.