Huge congratulations to Sunny who completed the Teach First Spring Insight week and then secured an internship with Teach First too! We caught up with her at home to talk about why she wanted to join Teach First, what the application process was like and her experience of the Teach First Insight week. 
Why did you apply to Teach First?
Their mission to end educational inequality really resonated with me. It’s an issue that’s quite close to my heart so to have the opportunity to get involved and to make a difference excited me. Their Training Programme is also a fantastic placement which strongly encourages personal growth. It teaches you a whole range of skills you probably haven’t properly learned or developed in education. Finally, Teach First has an extremely impressive network of corporate partners whom they can set you up with after completing the Training Programme.
What was the application process like?
I went through the STEM Internship with Teach First so I had a reduced application process. For the STEM Internship though we had to do a CV application and an assessment centre. At the assessment centre we had to do a competency interview followed by a group project and a role play exercise. The role play exercise was really interesting and was different to anything else I’ve heard of. We were given a scenario we basically had to act out. For my scenario I had to pretend to be a teacher interacting with a parent. I basically had to find out if anything had happened at home which would affect the student’s grades.
After the STEM Internship I had to submit an application form and then visit an assessment centre. At the assessment centre we had to do a specific exercise which the interviewers felt we could improve upon from our first assessment centre. For me that happened to be another group exercise. After that I got told I’d got the position!
What was the STEM Internship like?
The programme was 2 weeks long with the first week being based in London and mirroring the training segment of the Training Programme. During this week we had to do training sessions that were taken directly from the Training Programme such as lesson planning and behavioural management classes. The second week for me was located in Middlesbrough. I spent this week in a class observing lessons, holding mentoring sessions and taking assemblies. On my last day I had to teach a Year 9 class percentages. The experience was so valuable for me and I really enjoyed the fact that I got to go somewhere I’ve never been. I’ve never been that far North before!
How did you find our Bright Network FESTIVAL?
I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of interesting sessions and workshops which you guys ran. Some of the ones concerning interview preparation I thought were particularly valuable. I also liked the fact that I got to meet so many different employers from different industries. It helps having them all in one location so you can make contacts and get all the information you could ever want about different industries.
What three tips would you give to your fellow Bright Network members?
- Do your research! Find out what the company is about and then make sure you apply to them for the right reasons. With Teach First for example you should really familiarise yourself with their mission!
- Be yourself at the interview stage. Don’t be someone you’re not because if you do you might end up getting put into a job you really don’t enjoy.
- Take feedback on board and not as a personal attack. Teach First are great with feedback and the purpose of it is to help you grow.
What was the hardest interview question you faced?
Describe a moment when you had to show resilience.
