Hibernia Interview Feedback

greenstar123

I had my 2nd hibernia interview yesterday, when I found out I didnt get it the 1st time I reapplied straight away filling in the application form the same as I did previously...also had my 2nd interview within a month of applying so keep applying!!

Felt my interview went a lot better than the 1st time, as others have said in my 1st irish interview I kept getting interrupted and asked the same questions in different tenses but yesterday was much better...

English questions...
Degree...how has it lead you to hibernia and the skills that you have gained?
Why primary school teaching??
What motivates me to be a primary school teacher??

Irish questions...
Preparation for the interview
Holidays
Pastimes
Where and when do i play camogie
What will i do next weekend
Do i hear a lot of irish being spoken in my local town

English questions...
Cant really remember the quote, something along the lines of primary education is the foundation for future education.
It skills
Role of the principal
Special Needs Children within the classroom
Work, college, life balance.

Good luck everyone, hope we all hear good news!!!

Coogee

greenstar123 wrote: »

I had my 2nd hibernia interview yesterday, when I found out I didnt get it the 1st time I reapplied straight away filling in the application form the same as I did previously...also had my 2nd interview within a month of applying so keep applying!!

Felt my interview went a lot better than the 1st time, as others have said in my 1st irish interview I kept getting interrupted and asked the same questions in different tenses but yesterday was much better...

English questions...
Degree...how has it lead you to hibernia and the skills that you have gained?
Why primary school teaching??
What motivates me to be a primary school teacher??



Irish questions...
Preparation for the interview
Holidays
Pastimes
Where and when do i play camogie
What will i do next weekend
Do i hear a lot of irish being spoken in my local town

English questions...
Cant really remember the quote, something along the lines of primary education is the foundation for future education.
It skills
Role of the principal
Special Needs Children within the classroom
Work, college, life balance.

Good luck everyone, hope we all hear good news!!!

Thanks a lot!
Do you know is it possible with Hibernia to be interviewed for the same intake twice? Or if you fail with your first interview does this automatically mean you will only be considered for the follwing intake???

Yes I was really put off by the interruptions on my Irish interview...

greenstar123

well i was interviewed for Oct 2010 for my first interview and Oct 2010 for my second, i reapplied the day after i heard that i didnt get in and had the interview very quickly so my advice would to be to reapply the minute you hear you dont get in...thats if you dont get it....hopefully you will!

Id have to say though I wasnt half as nervous for my 2nd interview and I felt more confident...two of the people on the panel I had previously but thankfully the woman that asked me the irish wasnt there!!

Coogee

Good stuff Greenstar!

And another question! Did you re-submit the identical application? I know the most of it will obviously be identical but did you change your statement at the end on any way or just simply re post the thing en bloc?

Thanks again...

greenstar123

oooh just got the news that I got accepted into hibernia college!! im so happy!!

Good luck to the rest of ye, hope u all get good news aswell!!!

marmam

I'm in too!!!! am so relieved.

randombar

Hi Lads,
The girlfriend is thinking of signing up for this and I was just doing a bit of research for her.

Do most people have some teaching experience before hand?

When do people think Oct 2010 will fill up by have they heard anything?

What is the "pass" rate for the interviews?

Do you submit a cover letter with the application and if so does anyone have any examples??

Thanks for any help you can give me, and congrats to those who got in.
//Gary

JoJoPGCE

:mad:

very dissappointed, unsuccessful for the 2nd time trying to get into this course, and i really thought this interview went well, my first interview was a total disaster so i wasnt expecting to be successful that time and wasnt dissappointed.. URGHHH!!!

i'm ringing up tomorrow to get feedback.. IM SO ANNOYED!!!!

JoJoPGCE

another question!! i see someone else has already asked this but if anyone has found out or knows what to do after an unsuccessful interview, ur words of wisodm and expereicne would be a great help!

is it ok to send the same application again? should i change it in any way? i just want to reapply as quickly as possible before i forget all my irish!!!

Maudy Mac

that's very disappointing considering that you felt it went well. What did they ask you? Re-applying next week. Sick at the thought of it!! I think I will probably change my application this time. I enrolled in an irish course after my last interview as I failed my irish, apart from that,Idon't know what else I can do.

JoJoPGCE

they asked me most things from my application form>> my interest in local history>> the statement was - teaching is 1/4 planning 3/4 theatre >>cant remember what else was asked in this part!! >>>Irish part >>Asked about my teaching experience>> must be difficult being a home tutor? is it one to one? kids with problems?>> about the homework club i volunteer at, how many kids, what ages etc >>a holiday>> how'd i prepare for leaving cert irish last year >>how'd i prepare for interview>> what will i do after the interview and at the weekend>> what are my pastimes>> then it went back to english and i was asked>>what challenges do teachers face with a special needs student in the classroom>> my IT skills>> what makes a good school>> How will i achieve a good work/study/life balance if i get on the course>> did i know anyone who is doing the course and am i aware of how intensive it can be>> I have the questions written down somewhere, ill put them up later, cant remember what else was asked!! I just have one thing to add to teaching experience since i last applied and changed part of personal statement to accommodate this, i'm going to get someone to look over it b4 i send it, i cant see what else i can change really. it'll just be the same thing except worded differently.. Requested feedback yest, i heard it can take up to 3wks for a reply!!I think it must have been the irish that tripped me up this time again, i just tried to keep it simple and i wasnt stuck for anything to say. I thought if you were able to hold a conversation and answer their questions that was all they wanted... but maybe I made mistakes and didnt realise.. oh well! third time lucky! Don't be nervous about re-applying, u know you can do it, i'm angry that i didnt get it and dammit i'm not paying another 75eu for nothin!! just have to immerse myself in irish until then.. uuurgh

JoJoPGCE

GaryCocs wrote: »

Hi Lads,
The girlfriend is thinking of signing up for this and I was just doing a bit of research for her.

Do most people have some teaching experience before hand?

When do people think Oct 2010 will fill up by have they heard anything?

What is the "pass" rate for the interviews?

Do you submit a cover letter with the application and if so does anyone have any examples??

Thanks for any help you can give me, and congrats to those who got in.
//Gary

Preview Hi gary, i had an interview nearly 3weeks ago and they were interviewing for Oct 2010, not sure if it would be filled up yet, i'd imagine it nearly is because I was very surprised to hear they still had places for Oct, i thought I was being interviewed for Feb 2011! I didnt submit a cover letter, I just downloaded the application from their website and filled it out and for things like teaching/work experience and additional info, and statement for why you want to get on the course, I used extra sheets because there isnt much space on the form itself, only 2/3 lines, although the first time I applied I didnt use any extra sheets at all and was called for interview! The interviews can be tricky enough, not that they ask awkward questions or anything, its just that Ive done 2 and been unsuccessful, but I know a few who have got in first time. The interviewers are really nice and they make a huge effort at the start to put you at ease. The first interview i did was a disaster, i couldnt speak i was so nervous and to be honest my irish wasnt up to scratch to start with. 2nd interview went great I thought but didnt get in, waiting to get feedback and im reapplying tomorrow.Hope that helps!!

randombar

JoJoPGCE wrote: »

Preview Hi gary, i had an interview nearly 3weeks ago and they were interviewing for Oct 2010, not sure if it would be filled up yet, i'd imagine it nearly is because I was very surprised to hear they still had places for Oct, i thought I was being interviewed for Feb 2011! I didnt submit a cover letter, I just downloaded the application from their website and filled it out and for things like teaching/work experience and additional info, and statement for why you want to get on the course, I used extra sheets because there isnt much space on the form itself, only 2/3 lines, although the first time I applied I didnt use any extra sheets at all and was called for interview! The interviews can be tricky enough, not that they ask awkward questions or anything, its just that Ive done 2 and been unsuccessful, but I know a few who have got in first time. The interviewers are really nice and they make a huge effort at the start to put you at ease. The first interview i did was a disaster, i couldnt speak i was so nervous and to be honest my irish wasnt up to scratch to start with. 2nd interview went great I thought but didnt get in, waiting to get feedback and im reapplying tomorrow.Hope that helps!!

Thanks for the help JoJo, by the looks of things you have plenty of experience to get you through so I'm sure you will with a bit of luck.

In general do people have two, three weeks experience or is it even more than that??

JoJoPGCE

Hi Gary. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but if i can't get on top of the irish it doesnt matter how much experience anyone has!
I'm not sure how much experience people would generally have, It's probably your best bet to try and get as much experience as possible. I'd say it's getting harder to get paid teaching experience as schools are not really hiring unquailified people for subbing anymore, a few people i know have taken holidays from their own jobs and organised 2 weeks of experience in a school. Most schools are happy to help and are glad of the extra pair of hands!

Maitiu Mac

Hi there, I had my first interview last Thursday 10/6 and was lucky to get an offer of a place the next day by email. The offer I got was for a place on the Feb 2011 course so Oct 2010 must be full at this stage.

The questions I remember being asked are as follows:-

ENGLISH
1. Tell us about your time in university, what you studied there etc.
2. Why do you want to do teaching now? (In this regard they referred to my application.)
3. Tell us about your teaching experience (mine was limited to attending the Gaeltacht as a cúntóir/ceannaire and some adult literacy teaching both of which happened many years ago so don't get worked up about having no teaching experience.)
4. Why have you not spent time observing in a primary school? (I told them that I couldn't just take time off work to do this and also that I didn't want my existing employers to get wind of my future career aspirations)
5. What computer skills do you have?
6. If you get a place on the course where do you see yourself in the short term and in the long term?
7. A school is a place for all. Comment.

GAEILGE
1. Hobbies
2. Tell us about your homeplace
3. Have you spend time in the Gaeltacht?
4. Family
5. Holidays last year and this year (past tense and future tense)
6. Are you interested in sport - World Cup, Hurling.
No modh choinnoileach question.

The interview lasted about 15 minutes in total and there were three interviewees - a man and two ladies. English first, then a few questions in Irish and then English again to conclude.

Best of luck to anyone out there who's thinking of applying. Don't get too worked up over the interview. I thought the interview was fairly relaxed and easygoing though it did help that my Irish would be fairly alright.

arasnagaeilge

Has anybody managed to get a reduction on the cost of Hibernia course and if so how?..don t think my piggy bank s gonna be happy..

IrishZeus

Just wondering if anyone that is currently working and has applied for the Hibernia course has come across the problem of time required for the teaching experience.

I have no issue with the evening and weekend work rate required but i have no way to get 14 weeks of for teaching experience and 3 weeks for the Gaeltacht. Working in private sector, I get 5 weeks hols all year!

Is there a way around this? Has anyone come up against this problem?

reganm6

MizzL wrote: »

Ok well I failed my first and second based on my Irish.

The Irish questions I was asked in all interviews were the pretty standard ones: My hobbies, make sure you can go into detail on this as they will ask you questions based on your answers. I was asked about going on holidays, a few things about my family. I was asked "What would I do if I won the lotto" so maybe take a look at that if you haven't already. Other than the usual questions, there wasn't anything too out there.

Don't panic at all, you'll be fine. I thought about giving up when i didn't get it the second time round but thankfully I didn't! Third time lucky for me! Honestly though, I'm sure it'll go great for you, plus now you know what to expect since you have been there before.


Best of Luck!

This is complete proof that Hibernia needs to stop. Its a complete Joke.

pele2010

Reading these posts is a great help! Cheers

Just got word back that i failed my second interview on my irish competency but having read these posts i'm determined to get it next time!

For anyone in my position i have checked out some solutions to sort out our Irish language downfalls:

- Oideachas website- Gaeltacht course Aug 21st to 28th

- Conradh na Gaelige- courses starting in sept twice weekly (starting sept 6th)

- Gael Chultur - course starting late sept for 12 weeks

If anyone has any other ideas please give me a shout.

Cheers and best of luck to you three timers!!!

ellie x

hi i have my interview for hibernia for the primary post grad in 2 weeks and was wondering if any1 could help me that has done interview for it before that could give me some tips and questions you got asked cause really havemt a clue and i'm startin to panic?
Thank You

*marie*

I had my interview for Hibernia on Thursday and was lucky enough to find out yesterday that they offered me a place for Feb 11. I was so nervous before the interview and really wasn't sure how it had gone so I'm delighted.

I thought all three interviewers were very nice and they did try to put me at ease. The first thing they asked me was I got there and if I found the journey ok so that helped relax me a bit.

I was asked to tell them about my time in university and a bit about the subjects I studied.
They asked why I wanted to be a primary school teacher and I said I was always trying to choose between secondary and primary and my experience in the classrom made up my mind for me.
I had done a small bit of subbing, only two weeks, and we spoke about that. They asked if I had to plan the lessons etc and what I learned from it.
The quote I got was something like "the child of today shapes the future, discuss".
This is a great opportunity to show them what you know about the new curriculum!!

Then came the Irish part. I was most nervous about this as I haven't spoken Irish in a few years. Having done it I would advise people not to worry too much about it at all! It really is competely useless to learn things off here, they just want to see that you're able to have a conversation and I wasn't really given the opportunity to go off on a rant anyway...my answers were no more than a sentence long and were quite basic. I listened to Radio na Gaeltachta on the way home from work every evening which was very helpful because at that time of the day there are interviews and discussions which are great for improving your conversational Irish.

The first thing we spoke about as Gaeilge was my hometown, he must have been familiar with it because he was asking specific questions about the town.
He then asked about industry in the area which led on to umemployment and the recession...this kind of threw me because all I had prepared were my hobbies and my plans for the weekend! I managed to answer that you can see a lot of shops closing down and it's terrible to see long queues at the dole office.
Next he threw in a bit of modh conniollach, he asked would I go back to the school I was subbing in if I got the chance. I said dá bhfaighinn post, bheadh áthas an domhain orm, cinnte rachfinn ar ais!
And that was it for the Irish part.

The final interviewer switched back to English and asked if I have experience planning in my current job and how I motivated the class I subbed.
She also asked me how comfortable I am with computers.

And that was it! I came out a bit uncertain because I didn't feel like I'd spoken much Irish at all but it is obviously more important that you are able to understand and reply to them.

Hope this helps anyone preparing for their interview and best of luck!

marymc

reganm6 wrote: »

This is complete proof that Hibernia needs to stop. Its a complete Joke.

Why is that, laconic poster?

hupskip

Hi, I have just sent off my application form as I have always wanted to do primary teaching. Just wondering is there anybody who has applied recently too? I am a male and have an arts degree in Irish and English, althought it is only a pass degree. I have spent a year in a secondary school as part of my co-op year. I also have spent two weeks of work experience in two different schools. I have completed an online course for Interactive Whiteboards also. I am heavily involved in sports and coach the local under 8 hurling team at the weekends. I also can play the guitar. I plan on getting Irish grinds to brush up my gaeilge. Is there places still left on the Feb 2011 course? What are my chances?, as I really want this badly!

Zooey

Hey hupskip, I've applied this year too- have you got a date for an interview yet? Really hoping to get a place on the February course- October just seems too far away right now! I've a degree in Psychology, only teaching experience I have is as an ABA tutor in a school for autistic children (4 months full time, year part-time). I also have two years research experience in the area of child psychology, but anxious to get out of this as research is NOT for me! I applied in early September and have been obsessively checking emails since. Was told I'd hear back in 5-8 weeks about an interview...

hupskip

Yeah that should be plenty of experience, I have just started Irish grinds and have begun listening to Radio na Gaeltachta even just to get into the groove! You should be getting a phonecall so very soon, how are you fixed for the interview?

Zooey

I hope so! Have actually been trying to listen to R Na G myself...amazing how much you forget, I was actually good at Irish in school but have forgotten so much of the basic stuff. I have a friend who's doing a PhD in Irish who's going to help me out though so that should help. Also have a good friend who got into Hibernia so I'm relying on her for interview tips. Getting nervous now, hope to hear from them soon...

Cork

Join Irish conversational groups.

In Cork - Wilton Library 6.15pm on Thursdays

Zooey

Thanks Cork, that sounds like a fun way to brush up the skills- if there was something similar in Dublin/Meath it would be ideal! Do you have links with any groups there?

Also, can anyone tell me when I should hear back about an interview? Applied over a month ago and was told I'd hear back in 5-8 weeks- however on this thread I see some people were called within a week? Perhaps applications have shot up and there's a massive backlog- that would be typical of my luck

coralkat

Hey, I applied end of August and it took a full five weeks before i got a phonecall, my interview is on Monday 11th this month (October). I've seen people asking about work experience and I have done voluntary work experience in my local primary school about one or two days a week since last February. But I was quite lucky because i'm in with a teacher who actually taught me and she's being great, lets me take over the class every so often and i do all the art with the kids. She's helped with my irish too. Her sister is a principal of a primary school and she gave me a mock interview. One thing she did mention is I speak too fast and she couldnt understand what i was saying in irish that i ran it all together so that is why i probably failed the interview first time round! so for all who's taking interview soon...remember SLOW and SIMPLE!! dont say anything that you dont want to have to elaborate on ie unemployment unless you have it prepared. Good Luck everyone!!! nice little expression: Ba bhrea liom ait a fhail ar an gcursa seo ionnas go bhfeadfainn mo chuid oideachas a usaid i gceart!! :P

Zooey

Well best of luck tomorrow coralkat, sounds like you landed on your feet in that classroom, and if that wee phrase is anything to judge by your Irish sounds good too! It sounds like I might be getting a call next week...:)